A:
You’ve likely tossed the vacuum by this point. The upper handle plugs into the lower body of the vacuum. There is a screw and only one screw with a black Phillips head that secures the upper handle assembly to the body of the vacuum. Remove that screw and pull the upper handle out of the lower body. You will find electrical connections in both the body and in the bottom of the upper handle. While they will be difficult to clean, you might try spraying a contact cleaner into both sets of contacts and then reassembling the vacuum. If the contact is intermittent and the metal contact points are oxidized, this may work. If the contacts are burned, it may not work. But it’s probably worth an effort.