Dyson DC03 Switch Removal and Cable Replacement

Removing the switch unit from a Dyson DC03 in order that you can access the power switch and the mains lead (flex): Now the Dyson DC03’s are getting a little elderly, the cable occasionally breaks inside the sheathing near to where it enters the machine. This can cause intermittent operation as the break in the wire opens and closes as the machine is moved around and the cable flexes. Occasionally, the power switch itself may fail necessitating replacement.

The coloured button itself must be removed first. The power button on a Dyson DC03 depresses at the front to power the machine on and off, and pivots at the back. In order to be able to remove it without breaking it, you must first understand exactly how and where it pivots. The picture below is of a DC03 switch unit out of the machine but reassembled so you can see the pivot point.

Dyson DC03 Power Switch Unit

The arrow in the photo is indicating the pivot point.

In order to remove the button, you need to place a slim blade down the side of the switch button, at each side, to dislocate the pegs from the holders. The hard part is knowing exactly where to place your blade at each side, which is why I showed you a switch unit removed, but re-assembled with the button in place. You need to be careful doing this bit as the plastic may crack while you are manipulating it.

Dyson DC03 On Off Button Removal

I use a Dyson DC04 switch removal tool to do this as you can see from the photo above (they have a million uses).

Having removed the button, there is a Torx T15 screw to be removed. The location can be seen by the arrow in the photo below.

Dyson DC03 Power Switch Unit

Now the unit, switch and cable will all slide out as one unit giving you access to change or repair the cable, test or replace the switch and other electrical troubleshooting.

13 Responses to “Dyson DC03 Switch Removal and Cable Replacement”

  1. Brilliant. It worked a treat

  2. Steve Hammond on May 15th, 2015 at 12:34 pm

    Thanks works a treat. Now to figure out the cable protector replacement!

  3. I can’t get the cable protector off – it seems to be bonded to the cable.

    As far as the torx screw is concerned – I was able to use a terminal driver, although I do have a torx driver that fits; I think it’s a “15”.

  4. Thanks – worked well. To get the cable out of the cable protector I cut the cable 2cm either side of the protector. I then clamped the loose end of the cable in a vice, then twisted the protector very tight in one direction, then very tight in the other direction. After repeated goes the cable eventually came out of the protector.

  5. Thank you very much for your post – sucessfully fixed the DC03’s frayed and split cord near the strain relief.

    I was disgusted with the response I received when I phoned Dyson Australia’s help line in April 2016. “Oh, your DC03 is very old and we don’t have parts anymore for that machine”. Well, that’s the last time I buy a Dyson then! I reminded them that there’s another rival that advertises that their machines are built and tested to last 20 years, so Dyson should try harder.

    Anyhoo, I followed the instructions above, using three flexible butter knives (!), and the switch popped out without a hitch. Once the torx screw was removed, I was able to access the power connections. I shortened the cord by about 10cm, threading it through the strain relief, which eliminated the part of the cord that was previously split.

    I then reconnected the blue and brown wires with new spade / push-on clamps (AUD$2.80 for 8 pieces) back to the terminals. The replacement push-on clamps weren’t identical to the previous ones, but were a secure fit, so it mattered not one bit. BTW, that bit required a crimping tool, which I happened to have in the toolkit.

    So, effectively for a cost of AUD$0.70, and about 30 minutes of my own time, I fixed the vacuum cleaner, which Dyson would have advised me to throw away.

  6. Thanks for the post. I just couldn’t see how to get the switch out but remedied with your info and two knives. The mains lead had snapped (live only) so rather than remake the terminals, I just fitted a single connector block in the live (and insulated it with tape) and then by pulling through a little extra cord, fitted it down inside the body of the upright section of the vacuum. Just a word of warning, when you undo the torx screw and pull the switch housing out, hang on to the switch spring; it’ll save you a lot of searching!

  7. One of my Allen keys fits the torx 15.

  8. Followed instructions on this site, piece of cake. Have been meaning to repair cable for about 3 years, sat down this morning it took about 1 hour including a coffee break, and some soldering in the switch connections.

  9. well looks like im not alone . ive lost all power to machine, its had a very suspect cord just where it enters machine, so im assuming its the cord , anyway tahnks for the instructions with very current positive feed back. probably the most certain ive felt on taking instructions for a task ive felt, 🙂 cheers

  10. Fantastic instructions for removing the switch on a Dyson DC03. Thank you very much for posting this.
    I too had a damaged cable which had shorted immediately before entering the strain relief.
    I see that a lot of people have had difficulty removing the cable from the strain relief. It is very tight, though the bonding is not that strong – if there at all.
    I found that spraying the strain relief with a penetrant lubricating spray, such as WD-40 – which is what I used, helps tremendously. It seeps between the inner walls of the strain relief and the outer sheath of the cable, easing the pull through of the cable. Grabbing the switch side of the cable tightly in one whilst holding the strain relief in your other, you can pull the cable through. initially it is tight, but once the initial bond is broken it pulls through easily.
    I hope this helps somebody in the future.
    Thanks again DysonMedic.

  11. Great, thanks.
    Instead of attaching new spade connectors, I taped up the faulty bare cable and pulled 3
    ” or so of cable through inside and tucked it down the shaft where it would do no harm.

  12. Changing power cable on the DC03, the hint to take of the push button Thanks work a treat it was given to me by my aunt.
    Steve.

  13. Even 10 years after – it was great support reading how to open the head of power-switch for changing power cord. Thank you very much !

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