Yellow Channel Lock not working- help

[PattyJo]

I've not had this problem before and I don't remember reading anything about setting them, but my yellow channel lock isn't working. My red button stops the side to side movement, but the yellow button doesn't do anything. The lights on top of the machine indicates that I've pushed the button, but it isn't keeping the machine from going top to bottom as it should. If the adjustment is in the manuel, I didn't find it, maybe a page number to help would be good. Any suggestions?

[Nadia Wilson]

Hi PattyJo,

When you press the button on the mushroom knob, can you hear the channel lock clicking into place? Check the actual mechanism by your wheel to make sure there are no threads wrapped around it and the lock. If they are all clear I would give Amy a call in the morning and talk to her, sometimes the switch on the handle bar can fail. Let us know how it goes for you.

[meg_marsh]

Patty Jo - did you see if it works from the other controls. That might pin down if it is the control itself.

[PattyJo]

Thanks Nadia & Meg. Good tips. I was only going to use it to stitch down the top of my quilt top to the batt & backing to float it, so I just tried to get it as straight as I could. I'll check it out after dinner tonight and see if there is thread in the way. Thanks

[pigletaz]

Patty Jo - check the handles on the back of the machine too. If it works in the back and not the front, you know it's the front button.

[PattyJo]

OK, this is what I found. When I depress the yellow channel lock (front and back) the mechanism works, I can see it move, there is no thread in the way, but it is not holding. I can feel a slight bit of drag trying to keep it from going top to bottom, but without much effort on my part, I can move the machine top to bottom. It feels like it needs to be tightened. Is there an adjustment on it that I can do? The Red channel lock holds tight and I can't hardly move it any direction except top to bottom.

[smudges]

Hi! My yellow channel lock does this too, when I look from the back I can see that the locked wheel is not moving but it slides along the rails almost as easily as it rolls LOL! So the wheel is being locked in place, but the rails are too slippery.

I took the clamps off my elastic and pin them on the sides now, so I use the clamps I took off and put one each side of a wheel and that stops it from moving alot better than the channel lock!

Susan in Australia

[PattyJo]

Susan, that is a good temporary fix, but I think it should do what it's suppose to do. I'm thinking that there is an adjustment that I could make, just don't want to get the screw driver out unless I know what I'm doing with it. Otherwise, I could get myself into trouble realllllllly quick. Just ask DH - or maybe not....:cool:

[lym95]

PattyJo, your wheels might need to be adjusted tighter on the rail. If they're not tight enough they'll slip just as you described. You don't want them too tight, but if they're too loose, the locks won't hold.

mrmargie

[PattyJo]

I've never messed with the wheels before, but I'm going to check out the wheels in the morning. Thanks for the tip MrMargie. :cool:

[dtreusch]

Patty Jo,

I had a similar problem awhile back. Sometimes the channel lock would not engage and other times it would disengage.

I talked with Amy and my problem was with the spring. Sometimes the end of it can get pushed into the magnet. She had me gently pull the spring all the way back to make sure that none of it was pushed into the magnet. Problem solved. You might try this.

Debbi

[lym95]

Adjusting the wheel tension on the rails is not difficult, and your book should show you how to do it. There's an eccentric nut on top which you turn to tighten or loosen as desired after loosening the bolt underneath. When you get it where you want it, tighten the bolt while holding the eccentric nut from turning.

Good luck! You can't hurt anything toooo badly while doing this

mrmargie

[Mary Beth]

Mr. Margie....

"an eccentric nut".....what in the heck is that You gotta speak english man!!!

[Mary Beth]

Oh, and Mr. Margie....How is the quilt coming??

[Amy Stuart - APQS Service]

My first thought was to tighten the wheels as well. Since you can actually see that the lock itself is functioning, the spring problem mentioned earlier won't be the cause.

The channel lock on the machine head itself won't ever lock as tightly as the one on the carriage, mostly because there isn't as much weight forcing downward on that set of wheels. Adjusting the cam on that axle bar a little bit tighter will help it 'feel' like it locks tighter, but there is a fine line between tight enough to feel the lock, but loose enough to not affect the movement of the machine. When you use either lock, you should only use your fingertips to move the machine...you can easily overpower the locks by sliding the wheels along the rails if you grip the handlebars tightly. If you don't have free movement enough to only need your fingertips to move your machine, maybe we need to work on that as well.

Hope that all makes sense....you can e-mail me direct if you need instructions on wheel adjustments!

Happy Quilting!

[lym95]

The quilt is coming along fine MB... I'm afraid to start cutting, but I have all my fabric laid out and ready

Actually, I'm hoping Nadia is needing a little vacation to the Ozarks so she can supervise. Margie is willing, but has a little trouble teaching me anything.

I think Margie would say that she knows exactly what an "eccentric nut" is - she's married to one!