Anne Que Posted July 19, 2010 Report Share Posted July 19, 2010 Hello and heeeelp, I have a Millennium with IQ. I have the problem with the needle going up-down-up-down. Now I have had this problem before and than I turned the little screw on the backside of the machine clockwise and at a certain point it was ok again. It was good for months. So when I had the problem again I thought to solve it easily with the same solution. However it does not work. I have turned the screw clockwise up to a point that it did not go up or down at all. The difference between that point and the moment the needle goes up-down-up-down is less than an eighth of a revolution. Also the needle does not seem to go all the way up, so it scrapes over the fabric. There is a quilt on my machine and six waiting, I feel a little desperate. As I do not live in the USA it does not make things easier. Has anyone had this problem and what can I do? Anne Que Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted July 19, 2010 Report Share Posted July 19, 2010 Yikes, Anne! I think you have more than one problem going on. The "needle too low" problem is just that. Take out the needle and re-insert it to see if it has slipped down somehow. Make a wish that is the issue. If you insert the needle and it is still too low, your needle bar has slipped and will need to be raised. It requires a loooong screwdriver in one hand and your manual in the other. As for the "up-down" problem--warm up your machine at least 10-15 minutes before you adjust--yes, put it in manual and turn on the thing and let it chug for 10-15 minutes. Or stitch something for that amount of time. Then adjust. The gold screw only needs a teeny tiny bit of a turn to affect the up/down, so actually an eight of a turn may be right. Then if it's still a problem, you may need a board replaced. Call Iowa and talk to the experts. Fingers crossed that you can make the fixes you need to be stitching again soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janette Posted July 19, 2010 Report Share Posted July 19, 2010 That is so annoying, my machine does that quite a bit at the moment. I will take your good advice here though and warm my machine up before adjusting again !! Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy Stuart - APQS Service Posted July 19, 2010 Report Share Posted July 19, 2010 Hi, Anne...my first thought is to make sure that both of your sensors are working correctly. When the machine is on and you turn the flywheel by hand to get the needle to move up and down, watch the indicator lights that are on the top of the machine...the left bank of lights should have #'s 4 and 5 come on when the machine is in down position (#4), and up position (#5). If either one or both of these lights are not coming on, there may be a small problem with a circuit board. Check that out first, and let me know what the outcome is...we can proceed from there. As far as the needle not coming all the way up, that issue could also be related to the sensors on the machine as well. I'd like to figure out what is going on there before we do any other adjustments to the machine. Please check the indicator lights out and e-mail me the results - my direct e-mail address is: aanderson@apqs.com Talk to you soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne Que Posted July 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2010 Thank you Linda, it sounds as if you had a lot of experience with this problem. I had a message from the technical service who thinks it might be a problem with my mag board and they will send me a new one. I really hope it will solve my problem. I wonder what causes it and what I can do to prevent it, or that it is just a flaw in the system. A few days without my machine will not harm me, I can start to clean out my house for instance.... Thank you, I will tell if and how my machine works again. Anne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewlinzi Posted July 20, 2010 Report Share Posted July 20, 2010 I think it can be worse in warm weather... I have had to add a uninterrupted power supply and it has solved almost all of my electrical glitches... Ask Amy about it while you are speaking to her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoriasews Posted July 20, 2010 Report Share Posted July 20, 2010 I'm with Linzi. My Millie works fine for months, but when it gets hot out, even though I have AC, my needle goes up and down and the screw does nothing to help. There are times it will go up and down 7 or 8 times and there is nothing I can do to stop it. The next day it might be just fine. It'll be fine for days, then it'll start doing it again. So maddning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne Que Posted July 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2010 You know Linzi, it is extraordinary hot here for a while now. What is an uninterrupted power supply? Still it does not explain why the needle does not fully retract. I checked everything concerning needle height etc. I will just be patient for a while and wait for the new mag board. Here in the Netherlands it is cooling down a little this weekend. Maybe that helps. Anne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted July 21, 2010 Report Share Posted July 21, 2010 Anne Que, All good advice. Amy will get you through your problem, she's the best. The boards are easy to change out. One thing that you need to be careful of is "static electricity" especially since the air is dry because of the heat. Electronics do not like static electricity (especially your IQ). I have both the millie and IQ and mine are sitting on carpet. I'm always careful and touch some bare metal before touching my machine or IQ. Sometimes I spray a little "static guard" on the floor. You can get wrist bands for static (people who work on electronics wear them) but I haven't gone that far yet. Grabbing a piece of bare metal usually discharges and static I have in me. In the winter I keep a humidifier in my quilt room to prevent the "dry air" which aids in the production of static. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewlinzi Posted July 21, 2010 Report Share Posted July 21, 2010 Anne, I don't really understand all of the electronics and square sine waves!! I just did what I was told and it has improved things for me. Mostly it is something to do with keeping the electricity consistent. I think it also has a cooling effect?? Amy can give you a proper technical explanation... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne Que Posted July 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2010 Thank you Connie, I will bare your advice in mind. I had never really thought about it. I think my husband is going to take all the risk as I can be a clumsy mechanic. Anne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindyLu Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 My machine, a Lenni, is doing the same thing. I've tried adjusting in the back but it doesn't seem to make a difference. As I don't have the lights on the front I'm not sure how to figure it out. Will I damage the machine by using the manual wheel to get my needle in the proper upright position? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewlinzi Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 You should be fine using the hand wheel until you get sorted out... better talk to your rep or tech dept for more info if your adjustments aren't working... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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