How To Pull Apart A Nilfisk King Vacuum To Access Cord Retract & Switch 

Millones de gracias de Leganés, Madrid, España. Gracias a este vídeo he evitado comprar un aspirador nuevo. Millions of thanks from Leganés, Madrid, Spain. Thanks to this video I have avoided buying a new vacuum cleaner.

This is now a very old video, but thank goodness these things stay up seemingly forever. I still have a GM 410 that works brilliantly, extra strong vacuum with the newer synthetic bags and all other bits (including the rotating brush head) in good working condition. However, the three wheels started to crumble and I needed to replace them. Replacements were easy enough for me to get (still!) and Alec, you video helped me see how to dismantle the thing to get to the rear wheels. So a big thank you, as the manuals that are available are not particularly helpful in visualisation and gotcha lookouts. Thank you.

Fantastic. I would have spent hours trying to figure out how to pull it apart and even longer putting it back together. Saved me having to buy a whole new vacuum cleaner. Thanks!!

Hepa filter at the bottom, white paperish filter before this plastic after the vacuum bag and another square hard sponge like behind. No idea this 540 had so many filters. This is the second time the retracter fails but this machine is already lasting us 7 years. Now I can replace the retractor myself and save 50 Euro. Thank you and great explanation. Would never have been able to figure it out myself how to get inside. Thank you from Belgium and keep up the good videos!

I don’t know if you will read this, but if you do, be advised you just saved my life, what with the wife asking me what I want all these tools for if I can’t fix a “simple” vacuum cleaner.

Hi Alec - Thank you for this very clear demonstration. I am afraid I am the poorest guy on the planet when doing home repair and with this video it went 100% OK the very first time. My wife and I are so grateful ! Take care and keep on recording useful tricks like this one !

Just great. My 21 years old Nilfisk just got a new lease on life thanks to your video that allowed me to open it up (without any damage) and change the worn wheels ! Thanks a lot

Pleasure to watch someone who knows what they are doing. Thank you.

Thanks Alec, you saved me demolishing my vacuum cleaner attempting to get it apart : )

Thx Alec! You made my life a lot easier 😊 Bert from Belgium

Great video, could not have taken my Nilfisk King to fix the cord rewind without Alex's instructions. Very well done Alex!

Sooooo many thanks for that vid!! Me, 48, F, trying to replace the wheels on my Nilfisk GM 420, finally knows how to unscrew the whole thing, to get to the wheelplates underneath the motor. THANK YOU!!!!

Hi Alec, I have just watched your video regarding the Nielfisk King vacumcleaner as mine was broke. - I had actually given up opening the damed thing when I thought of searcing for a video on RU-vid - in my case the problem was easily fixed by changing the plug - just like in your demo video. - Thank you for saving me the cost for a new vacumcleaner.

Alec, thanks to your video my Nilfisk King 540 is working again and saved me a purchase of a new one

Hi, Alec! Thank you so much for your explanations ! I opened my twenty years old Nilfisk King to clean it (because of silly) cat pee and will use this opportunity to repair the access cord retract. Not done yet but I think that I can find help for the electric side of the problem. You seem very sympathetic to me! I hope you are still fit.

Thanks Alec, from Scotland, for taking the time to make the vid, much appreciated. You equipped me with the confidence to do what I thought had to be done to remove the front flip-down door. Hoots mon.

Hi Alec - my husband and I have just followed your video to release a tangled cord on our old and beloved Nilfisk - first problem we've had with it. Thanks so much for a very helpful and clear demonstration of all the tricky bits which we would never have found - or would have broken things!

bedankt voor de info , na 10 jaar dienst eerste panne opgelost dank zij uw video (breuk in kabel aan ingang span rol ) groetjes uit Mol - België

Many thanks Alec. I just replaced the retraction mechanism following your instructions on how to open and close the Nilfisk GM. Saved me a lot of time.

Thanks for the guide on removing the skirt and the nylon band; I was struggling until I saw this video.

Thanks for this video. My cord wouldn't roll up. With your video I could take apart the nilfisk. With a little tinkering it worked again. I'm very happy. Thanks for teaching !

