Kenmore Model 116 upright beltless vacuum, agitator will not turn

With the cleaner unplugged, turn the unit over and look inside the opening where the brush is located. Do you see the clogging of the brush with lots of hair? If so, you will need to disassemble it to remove the hair. In any case, you will probably need to take off the cover to see if there is an obstruction jamming the brush. Also, check to make sure that motor for the brush is getting power. If there is an electrical cable on the outside connecting the brush housing to the rest of the vacuum cleaner, check if it is disconnected. When you have the cleaner on, do the lights glow? Do you hear the motor running? Try the above and report back.

sounds like ya need to replace belt.

To properly fix a belt on a Kenmore vacuum, you will first need to indicate whether this is an upright or a canister vacuum. The model given, 116, is only the first part of the model number, and all Kenmore vacuums, upright and canister style, start with 116. There is a period first, then a whole string of numbers, 116.255553 etc.

Kenmore vacuums are mainly made by Panasonic for Sears, and most will use a Panasonic belt. If the belt is an upright, this makes it simple, and will be a Panasonic "UB" belt.

For a canister vacuum, most models use what's referred to as a cogged belt. This type of belt has little teeth on the inside of the belt, and is Panasonic CB-5 belt.

Instructions on How to Replace the Belt for an Upright;
There will usually be to plastic screws on the top of the agitator housing on the base of the vacuum, that will say belt access. Simply take a flat head screw driver, and turn the screws so that the screw is pointing up and down on both sides. Then pull the plastic agitator housing, or the top of the base of the vacuum off. Inside you will see a the roller brush, and the belt (or broken belt). Simply take the new belt and wrap it around the silver pulley located in the back of the machine, opposite the roller brush, and wrap the other end of the belt through the roller brush. Stretch the roller brush back into the housing of the machine, and replace the top of the base of the vacuum back on the machine. You should give the belt a tug, to ensure that the brush is spinning when the belt is being pulled..

the brush spins on a bearing, you might want to get to the bearing and make to it has not cracked or broken.

They usually have belts for that kind of thing at walmart!

with cleaner plugged in and turned on, push the little reset button on the side of the lower base of vac. Remember that the brush will not turn in the upright position. release your handle and you should be in business. hope this helps. please let us know. thanks renevacdoc

Remove the belt from your beltless vacuum and you should be golden!

If it is direct drive then the motor or the wireing to the motor are bad. If it is gear driven then the gears are probally stripped.

Ensure the agitator is not bound up and can be moved manually by hand in both directions. Clean any string or binding material if you find it. Press the reset button on the top of the chassis. If it clicks, then you should try turning it on and see if the agitator spins. If it doesn't spin, I have had luck giving a sharp kick to the top of the chassis.

Greetings from GoVacuum.com,

To properly fix a belt on a Kenmore vacuum, you will first need to indicate whether this is an upright or a canister vacuum. The model given, 116, is only the first part of the model number, and all Kenmore vacuums, upright and canister style, start with 116. There is a period first, then a whole string of numbers, 116.255553 etc.

Kenmore vacuums are mainly made by Panasonic for Sears, and most will use a Panasonic belt. If the belt is an upright, this makes it simple, and will be a Panasonic "UB" belt.

For a canister vacuum, most models use what's referred to as a cogged belt. This type of belt has little teeth on the inside of the belt, and is Panasonic CB-5 belt.

Instructions on How to Replace the Belt for an Upright;
There will usually be to plastic screws on the top of the agitator housing on the base of the vacuum, that will say belt access. Simply take a flat head screw driver, and turn the screws so that the screw is pointing up and down on both sides. Then pull the plastic agitator housing, or the top of the base of the vacuum off. Inside you will see a the roller brush, and the belt (or broken belt). Simply take the new belt and wrap it around the silver pulley located in the back of the machine, opposite the roller brush, and wrap the other end of the belt through the roller brush. Stretch the roller brush back into the housing of the machine, and replace the top of the base of the vacuum back on the machine. You should give the belt a tug, to ensure that the brush is spinning when the belt is being pulled.

Feel free to email me if you have any further questions, I'd be happy to walk you through it, or even shoot an instructional video to show you how you to replace it. My email is chris.jones at govacuum . com.

Chris Jones
GoVacuum.com
[email protected]