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Shark Rotator Vacuum Not Working

The Shark Rotator vacuum is a very powerful, and easy to use vacuum. It also breaks apart easily so you can use it on stairs and hard to reach places. However, it can break or have an issue that needs to be troubleshooted, so here’s where to start when your Shark Rotator vacuum isn’t working.

Generally, check that the wall outlet is getting power, and that you’ve turned on both the power button, and the rotating brush button. Provided you have done that, the thermal fuse can have been triggered due to it overheating, and you need to give it 24 hours to cool off.

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If the wall outlet works for another device like a phone charger, and your Shark Rotator vacuum won’t turn on, and start at all. Then it’s virtually guaranteed the thermal fuse is triggered and you should give it 24 hours to start again.

Shark Rotator Vacuum Not Working

Often, minor maintenance can go undone because it’s difficult to keep track of when you last did it. But, when your Shark Rotator vacuum stops working completely, you can be sure you need to identify what’s causing the issue. So, below is what to check first when your Shark Rotator Vacuum isn’t working.

As a general rule, ensure that it’s plugged in at the wall and that the wall outlet is providing power. Do that by checking another device on the same wall outlet. After that, if the lights on the front don’t come on when you press the power button, the thermal fuse was very likely triggered.

Following that if it’s having a different issue, like it will power on but it doesn’t have any suction or poor suction then look below for the issue you’re having with your Shark Rotator Vacuum, and apply the troubleshooting steps to get it working.

Shark Rotator Vacuum Brush Not Spinning

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There is a roller at the bottom of a Shark Rotator vacuum, and behind that is another roller that has bristles that help to stir up small particles cleaning the carpet more effectively than a typical vacuum. These two rollers can get jammed or don’t spin for a few different reasons so here’s what to do when this happens.

Overall, start by removing the cover and the front roller. This will reveal the roller behind. Remove any debris you can using your fingers. Also, take some scissors to cut any hair, and fibers. After that, the end of the roller can be removed and there can be a lot of hair inside.

This needs to be pulled out using tweezers or needle nose pliers. The exact method to remove the roller, and the end of the roller can differ by the exact model number. Therefore, it’s a good idea to refer to your owners manual to see exactly how to do it.

But, the general procedure is the same: clear any debris from the roller, and on the sides. Generally, there can be a lot of hair to the point where it’s wrapped around the sides of the roller, and jamming it from turning. Hair can also get inside the rollers themselves and make it very difficult for the rollers to turn.

The roller can be removed, and then one of the ends can be removed. Inside human or pet hair can build up, but you won’t know until the roller stops spinning. Or, you need to push it really hard to get it to roll. This is a clear sign you need to thoroughly clean the two rollers in a Shark Rotator vacuum.

Shark Rotator Vacuum Brush Roll Indicator Light Not On

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A Shark Rotator vacuum has lights on the front that illuminate dark corners when you’re vacuuming. It also has an indicator light for the roller to tell you that it’s on, and when it’s working correctly it will be green in color. If you’re getting no light at all, then it means the roller is not turned on, here’s how to fix this issue.

As a general rule, press the brush roll button located next to the power button. Doing so, will cause the brush roll indicator light to come on. There are two power buttons on a Shark Rotator vacuum, one for the power, and one for the brush roll. Both need to be on for the brush roll to spin.

If the head of your Shark Rotator vacuum is lifted off the ground the brush roll indicator light won’t turn on. But, when you place the head onto the ground so that it’s making contact with the carpet or hard floor the light will be green.

When there’s a blockage it will turn red, and the vacuum will shut off so that nothing in the vacuum gets damaged. A blockage occurs when something is sucked up that won’t go through the filters. Examples are a sock, or a dish cloth.

When this happens, and you take out what was causing the blockage you’ll need to press the brush roll button to turn it back on again. As the brush roll won’t turn on itself automatically.

Shark Rotator Vacuum No Suction

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A loss of suction on your Shark Rotator vacuum tells you that it’s due for some routine maintenance you can do yourself very easily. This is what causes a loss of suction on a Shark Rotator vacuum and what you need to do to get the suction back to normal again.

No suction on a Shark Rotator vacuum is caused by a blockage, either in the hoses, head of the vacuum, or one or more of the filters are full. They also have a control that turns the suction up or down, that is located on the wand. It can have been accidentally set too low.

The filters on the inside of the bin generally need to be cleaned once every 3 months, and the HEPA filter on the front should be cleaned once a year. Also, if the bin is completely full, it can cause a loss of suction and virtually nothing will get picked up.

Another big factor that causes a Shark Rotator vacuum to have no suction is the brush roll is jammed, or not turned on. There are two power buttons on a Shark Rotator vacuum. One will turn the suction on, and the other will turn the rotator brushes on. If the rotator brush isn’t spinning it will pick up far less debris from the carpet, and have the appearance of no suction.

This can be fixed by turning the rotator brush on, and/or the rotator brush needs to be cleared.

