How to fix a paper shredder when AUTO doesn't work

[@shuveb]

Going by the number of comments, it looks like the auto-sensor issue is super common, making this model a clear failure. But, this trick works. Saves money and saves the the world from more plastic and electronic waste.

[@lguapo811]

Thank you man! I have the same shredder and after 12 years it kicked the bucket, well at least the sensor did. This helped me fix it. Owe you a beer when you come down to Guatemala. Cheers.

[@nGissFY]

Thanks for the video! In the end I was able to save both directions by bypassing the relay (which is normally operated by the light gate), so now it goes forward on Auto and goes back on Rev

[@narf444]

thanks for the advice. how did you do that exactly?

[@joeduffy52]

I can verify this fix works on an Amazon Basics shredder bought in the UK mid-2020. I cut and rejoined the yellow to green, and green to yellow, and the motor now runs in the correct direction to shred when the switch is set to Reverse. Saved me £40/50 on a new shredder. Thanks KSAL0217.

[@d3rsauger]

Kurz und knapp auf deutsch: Verbindet das gelbe (von der Platine kommend) mit dem grünen Kabel (vom Motor oben kommend). Der Motor wird dadurch bei der Reversefunktion wieder normal angesteuert, bzw. er läuft dann vorwärts und nicht rückwärts. Die Autofunktion hat weiterhin keine Funktion mehr. Papierstau sollte in Zukunft vermieden werden :P Thx for the video. It saved my shredder !!!!

[@dtisme2]

Had problem with my Fellowes shredder when auto didn't work. I could turn it on and feed a sheet, but it wouldn't recognize a sheet was in the slot until I turned it on. Found from Fellowes site that there are two sensors in center of the feed slot - look like little marbles, one on top and one on bottom, directly across from each other. I cleaned both with Q-tip in rubbing alcohol as directed and it works fine now. Luckily mine no longer had a little plastic flap that covers the feed slot, so I could see the 2 sensors easily - the one that was the culprit was the top one at the back of the slot, almost touching the cover/top. It took like 10 years for auto not to work on mine, but very glad it was such an easy fix!! Fellowes also says some models have a mechanical sensor that sometimes gets stuck in down position (i.e. it thinks a piece of paper is pushing it down) and you have to get a pair of tweezers to pull it back into position. Thought I'd share in case that's your issue.

[@mikem7159]

Excellent fix. Kept me from tossing a completely usable device into the trash. Thanks, definitely a 👍

[@bernardofrias2363]

I was about to throw this shredder out and buy a new one. But I thought I should check for the fix to save some money. Thank you you so much for posting this! It works!

[@comeNfeelthenoise]

Thank you my man! I took mine apart, cleaned, banged it a little...tested the switch, which luckily worked again in AUTO and put it back together. I was lucky I didn't need to swap wires, but I was prepared to because of this video, which I found very useful and funny...."out of warranty....that's BS" LOL

[@inzanefu]

amazon basics 8 sheets shredder, same design, almost same mainboard layout, same auto sensor problems, easily fixed thanks to you. big thumbs up!!!

[@MrCcarter7]

Great job! I just went to use my fellowes paper shredder and had the same exact problem. I was also going to try to bypass the sensor switch and had in mind that reversing the lines to the motor or reversing polarity should work and your video confirmed this theory. Thanks for posting this video! God bless in Jesus' name!

[@The_Macaroon]

Identical to amazon basics model. So I did this exact mod to mine. Same color wires and it turned out great. Many thanks! This is why KZbin is great!

[@stanzibar]

GENIUS!! I just did what you showed and it works perfectly with the switch in the Reverse position! THANK YOU!!

[@stanskowronski5413]

Cut and reconnected the yellow wires to the green wires. Worked great; shredder and reverse works. Thanks.

[@xxetniesxx]

Thanks for the video. Just a side note, the Yellow and Green wires are simply held in place on the motor with a little tab that you can push down and slide the blade out of the housing (careful, the spring-loaded brushes are being held in by the wires). Simply undoing and swapping these wires you can accomplish the same end-result as what you have in your video without the need to cut or solder any wires.

[@rogerb3641]

great tip! just did it to a small fellowes one and it works great. thanks

[@gardencity3558]

Thganks for this vid! Opened mine up and just cleaned out some paper shreds caught by the switch and "Auto" worked again. Took 10 min saved $100.

[@markusbrainus]

My shredder suffered a similar problem where it stopped running in forward mode. After debugging the board components for a while I elected to copy your solution. My wiring was a little different but I swapped the polarity of the reverse override and now it runs forward. Thanks for the video!

