Philips Sonicare DiamondClean toothbrush repair
After being dropped a few times, my wife's Philips Sonicare DiamondClean toothbrush started vibrating poorly or not at all. The last drop was almost vertical landing on the toothbrush end. Being relatively expensive, I took a shot at repairing it.
Disassembly
There are plenty of articles and youtube videos describing disassembly. What ended up working for me without scoring the housing too much was to wrap the bottom end in thick cardboard, and repeatedly gently squeezing the housing just above the end with multi-grips, rotating 90° each time, until the end cap began to pop out. Then using a small flat screwdriver to prise the cap out.
As described in the videos, prise the tabs holding the mechanism with a small flat screwdriver, and slide the mechanism out.
Repair
There's a few articles and youtube videos describing various fixes, battery replacement, etc, but none seemed to cover my issue.
The mechanical part of the toothbrush comprises a pair of electromagnetic coils, and just above, a permanent magnet attached to a coupling, and finally to the output shaft. The issue in this case was that the electromagnet had moved too close to the permanent magnet. In order to vibrate, there must be a gap between the electromagnet and the permanent magnet. The last time the toothbrush was dropped, it's likely the electromagnet shifted slightly.
The position of the electromagnet can be adjusted after loosening a small adjusting screw. After loosening the screw, use two small flat screwdrivers to wedge in between the electromagnet and permanent magnet. Ideally, the gap should be fairly small, less than 1mm. Tighten the adjusting screw, and test before reassembly.
See Also
- iFixit guide I discovered after fixing my Sonicare. This article also points out the existence of a second screw which I had missed!
