Wiring off on/off switch - Riccar Vacuums

The schematics for all models are at this link. Rainbow Vacuum Schematics

Here is the wiring for a D4 switch:

Rainbow D3 D4 SE power switch

Rainbow no longer makes the switch with 6 wires, it comes now with only 4.

GoodVac.com
800-775-6586

You can find a wiring diagram here, Rainbow changed the switch and this is how you wire in the new switch.
Rainbow D3 D4 SE power switch with wiring diagram

GoodVac.com Technician
www.goodvac.com
1-800-775-6586

If there are only two terminals on the motor the only connection would be one leg of the 230 volt supply on one terminal and the other leg on the other terminal.
The switch must be double pole, double throw. That is two terminals on top to connect the two supply wires and two terminals on bottom (that are both open when the switch is OFF and closed when the switch is ON) connect to the only two motor terminals. The ground wire grounds the motor green wire, the switch green screw (terminal) and any green wire on the supply wire.

Both black go to the switch. Power in - black to switch / white to white from motor.
From motor - black to switch / white to white from power cord
The black wire from the power hooks to the off end of the switch and the black wire from the motor hooks to the on end. Third post is not used. The two white wires are connected to each other with a small twist on wire nut.

Use a thin screwdriver or some other something like a butter knife and slide it into the gap on the side of the power switch. THis is just a plastic rocker that actuates the actual switch. Pry up on one side a little then the other to work it out. Don't worry if you break it, you can get a new one when you purchase the switch for around $5. Once you have that off, the switch can be pried up in a similar manner. It just unplugs from the socket.

You can purchase switch and cover rocker at goodvac dot com at a significant discount over other sites. Fast delivery too.

To replace the top cap of a D4 Rainbow vacuum:

Remove the separator.
Remove the 4 screws on the bottom.
Pull the bottom off around the foam tank gasket.
Remove the next 4 screws.
Carefully pull the wiring up through the middle section wire hole.
Remove the top cap 4 screws.
On the bottom of the switch there are 4 fingers, one on each corner.
Push the fingers towards the center of the switch and push the switch through the rectangular hole
Pull the wire through the middle section and the top cap to give you as much loose wire as possible.
On the long sides of the switch near the wires are 2 small round holes with small semicircular tabs pushed through the sides of the switch assembly. These tabs hold the wire assembly in the bottom of the switch. Very carefully push a jewelers screwdriver between the switch body and the wire assembly on each side simultaneously to release the tabs and pull the wire assembly from the switch body. BE VERY CAREFUL. Do not pull the wires hard. The wires are held in the wire assembly by small friction clips. They are not soldered or attached except by the friction clips. These friction clips fall out very easily. The twist in the wires alone will pull them out of the friction clips. So hold onto the wires in such a way that they cannot twist free. If you loose a wire or two, you will have to push them back in and reset the friction clips. This was a challenge of dexterity. During factory assembly, The wires were probably pushed one at a time into the bottom of the completed assembly. You could record the position of each wire and replace them as the factory did. This was the most difficult step as the switch came apart very quickly and without warning and the wires very nearly separated from the switch assembly.
Remove the old top cap from the wires and replace it with the new top cap. A 3rd hand may come in handy.
Push the wiring assembly back into the switch body the same way it came out.
Push the switch back into the top cap.
Reassemble the vacuum.

Are you talking about the power switch. The new power switches have 4 wires sautered to the power switch, where the old ones have 6 wires that slip in and lock into the power switch.

The blue ones are for your power cord, and the black ones are for your vacuum motor, and your power nozzle plug.

Secure one motor wire and one power nozzle plug wire to one of the black wires out of the new switch, and secure the other two, to the other black one from the power switch. It does not matter which ones that you match together. Secure one of each of the power cord to the two blue wires from the power switch. It does not matter which one of them goes to each wire neither. It is AC so power goes both ways.

Use twist on wire nuts to secure the wires to each other, and put some electrical tape around each of them, after you secure them securly with the wire nuts.

It is best to secure the cluster of wires to each other with a pull tie, after you are finished wiring everything.

If you have any more questions let me know. I am a Rainbow seller, and a Rainbow expert also.

Thank you,
Ralph

The black wire coming from the power cord connects to one side of the switch and the other black and the red wire go to the other side of the switch. If it turns on with the switch in the off position reverse the sides. Good luck. If you need anymore help just ask. Please rate me so I know if I helped. Thanks.

As far as I know, that switch with 6 terminals is still available. But if not, I would wire the 2 for the power head and the 2 motor wires together. Then you would have 4 leads to attach.