You almost showed what I was looking for. Changing the rear wheels on a King 540. So I followed the steps taking the Nilfisk apart. But I only needed to replace the rear wheels. They were falling apart after 20 years. Finally found the holes for the screws, one on each side. So I did not have to remove the motor. Somehow I damaged the cord retract. Fully functional until I started messing with the Nilfisk. Will fix that some other day. Thanks anyway for showing how to take the machine apart. I would never have figured that out myself. By the way, rear wheels are out of stock in Europe. But ordering 12009300 for GD 1000 and GS/GM 90 series instead fixed that problem. The wheels fit, the supplied spare parts do not. Who cares about that and different color. Use the spare parts from King 540 and save the supplied parts for a rainy day. Front wheel is still in stock and a lot easier to change.

Bonjour Alec from Paul in Paris, France! I was in my kitchen, fighting with the opening that VC i found abandoned in the street, wire cut short.... no success and i found your video, thanks to yo! So i go back to work in my kitchen now... thanks again

Thanks a lot for showing how to pull this apart without damaging anything. Now I can fix the retract so the cable does not rewind itself while vacuuming.

Superb Video! My vacuum cleaner would have ended up in the bin without you!!!

Thank you very much! I could have never opened my King 520 in order to repair the brittle "tyres" of the wheels without your instructions! Great help!

Hi Alec, thanks for the video. I had a problem with the cord retract and found out I have to exchange it. Luckily I could find a spare part on the internet, so the spare part including your video saved myself the hassle of buying a new vacuum cleaner.... and really goodexplanation in the video! I could fix and re-asseble the cleaner back to how it was!

Great video Alec! Fixed our Nilfisk 516 today after watching your video. Many thanks all the way from cold Sweden. Cheers, Ulf Jonsson

Great ! Got my king open in 10 minutes ! Couldn't figure out how to open it before. Thanks ! (cable was broken/cut in the center of the cablespool after 10 years of use) I cut away 10 cm of cable and soldered it back on. works fine now.

Thank you for brilliant instruction. My loved old Nilfisk 530 came to life again with a new cord. The new powersaving EU 700W vacumcleaner, I have tried them ... is nothing compered to this Nilfisk 530... powerful and god quality. But thank you for the video I would never maneged to repair it withoth your instruktions.👍

Hi Alec, Thanks, it is now all fixed my son had to do both ends to get it working again, so hopefully will have a few more years of use out of it. :)

Thanks Alec. A very helpful video of how to get into the machine without damaging it. Easy when you know how!

Thanks for saving the old faithful vac from landfill , great instructions , ours was the plug as well 👍🏻✅

Many thanks, now my Nilfisk Seasons is working again!!! Looking for hours how to pull it out... And in 5 minutes after looking the video.

Awesome video Alec. Thanks very much. I would have destroyed the vacuum for sure without knowing the correct procedure for disassembly. All back together and working fine now. Thanks again.

Alec, Super video!! Well made and it explains it all.. The nilfisk king is the best vacuun ever made. All parts are avialable just opening the machine is difficult because no screws are used. However thanks to your instruction it is very clear to me. Thanks again for your help in this regard. Ing.L.Verscheure MBA the neteherlands

Hi Helen, It is possible to repair the retract of a GM420. The centre part of the retract will come out if you release the tiny tabs that hold it in place then you can shorted the cord and re-terminate it. It is a tricky repair but definitely can be done. If that doesn't work just put a new retract unit in the machine. They are super easy to fit.

Thanks Alec for a sharing this with us .... very interesting and informative. It's always great to be able to have-a-go yourself at fixing stuff ...

Hi Alec. Perhaps you are no longer with Vacuum Spot, but a quick thanks for a guide on how to pull apart this vacuum. My vacuum's cable retract will not lock/stay unfurled. this issue is not addressed in the video, so I hope somewhere there is a solution... Let me know (or whomever manages this channel now)

Thanks a lot! This was very helpful resulting in an easy and fast repair - without this video I would have broke vital parts. Ib, Denmark.

Alec you are a complete legend. Great video thanks helped a lot.