[@rolf.k.5120]

Thanks for your video! This surely will help to increase sustainability by avoiding early electronic scrap. I made some measurement on the circuit board in my shredder, which is similar to yours and found two degraded HQX capacitors (100 nF/ 275 VAC) who only had about 10% of their rated capacity. After replacing them, the shredder worked fine again.

[@jesusrey4786]

Extremely useful recommendation in relation to the change of capacitors. With that information I have repaired my shredder. Thank you so much!!! 👏👏

[@karenengel291]

Worked! We have an Ativa MD460 - so splicing/reversing the yellowgreen to one another was exactly the same as in the video. TIP - there is one HIDDEN screw under a label so you need to find it to disassemble. I do not recommend "testing" it with the unit open or wires exposed. If you have this make there's a good chance the wire colors are the same - switch them, tape them up and close it up and it will work. If it doesn't - time to get another shredder anyway.

[@njtexit8]

I have a Omnitech shredder with the same problem. However, it had more wires than yours --- 8 wires in total from that printed circuit board I didn't have any idea how to figure which was which and what they did. I ended up cutting the black and red wires that went from the printed circuit board to the sensor. These wires were smaller gauge (thinner) than the wires that went to the motor. After cutting the sensor wires, I ended up with 4 ends. I soldered together the red and black ends of the wires that went to the printed circuit board. The red and black ends of the wires that went to the broken sensor were left hanging. I now have a working shredder. Thanks.

[@bierullo2022]

Works. Young man you are a genious. Thanks,

[@timroetoolman]

Thank you very much! Just did this on the AmazonBasics 6 sheet shredder. Only hitch I had was that one of the screws was hidden by a warranty sticker. Took a few minute to figure out why it wouldn't come apart!

[@smithgov]

A few things. I got what looks to be the same exact shredder at Amazon. It was the Amazon branded shredder. I purchased it about 2 years ago and also maybe have used 30 times. For no reason auto feature stopped working. Worse, you could hear the motor sound but the teeth not moving, then foul smelling smoke from the unit. Took it apart thinking something stuck in the gears or teeth. But both gears and teeth turned in both directions when I turned them manually. Getting ready to toss all of this metal and plastic into the rubbish can, which I hate to do as such a huge waste. But instead searched for this issue online and came across your video. Well you are correct, definitely ghetto, but also it worked! I did exactly as you suggested and the thing works the same way. Like you said I don't have to throw it out nor buy a new one, or clogged up another dump. Just need to be careful not putting too much paper in there so the reverse feature is not needed.....THANK YOU!!!

[@bigbluewater9030]

Thanks for posting! Easy fix without a cost. Worked for me.

[@SeongMoKim]

I had the idea but not really what wires were what. Thanks a million for this video!

[@MrSuperfly55]

WOW thank you for this! Saved my shredder. I didn't end up cutting & taping the wires though, I ended up just switching them into each other's little sockets. Had to take the shredder apart some more but not that hard once you're in there. Thanks again, you rock!

[@AtomicElectronCo]

This worked great! Thanks. Brilliant and simple idea....you beat me to it! Of course, anyone who does this must be aware that this overrides the safety stuff as you operate in manually....so my advice to anyone who does this would also be DO AT YOUR OWN RISK. If you tinker with shit and you're careless or not to smart you'll get hurt/killed so DON'T DO IT unless you want to risk getting SHREDDED! I thought saving 80 bucks or so is worth the risk....but that's just me.

[@Sarge95695]

My Fellowes 220 shredder is obsolete (since 2013) and parts are no longer available. Still works in reverse, this may be a way to get another 10 years out of it.

[@TikaTheOriginal]

Thank you so much!! I fixed my office depot shredder with ease and save myself some coins...yaaaaas!! You're the bomb!!🤗

[@jessicagamez2176]

Thank you so much!. It work in my Aurora WM830XA, even the cables were the same color! You save me some money 😄💰 2 times

[@yolvonnegillespie9136]

Thanks. Extremely easy fix. Taking the new one I bought back to today!

[@colorocko1]

I have the same problem with Ativa Vortex HS1000. Helps a lot. Thank you!

[@vaun7109]

Bro I just did this and it worked. thanks a lot mate.

[@jndnaps]

Had the same problem with my old Royal paper shredder and it ended up being a bad safety switch. Just discoed and bypassed it and it works fine now.

