Stop the presses!
I just got an email about a mechanical problem with a Thumper massager.
A gentleman was wondering if I knew of the possible places to get a malfunctioning Thumper unit working again.
At the time I had no answer for this person (as far as a local repairman) but while researching these percussion massagers I found many reviews mentioning receiving customer service assistance over the phone (with a real person) and being I talked to you about some common but simple repairs to your Thumper massage units.
I’m not sure if these repairs are that simple for every model of massager, but the most common repair for the Thumper I have (MP2) seems to be with the switch and it seems to be a pretty easy fix.
Here are the instructions for correcting a switch that is not working properly.
Thumper Mini Pro Switch Repair – Issues:
- The switch stopped working and no longer “clicks” between settings, making the device unable to turn on or off.
- There is a long delay before the massager starts to vibrate. Can this problem be corrected?
Both of these situations occur when the internal connections of the switch or the switch housing are faulty or broken. I have the same model of Thumper, the MP2, and experienced the same problem.
Correction of the problem:
First you want to check and see if the switch moves freely.
If the switch is sticking or stuck (not making a click), you’ll need to clean the connections and the switch housing (the plastic part the switch slides into), then reattach the switch.
Don’t let the word “reset” scare you (it’s just a cool word for “reassemble”), this is an easy job to do and you won’t need any special tools, just a small flathead screwdriver and maybe a screwdriver. Phillips head should suffice; oh yeah, and some steel wool.
What to do first:
First the unit needs to be opened and the panel behind the switch cleaned and the connection rewired if they are separate from the contact points, if not (and this is often the case) the connection points need to be cleaned
Before unscrewing anything, try this first.:
*Pry up the switch (it’s actually a cover), you’ll see the actual switch underneath.
Once you access the switch, take a swab moistened with 91% isopropyl alcohol and clean the contacts (note that there are multiple sets of contacts that control speeds).
If the plain alcohol swab doesn’t work, roll up some steel wool (a small piece rolled up tightly) and insert it into the switch openings that are clear at the top of the switch (when you have the open switch in front of you). , this will make more sense).
With the steel wool in place, take a small flathead screwdriver and move the steel wool up and down the length of the switch until you see the contacts are clean.
Be sure to move the switch up to clean the lower contacts and down to access the upper ones.
Let’s see if it works:
This is a bit important:
You want to be sure and remove any excess wool particles from the switch before reassembling and testing the switch.
When you plug your Thumper Mini Pro back in, it should work like new in all three speeds.
Enjoy!
If you have any problems or it still doesn’t work, please contact Thumper Inc. at 1-800-848-6737.
Return to the email I received
Unfortunately the switch wasn’t the problem with Mr. C’s unit, his problem sounded a bit more internal than a dirty contact, but the parts he needed were available to him, he just wasn’t interested in fixing the machines himself and didn’t I was not too excited about sending them in for repair due to the exorbitant shipping costs.
He told me they had two Mini Pro’s that needed service and as you can imagine shipping them to Canada and back is expensive.
He wanted to know if there was anyone here in the United States who worked with them.
He got some circuit boards and miscellaneous parts from the dealer he passed by, but he didn’t want to fix them himself (if he could help it).
I told him I haven’t had any deep mechanical issues with any of the pickguards I have, just a minor issue with the switch, but on my website I referenced a review where a guy got quite a bit of help over the phone. .
I can understand if you don’t want to maintain the unit yourself, but it’s nice to know that if you want to, these are owner-repairable (rather than disposable) machines with the right orientation.
I was aware that this wasn’t much help, but I wished him the best of luck.
My personal experience
Unfortunately, I couldn’t help Mr. C with his problem, but I sympathize with him because I have two Thumpers and haven’t experienced any major issues with either of them yet (knock on wood as I write this).
I don’t like having to spend money unnecessarily and shipping to Canada and back for something that weighs 7lbs probably isn’t cheap so I’m very happy that Thumper is willing to provide replacement parts and instructions to get my machine work again. I would miss my Thumper so much if he was gone for three weeks.
Looks like Mr. C would too, why else would he have one of each if they didn’t do exactly what they said they did and did it right?