Shark Rotator Vacuum Not Turning On

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Shark Rotator vacuums will switch on and work straight away under normal circumstances. Therefore, if nothing happens when you press the power button then there’s a few things you should try to get it to work. Here’s what to do if your Shark Rotator vacuum doesn’t turn on.

Overall, it’s very likely the thermal fuse has been triggered. This is a safety feature that stops a Shark vacuum from turning on if it’s overheated. Leave it for 24 hours to cool down. In the meantime, check that it’s plugged in at the wall, and the fuse isn’t tripped at the fuse box.

As you may be aware, buildings have a fuse box that stops power surges from damaging appliances. When there is a power surge, or one of the wall outlets has too many appliances plugged in and turned on at once it can trip the fuse. A fuse is also known as a circuit breaker.

The fuse will remain off until it’s turned on. In certain countries you can have the old style fuse that needs to be replaced if it’s triggered. The newer fuses are better and you can just switch them back on.

Shark Rotator Vacuum No Power

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Once you get your Shark Rotator vacuum out, and plug it into the wall you can simply switch it on and it will start up. If you press the power button, and the lights on the front don’t turn on and it doesn’t start, then here’s what you should do.

In general, try another wall outlet, but if it’s still not turning on, wait 24 hours for it to cool down. Shark Rotator vacuums have a thermal fuse that triggers if the engine gets too hot. This protects the motor from getting too hot and damaging the components.

It can be that the wall outlet isn’t working. You can verify if the wall outlet is working fine by plugging something else into the same wall outlet such as a lamp, or phone charger. If the wall outlet works then it’s best to give it 24 hours to be sure it’s not simply because it has overheated.

If it’s still not turning on after that when you press the power button, it’s virtually guaranteed there is something wrong with the internal wiring on your Shark Rotator vacuum. 

They can advise you where the nearest Shark service center is to have it looked at by a Shark repair technician. Generally, they will also try to get you to try some things over live chat, phone, or email.

Shark Rotator Vacuum Making Loud Noise

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During normal operation a Shark Rotator vacuum isn’t overly loud. Once you get used to how loud it is, it’s very obvious when there’s an issue and it’s louder than normal. When you notice this all of sudden, this is what caused it and what you should do.

As a general rule, one or more of the filters is full, or something is stuck in the hoses, or the brush rolls. Most models have a light on the top of the vacuum head that turns red if there’s a jam. Turn it off, and inspect all of the hoses, filters, and the brush roll for a jam.

The loud noise is caused by the motor straining to create suction against something that is blocking the air flow from the base. Continuing to use it when it’s making a loud noise can cause damage to the motor, so it’s best to shut it off immediately. And only leave it on for short amounts of time to verify if the loud noise is still happening.

There are many potential places where there can be something blocking the normal flow of air through your Shark Rotator vacuum. These are:

  • The air filter inside the bin
  • The air filter underneath the bin
  • The HEPA filter (located on the front)
  • The hoses and ‘S’ connectors

Shark Rotator Vacuum Wand Won’t Lock

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The wand on a Shark Rotator vacuum is very helpful for vacuuming crevices, along the edges of walls, and other hard to reach places. After using it, you need to click it back into the head of your Shark Rotator vacuum for the vacuum to work again. In some cases, it won’t lock in, and won’t click into place properly, so here’s what causes this to happen and how to get it to lock in.

Copyright protected content owner: ReadyToDIY.com and was initially posted on March 27, 2022.

In general, first check that the red button on the wand that says ‘handle’ is facing forwards. If you’re looking at your Shark vacuum from the front, the red ‘handle’ button should be facing you. This will allow it to lock into place.

If it’s still not locking into place, inspect the connection at the bottom of your wand. There can be some debris or a piece of something that got stuck in it unnoticed when you were using it. If it’s perfectly clean, then check that there isn’t anything stuck in part that it locks into.

There can be some dried leaves, hair, or pet hair sitting in it, that won’t allow the wand to click into place. You may need to use some needle-nose pliers, tweezers, or a bent paper clip to fish out the hair or debris.

Shark Rotator Vacuum Roller Not Working

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The brush roll is a main feature of a Shark Rotator vacuum, and if it’s not spinning it won’t clean the carpet nearly as well. There’s a few ways to tell exactly why it isn’t working, and sometimes it can be a matter of turning it back on, if it’s been switched off because of a jam. So, here’s how to get the roller working on a Shark Rotator vacuum when it’s stopped working.

Generally, this is caused by the roller having hair or too much debris stuck in it, as well as hair wrapped around the sides, and/or on the inside of the roller. All of which needs to be removed. Otherwise, the brushroll button isn’t turned on, and needs to be pressed to turn the rollers on.

Copyright article owner is ReadyToDiy.com for this article. This post was first published on March 27, 2022.

The roller button is located directly next to the power button. If it’s on, the roller light will be green. But, it will only light up if the vacuum is against the floor. If the vacuum head is flat on the floor like it would be if you want to vacuum and there is no green light showing, it means the roller is not turned on. Therefore, you should turn it on using the button.

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ReadyToDIY is the owner of this article. This post was published on March 27, 2022.

Shark Vacuum Keeps Turning Off (How to Fix)