[@anthonydame2721]

Hi ! First thanks for this video . I got a similar issue on auto position, the shredder work really bad. When I put some paper it take many second before I can ear the motor to slowly begin to turn. I open the machine and I use a voltmeter right on the sensor. The probleme is that the current is slowly uprise from 0 to 3V then when the current reached 3V the motor turns good. So I suspected more a condensator than the sensors but my knoweldge of electronics is pretty bad so I guess I will do like you (I had the idea but wasn't sure how to proceed), I try to short the sensor with no success . Time past and the delay (between when the paper is inserted and the motor have a suffisent powerfull input signal voltage) is getting longer, this noise like a suffering machine break my heart, so no choice I will invert the cables. If someone have sufficient knoweldge in electronics (and time) it would be helpfull for a lot of people to know if it's the sensors or an other electronic component that need a change. thanks again !

[@anngelicci]

How do you shred with it in reverse? Do you use it flipped over?

[@KSAL0217]

When switch the wires on the motor it causes reverse to go forward and pull paper down (shredding it)instead of turning backwards and moving the paper out

[@hzqtc]

Thanks so much. Mine had exactly the same wires and the same issue. Fixed now.

[@DzonSki]

It is good workaround but you lost reverse gear. I had similar problem in my Amazon Basic one and problem was a capacitor on module - it lost about half of capacity and after replacing starting capacitor (in your case red one, can't see any other near motor) for about 0,5 Euro everything works fine. For the moment suppose infra red LED + receiver but replacing with set from working one didn't help.

[@joeshmoe7789]

I think I would've looked for the sensor and see if it could be cleaned. If not, bypass it. Could also check e bay for new sensor if you could ID it. Now you have no reverse for jams.

[@andykim7]

thank you for saving me $80! gotta love the internet! :)

[@Texasbird026]

My auto feed does not work either. I just turned the reverse switch on and flipped the shred top upside down. Feeding paper through what was the underside shreds the paper just fine. No need to take it apart.

[@AubsUK]

I had the same issue with mine. As an easier fix, I've de-soldered the red/purple on both sensors, as just doing the receiver did nothing, and it's now working always ON in the AUTO mode. I'd rather fix it properly, but I'm not sure where to start.

[@PRL1290]

DUDE!!! Thank you, my paper shredder is now fixed.

[@AtomicElectronCo]

This idea beats all the others, actually....I use my REV switch to turn it on and the AUTO partially works (backwards now) for just a couple seconds at a time....long enough to clear it if something is jammed. I had different color scheme on the wires....BLACK, WHITE, RED, YELLOW. After looking closely, it seems there are sets of two wires or two pairs. a "POWER" pair and a "CONTROL" pair. The object of this ghetto-fix is to switch the control pair and leave the power pair alone. Black and white are typical in europe for being AC 220 on many appliances so that helped (but not all appliances mind you) but I noticed that the black/white wires were connected to the motor brushes (the two floating contacts that are made of copper and touch the motor spindle. IF YOU CAN DETERMINE WHICH PAIR GOES TO THE BRUSHES ONLY that'd be the power-pair. The other pair of wires will go to the two coil sets in the motor....they control the direction and they seem to go further back into the motor. If anyone is not sure what part the brushes are just do a google image search for "electric motor brushes" and you'll see what I mean. So. Find the power pair (they are connected to the brushes) and then find the control pair (not on brushes, but attached to motor coils) and reverse the control pair.....it should work! Be sure to be extra safe though. Don't do this at all if you don't know how to work with high voltage electronics safely.

[@judithfoster6638]

This is a DC motor and you CAN reverse it by cross-connecting the wires which go to the brushes. I don't know what is meant here by "CONTROL" wires, they are all power wires. Possibly Man Cave means that the "CONTROL" wires are the ones which are connected to the 3-way switch. We have one pair of wires to the brushes, the rest to the outer coils. If you only have 4 wires it does not matter which pair you cross-connect (brushes or coils). I have just used this hack on an AuroraAS1010CD which has 6 wires altogether, 2 to the brushes and 4 to the coils. This is more complicated. The easiest way to determine which wires to cross-connect is to look at the circuit board. One end of the 3-way slider switch is 'auto' and the other is 'reverse' with 'off' in the middle. You need to cross-connect the wires from the two ends of the slider switch. Just like in the video. When you cross-connect them you are reversing the function of the switch - connecting the 'auto' wire to the 'reverse' end of the switch and vice versa. It does not matter where the wires go in this situation. In the video they go to the coils, in the Aurora shredder they go to the brushes.

[@carolkahl5605]

I have exactly the same shredder and it had exactly the same problem. This fix worked like a charm for me. I will follow Man Cave's advice and be careful not to kill myself with my shredder. ha ha I did unplug it before I opened it up. Thank you KSAL0217

[@brendaengelmann4324]

Carol Kahl

[@kevinclancy.]

