How to Fix Your Vibrator

Vibrators frequently fail, especially with heavy use. But this doesn’t mean you have to give up and buy a new toy every time your vibe malfunctions. We took a few broken vibrators from our test lab and did some troubleshooting to show how you can fix your own sex toys at home with a few simple tools.

Vibrating Dildo

Malfunction: Dead. This vibrator just quit working all together. Nothing happened when you switched it on.

Disassembly: We carefully pried the base of the pink rubber dildo from around the vibrator battery/control unit and separated it.

Then we removed the bullet vibrator from inside the dildo. After inspecting the battery unit and attached wires, we determined that the problem was most likely in the motor. The vibrator motor was housed in a white plastic case.

We cut through the case with a Dremel tool, but then ended up prying it apart and breaking half the case in the process.

Cause of Problem: Loose wire. One of the wires to the vibrator motor had loosened at the soldering point and become disconnected, probably knocked loose by the constant motion of the vibrator unit.

Solution: We soldered the loose wire back in place.

Outcome: We got the vibrator motor working again. We replaced the top half of the plastic bullet vibrator housing, which shields the moving weighted element of the vibrator.

We stuffed the vibrator and its wires back into the shaft of the dildo and glued the base back together with silicone caulking. The vibrator now functions normally. Repair successful.

Tools and Materials Used: Dremel tool, screwdriver, soldering iron and solder, silicone caulk.

Pink Pearl Bullet Vibrator

Malfunction: Noisy motor. The vibrator was making an irregular high-pitched loud whining and grating sound, especially at higher speeds.

Disassembly: We cut through the vibrator’s plastic case with a Dremel tool cutting wheel.

Opening the motor up involved releasing two metal tabs on each side of the housing, then sliding it apart.

Cause of Problem: Dirty motor. The inside of the motor was filthy, especially the area where the armature met the copper commutator bars. It was covered with bits of black debris.

Solution: We cleaned the armature and copper bars with a Q-tip dipped in alcohol,

then applied a dab of Vaseline as lubricant. We replaced the motor housing and bent the tabs back into place.

Outcome: After being cleaned and lubed, the motor ran very quietly and smoothly. The noise was completely gone. We glued the two halves of the case back together with silicone caulking.

The vibrator works better and more quietly than it did when new. Repair successful.

Tools and Materials Used: Dremel tool, screwdriver, Q-tip, Vaseline, silicone caulk.

Rabbit Vibrator

Malfunction: Rotor not working properly. The vibe’s rotating shaft and pearl pack would only turn in one direction, or sometimes not at all.

Disassembly: We cut around the base of the vibrator with a utility knife, carefully avoiding the wires. The wiring for the bullet vibe inside the clit-tickling rabbit was attached to the wiring for the motor driving the shaft rotor, so we removed both at the same time. The shaft rotor consisted of a plastic-covered metal rod that was crooked in the middle (to stir the pearl bead pack) and slightly bent at the end to rotate the dildo in a circular fashion. We removed the casing of the motor and discovered a complex set of gears driving the device. Unscrewing two screws at the top gave us access to the gears and allowed their removal.

Cause of Problem: Gears disengaged. The topmost gear that actually drove the shaft was not fully engaging; it was wobbling on its axis, allowing it to slip.

The problem seemed to lie in the machining of the gear itself. The top didn’t fit securely into the hole that was supposed to hold it, so it was moving horizontally.

Solution: We attempted a couple of fixes. First we tried to make a more defined nub on the top of the gear by filing it with a Dremel tool. When this failed, we tried to put a plug of silicone caulk in the hole to keep the gear from slipping around so much.

Outcome: Repair failed. We were unable to get the rotor to function normally. Short of machining an entirely new gear for the motor, we don’t think there is anything that could be done.

However, we put the rabbit vibe back together and it is still functional as a dildo with a vibrating clit stimulator. And we took out the pearl beads and made a necklace out of them.

Tools and Materials Used: Standard screwdriver, Philips head screwdriver, utility knife, Dremel tool, silicone caulk. Needle and thread, screw clasp to make the necklace.