Very helpful. Managed to disassemble/reassemble without any tools at all. Cord rewind not holding. Turns out one of the rubber brake wheels is not there at all. Looking to see if I can find one. Seems a waste to replace the whole cord rewind mechanism. NOTES: 1. Front lid tabs are held by barbs pointing towards the centre of the lid. Unclipped by hand but a small screwdriver would make it easier with less risk of damage. 2. Silicone tube seal on bottom case round the front needs to be checked it is seated properly. 3. Nylon ring tended to dislodge on my machine when replacing the bump ring - make sure it stays in the right place when reassembling.

Hi Alec I have been asked to look at a GM 210 (UK Model) that has stopped working and I could not figure out how to remove the skirt to gain access to the machine.(not a screw in sight) Your video is excellent and shows everything in great detail. Many thanks IvorMac

Thank you! It was very helpful. I needed to open the vacuum and fix the spring of the power cable winder.

Thanks Alec - very helpful and easy to understand - thanks a lot Alex

Hi Alec, your video is still useful. Just repaired muy Nilfisk king. Thanks!

nice work Alec. I just pulled mine apart to change those freakin castor wheels. Now I know how to get it back together. Cheers to you big fella !

Spot On Thank you very much It was great to see how you opened the vacuum and the tips were great help, John

Thanks, great video as it helped me to replace the 3 wheels - where the soft light-grey plastic was disintegrating. Replacement wheels ordered and with your video I was all set and done in approx 40 minutes.

Hi There, Unfortunately the retract isn't really made to be repaired as such. I have tried a few different repairs to patch up this retract but honestly they rarely work. I am thinking the solution is for you to replace the retract as a unit. Once you do this the machine will last for ages the retract is always where you get issues with this series and once its replace it should be good to go for ages. Happy New Year

Thanks Alec , it was very helpful , without this video , i woud have probably broke something . paul holland

Thanks, great video as it helped me to replace the 2 wheels.

Had it fixed in no time at all, thanks.

The screwdriver only needs to be inserted ONCE only at the very front of the machine, where the lip is. No need to mark the body at all. The rest is pulled off with the fingers, although you do tend to break finger nails!! Andy (Ex Nilfisk)

Me ha solucionado todas mis dudas sobre el aspirador.

Ah thanks, this one really confused me the first time I had to repair one of these :) Glad to help.

Awesome video - I was wondering how to take it apart. actually thought of sawing it open :) Thanks!

You are a genius Alec ! Thanks a lot !

Thank you very much! Your Video was a great help for us! Greetings from Austria!

Thank you so much for the video. I could opened the vacuum and extract the whole cable without breaking any part. The retract unit it is stuck, since there is a metal stripe twisted and it is not easy to repair for me. So I will figure out a way to roll it up after using it.

Great video, thanks, sorted my nilfisk out. thanks!

Such a great help. Really helpfull - managed process easily following the video.

Thankyou very much helped me replace wheels. 👍🇦🇺

great!!!! would have liked it when you told something about the switches, because with our 25 year old Nilfisk GM210 (same machine) the two speed switch is not functioning properly. but now at least I know how to take it apart. thanks again. from Amsterdam.

Thanks for this, I had to replace the wheels on mine because they were all falling apart. I wouldn't have known how to get the top off. I do wonder if there's a way to repair the cord retract stop, I've been using a clothespin as a fix.

Merci, je ne savais pas comment ouvrir l'aspirateur 👌

Great video!

What about the support post at the back? Had someone before you chucked it away? Remember the top of the range has the park switch on it. Andy (Ex Nilfisk)

I’m currently trying to get inside a Nilfisk GM170 and it’s killing me! I’m wondering if they’ve considered going into the business of making tanks as well as vacuum cleaners....there’s no collar on the GM170, but at least your video has given me a few ideas as to where I might try poking the screwdriver, so thanks!

Very helpful - thanks for sharing Alec!

That was very useful. You've really helped me out!

UPDATE Turned out to be a simple job (after I got the machine apart that is) One of the female spade connectors had come off a male terminal on the take up reel. I tightened both female terminals with pliers, just to be sure, and reseated them. Easy when you know how, thanks to Alec.....

