Stop The Presses!
I just received an e-mail concerning a mechanical problem with a Thumper massager.
A gentleman was asking me if I knew about possible places to get a malfunctioning Thumper unit back to working condition.
At that moment in time, I did not have any answers for this individual (as far as a local repairman) but, while researching these percussion massagers, I did come across many reviews that mentioned receiving assistance from customer service over the phone (with a real person) and being talked through some common but simple repairs on their Thumper massage units.
I am not sure if these repairs are as simple for every massager model but the most common repair for the Thumper I own (MP2) seems to be with the switch and it appears to be a fairly easy fix.
Here are the instructions for correcting a malfunctioning switch.
Fixing The Switch On The Thumper Mini Pro – Problems:
- The switch has stopped working and it no longer “clicks” between settings causing the device to be unable to be switched 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 Thumper, the MP2, and experienced the same problem.
Correcting The Problem:
First you want to check and see if the switch moves freely.
If the switch is jammed or stuck down (not making a clicking sound) you will need to clean the switch connections and switch housing (plastic part the switch slides in) and then refit the switch.
Don’t let the word “refit” scare you (it’s just a cool word for ‘put back together’), this is an easy to do job and you won’t need any special tools, just a tiny flat head screwdriver and maybe a Phillips head screwdriver should do the trick; oh yeah, and a little steel wool.
What To Do First:
First, the unit needs to be opened and the panel behind the switch needs to be cleaned and the connection should be rewired if they are broken away from the contact points, if not, (and this is usually the case) the connection points need to be cleaned.
Before unscrewing anything, try this first:
*Pry off the switch (actually it’s a cover), you will see the actual switch underneath.
Once you access the switch, take a cotton swab wetted with 91% rubbing alcohol and clean the contacts (keep in mind that there are several sets of contacts that control the speeds).
If the simple swab with alcohol doesn’t do the trick, roll up some steel wool (a small piece rolled nice and tight) and stick it into the switch openings that are clear on top of the switch (when you have the switch open in front of you, this will make more sense).
With the steel wool in place, take a small flat screwdriver and moved the steel wool up and down along the switch until you see that the contacts are clean.
Make sure to move the switch up to clean the bottom contacts and down to get access to the top ones.
Let’s See If It Works:
This is kind of important:
You want to be sure and blow any excess wool particles out of the switch before reassembling and testing the switch.
When you plug your Thumper Mini Pro back in it should work just like new in all three speeds.
Enjoy!
If you have any problems or it still isn’t working, please contact Thumper Inc. at 1-800-848-6737.
Getting Back To The E-Mail I Received
Unfortunately the switch was not the problem with Mr. C’s unit, his problem sounded a little more internal then a dirty contact but the parts he needed were made available to him, he just wasn’t interested in fixing the machines himself and he wasn’t to excited about sending them off for repair because of exorbitant shipping costs.
He told me they had two Mini Pros that need service and as you can imagine, shipping them to Canada and back is expensive.
He wanted to know if there was anybody here in the U.S. that works on them?
He received a few circuit boards and miscellaneous parts from the merchant he went through but he didn’t want to get into fixing them himself (if he could avoid it).
I told him that I have not had any deep mechanical problems with either of the thumpers that I own, just a minor switch problem, but on my website I did make reference to a review where a fella got quite a bit of over the phone help.
I can understand not wanting to maintain the unit yourself but its nice to know that, if you were so inclined, these are machines that can be repaired by the owner (as opposed to being disposable) with the correct guidance.
I was aware that this was not much help but I did wish him the best of luck.
My Personal Experience
Unfortunately I was unable to help Mr. C with his problem but I do empathize with him because I own two Thumpers myself and have yet to experience any major problems with either of them (I’m knocking on wood as I type this).
I don’t like having to spend money unnecessarily and a shipping expense to Canada and back for something that weighs 7 lbs is probably not cheap so I am very happy that Thumper is willing to provide replacement parts and instructions to get my machine going again, I would truly miss my Thumper if it was gone for three weeks.
It sounds like Mr. C would too, why else would he have one of each if they didn’t do exactly what they said they do and do it well.
