Wiring Question - Shop Vac

[Bark]

My old Shop Vac stopped working suddenly, and I suspect the switch went bad. I was hoping to replace it with a two-pole toggle switch I have lying around. Trouble is, the suspect switch has four wires: a red and a white on one side, and a red and black on the other.

Any way to combine these wires so they'll work with the two-pole toggle? Thanks.

Ben

[George Roberts]

I had the switch on mine go bad. The electronic parts outlet store had a suitable replacement.

The red and white come from the cord. (I guess.)

I suppose that connecting the white and black with a wire nut and switching the reds would work.

The chief concern is to switch the hot lead and not the neutral lead.

[Bark]

Thanks, George. Actually, the black and white wires come from the cord (along with the green, which is grounded on the motor); the two red ones go into the motor somewhere. Ben

[TerryLL]

Might not be the switch. Shop vacs (at least mine) have a fusible link between the switch and the motor. My vac died a couple months ago and the switch tested OK with a continuity tester. Looking further I found a little connector block between switch and motor, and that's where the continuity ended. It's kind of like a one-time overload protector. If the switch tests OK, then that link is the likely problem.

[Paul Scheuer]

I’m guessing that your dilemma is that the replacement switch that you have doesn’t exactly match up with the one that is in the unit.

My guess that your “double-pole” switch is either a double-pole, double-throw (having two independent switched circuits switching between two ON positions), or a double pole, single-throw (having two independent switched circuits switching between an OFF position and an ON position)

The double-pole, double-throw switch will have six terminals. The two in the center of the switch body are the “common” terminals. The switch will exclusively connect the common terminals to the ON terminals opposite the handle position, usually (some switches are 180 out).

The double-pole, double-throw switch will have four terminals. The terminals at the center of the body will still be the commons and the two near the end of the body will be connected to the commons when the handle is in the ON position (opposite the terminal end)

You can ignore the double-throw feature in your single-throw application.

[floatingkiwi]

I used a light switch from the wall.

[GregH]

Seems to be lot of this going around. Here's my story (I hope no one from Shop Vac is on this forum!)-- The switch on mine failed also: since it's a proprietary item, I called Shop Vac to get a replacement. The person there said he'd ship one, no charge-- several days later, a large box arrived. To my surprise and delight the box contained not only a new switch; it was mounted in a complete top unit- new switch, motor, cord, gray plastic housing- the works!!! So...having been raised by parents who grew up during the Depression -"Never throw anything away!"- I replaced the switch in the original unit with a simple toggle switch mounted in a hole drilled next to the original switch, made a cannister to fit the top from a peice a blue Formica left over from a tabletop, added some casters that were lying around, and fashioned a holder for the hose, brush, etc from some scraps of plywood. I must admit that I did actually spend some money- about $55- for the hose, wand and a couple of brush heads. So now I have 2 great Shop Vacs....I wonder how the switch is doing on my table saw, surface planer, etc., etc.....

[Bark]

Great advice, everyone! I just called Shop Vac and, without hesitation, they offered to send me a brand new control unit (entire head piece - switch alone is not available). And I almost threw the whole contraption away ... I guess Shop Vac cares about their reputation, which is impressive.

Thanks!

Ben

PS: On an unrelated note, I'm looking out at the Chesapeake Bay and it's a winter wonderland - gale-driven snow, probably 200 yd visibility.