Great video and a big help for me to take apart the cleaner.. My problem is that after normal use ... next time i needed to vacume, id did not turn on ?. Så i did the cable fiks. But i dident help. Do you have an advise on what else to look fore ?

great info.Thanks,saved me a lot of work. Thomas

Hi Alec, many thanks for this video. Helped me to open my Nilfisk King 511. But my problem itself is not fixed: whilst vacuum-cleaning the power cord slides back in slowly. Took out the little rubber brake wheel inside the power cord unit and roughened it a little with sandpaper, but doesn't help. Any tips? greetings from Kim Clijsters country : Belgium, the opposite side of the globe!

Good video Alec, but I need to know how to change rear fixed wheels. Thanx mate.

Hi, great video on opening the unit up! I've a 10 year old King 540. It's giving a burning smell when turned on (after about 5secs). Might the motor brushes need replacing ? Is that an easy job ? Any other ideas ? Thanks!

Hi Alex, I have the exact model vacuum that you fixed here, but my problem is not with the power, it's the cord retractor. It has a tiny broken piece which I have tried repairing it a couple of times, but unfortunately it is a weak spot. I have acquired a not working vacuum of a similar model, but unfortunately the cord has been cut off. However the retractor unit seems to work fine. You mention in your video that it is possible to disassemble the retractor unit, but say it is largely unsuccessful. I am willing to give it a go but I can't seem to see how you disassemble it and would be interested to know why you say it is a largely unsuccessful repair?

Hi Alec, thanks for your help, because I don’t found a way to come in. At my GM 405 the power button gets broken. Greetings from Austria

No Problem, I love these machines to work on, the new ones by comparison require about 20 screws and take me 5 times longer to get into :(

great video, so clear and great tips!

Brilliant Man. I just don't retract the cord on my king, because I've repaired my brothers several times.

Great video. Unfortunately, with my GM200E it's not simply the plug, rather the power cable sleeve (the outside black plastic covering of the cable) has parted right where it comes out of the retractor spool "core" and the neutral (blue) wire has torn apart - leaving the whole cable hanging by the live wire only. Would love to know how to disassemble the retractor itself !

Hi Alec Thank You so much for this great tutorial I am going to get my son who is good with Electrics to view it & have a go at fixing my GM420. I have another son who didn't want to help clean the car so he got angry & pulled really hard as he was pulling out the retractable cord it went intermittently for a couple of uses but now it has no power :( . How likely is it he will be able to fix it if the wires are broken at the motor end?

Great vid, thanks Alec. My 530 cuts off and on while using it. I tried replacing the plug but it seems to be a loose wire somewhere else-any ideas?

Hi Alex. Great videos thank you. Question for you. Will a Nilfisk X300 cord retract work/fit in a Nilfisk 400 King Thank you

thanks mate , saved my day..

Thanks Alec! Great video, very helpful. Nico.

Thanks - Without your help I'd have mangled everything by now!

Perfect explanation!

Brilliant. I just got mine repared

great video, thanks! i repaired my "520" !!

Hi Alec, I have an old fashion Nilfisk GM 415 and I would like to change the back wheels, are there way to acces to the floor without disassembling completely the vacuum

Hello, can you also show how to dismantle the cord retract and replace with a new one. There some electrical wires to remove. Thanks. Peter

Super Video! 😀

Hello Alec. I really appreciated your video on how to pull apart a Nilfisk King. It helped me to replace correctly the piece of plastic that holds the filter. But my problem is because of the bad position of the filter some dust got into the engine.... So I would like to remove the engine and if necessary to replace it . Is it accessible for a non Professional ? because your video about engine removing is about another Nilfisk model !!! Hope you can help me :-)

hi i have GM 310 got the guts to open it up, expect my VC will be on the road again.

Hi Alec, I have a nilfisk king special. Is it possible to just replace the cable on the reel. ? Without buying a new genuine replacement. My cable failed about a meter from the vacuum, very odd as there isn't a mark on the outer insulation. I diagnosed it with a non contact AC tester. Good vacuum but I can't justify nilfisk parts prices but if I can save the vacuum I'll try.

Wow wish I had known that for the last few years. I actually called Nilfisk the first time and got no help. I have been a Nilfisk agent for years myself but at the beginning I guess I was expected to already know as there was no support for new service agents.

TX! Great Vid! My Cord Retract isn't working anymore ... do you think i can fix it?