Love it! Just rigged mine up the same way thanks to your video. Wire colors were identical so it was a snap. thanks so much for taking the time to post this! I would've thought bypassing the sensor would be the way to go but apparently that didn't work when you tried to bypass the sensors, ever get to the bottom as to why that didn't work? just curious. Important thing is, I can shred again!

[@enrico0094]

My Amazon basics shredder had the same symptoms, and I think it's the 3-way switch that's failing on these, not the sensor (at least in my case, kevin clancy's and KSAL0217's). That's why bypassing the sensor doesn't work. The theory is confirmed by the motor either not turning at all or making half-hearted attempt to start when the switch is set to "Auto" following the wires-swap described in this video. "Auto" should now run the mechanism on reverse, without involving the sensor, but it's still either intermittent or nothing happens at all. Thankfully "forward" still works, so we can carry on shredding* * for the Brits reading this - "Carry on Shredding" was (in my imagination) a hilarious 1971 comedy starring Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jakes, set in an office full of corny double-entendres :-)

[@maureendehoyos6131]

How do you get the lid off. It is stuck near the plug.

[@rockster72]

For anyone having this issue with Auto not working anymore. It has nothing to do with the sensors or at least not directly, they are just fine. There are two yellow identical capacitors, the faulty one is the one on the short side of the board / near the arrival of black-red cables coming from one of the two sensors (0.1uF K X2 15mm). If you are not sure I can send a link to Amazon if you send a message. Can’t post links here.

[@artizanofgod]

Awesome, this work perfectly😄

[@terrencescott6428]

I have the same problem,bout to attempt this. Let you know if it works.

[@andrewjohnson1555]

Thanks mate I have the same problem on amazon basics yours looks the same internally probably just the name sticker that's different. Been looking on ebay for a new sensor light . We are a nation of waste no one looks in to fixing things I think its bull crap that parts can be had they just want you to buy a new machine . The same parts will still be used . Anyway moving on thank you .

[@Ferberius]

Wow this was so helpful! Thanks!!

[@altheamiller1658]

Awesome! Thanks a bunch😉

[@angelictigerette]

I can't stand whrn companies say " it's out of warranty, it's nothing we can do." It's still your product that I paid money for! Help me!!!!

[@geraldinelawless8930]

My REXEL 1150 WSTOPPED WORKING THE BIN LIGHT IS ON AND THERE IS NO WASTE BIN EMPTY

[@lankcole4333]

Thanks I'll try that method.

[@MrBritcanuck]

Worked for me. Thank you!

[@bk6916]

It worked! Thank you!!

[@tommusikauswahl1066]

Have the same Problem. Someone mentioned, that the Issue is a Capacitor on the 2nd Board. So i bought good Panasonic Capacitors and changed them - with still the Problem not solved. So next attempt is to change the Connectors on the Motor without having to cut the wires itself. These kind of Shredders have a major fault in product design. I bought the biggest one from Amazon that can also cut CD Disks and almost not used the Shredder by now. This Thing is pure Crap straight out of the Factory.

[@AubsUK]

I don't think they have a design flaw, I think it's more they're not used properly. They should be switched off when not in use. I've had mine left switched on in Auto mode permanently, and that means the infrared driver has been working constantly 24/7 for over 5 years (bought in 2019). The lifespan of an IR diode is around 25,000-50,000 hours, so for it to last around 46,000 hours, is pretty good.

[@tommusikauswahl1066]

@@AubsUK Well...i had mine switched off ;) And didnt use the thing very often, maybe once every 2 months for 3 minutes or such.

[@smalllight]

Thank you very much

[@Girlgamssilver]

You stuck it to the man

[@gonzaloaguilera5962]

Why no just replace the SENSOR?

[@darlenewright7928]

my feed sensor won't shut off after paper is shredder

[@KrlosRodz]

Thanks! This worked!

[@sylviarogers2049]

It really worked!!!!

[@denisespurlock]

My shredder does that exact same thing as this video.

[@MartinLopez-py7fy]

Hey if its stupid and it works. It's not Stupid.

[@gamingspecialist4019]

hi

[@sammyaziz146]

Not good mess with wired might get blown up like the Taliban

[@callm6748]

Looks easy enough. But you don't show how to open.

[@rockster72]

If you can’t figure out how to open by unscrewing six easy screws… you better don’t mess inside ;)

[@sammyaziz146]

My shredder stuck paper and stressing me out got it today I tired switch off on and take paper out and I pulled it part to and put back again still nothing a women can do better job than a man knows

[@gonzaloaguilera5962]

Why no just replace the SENSOR?

[@gonzaloaguilera5962]

Why no just replace the SENSOR?

[@gonzaloaguilera5962]

Why no just replace the SENSOR?