Lisa Thiesssen Posted October 17, 2004 Report Share Posted October 17, 2004 Hi, I'm having problems very much like those described by 2 other quilters, but with another problem as well (related or not, I don't know). My SR will be working fine, I'll be stitching for a long (2+) hours without incident, then it will start making very long stitches (it almost feels like something is slipping...) I'm not pushing down on the machine handles, and it does not matter where I am on the table. It will come back after a minute or so (usually long enough for me to rip out the big ugly stitches). My bobbin winder also appears to be acting up. As soon as I turn it down, the stitch length needle dives from where it was down to zero, then 'jumps' up to the high end and back again for the duration of the bobbin winding. I always have to readjust my speed again after winding, and have not been able to stitch while winding bobbin in a long time. My Milli is 3 years old. I would appreciate any words of wisdom anyone has to share! Thanks in advance, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connie hurst Posted October 18, 2004 Report Share Posted October 18, 2004 Hi Lisa, IT sounds to me like we need to adjust your little black encoder wheels. Then as far as the meter dropping, it could be your motor brushes are starting to wear.. For the black wheel adjustment, (one on machine and one on the carraige) you need to loosen the gold bolt under the brown wheel and slide the black box closer. It doesn't take much! If that doesn't work, we can tighten up your adjusting wheels just a little! As for the motor brushes, you will need to take the top back cover off and the brushes are at the back of the motor (one on each side) You will need to unscrew the little plug and then take the brushes out. (Make sure the machine is off) Watch what way the brushes come out. That way you can be sure to get them back in the right way! You will need to blow out the motor. Make sure there is nothing around ( a quilt or anything) lots of black stuff will come out! The best way is to have a vaccum on one side and a air hose on the other side and blow through one side and let the vaccum catch the black sute! Call me and I can walk you through it, if you don't understand! Good luck Connie APQS Service Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa Thiesssen Posted October 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2004 Thanks Connie! I'll try the motor brush trick as soon as I can get the quilt that's currently on finished...my next question is, if the motor brushes are starting to wear, will I need to replace them soon? Thanks for the tip on the encoder wheels - it's good to be back in business again without having to worry that the machine isn't going to do what I expect it to! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connie hurst Posted October 19, 2004 Report Share Posted October 19, 2004 Hi Lisa, Yes, if the brushes are getting small, you need to replace them, asap! Otherwise you could ruin your motor! They are $14.00 for the set and very easy to replace.. Let me know what you find out! Connie APQS Service Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa Thiesssen Posted October 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2004 Can you give me a measurement that I can go by for 'small'? I did not ever see them at full size and would not know what to compare them to! Thanks again, Connie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connie hurst Posted October 20, 2004 Report Share Posted October 20, 2004 Hi Lisa, If your brushes are less than 1/4 inch. long they need to be replaced!! When they get to that point the spring behind it has a hard time pushing it in and it arc's (sp) inside the motor! Let me know! It may be a circuit board issue if the brushes are o.k. Connie APQS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa Thiesssen Posted October 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2004 wow! I pulled the motor brushes (which for the record, do not look like brushes at all) and blew out the motor. No problem, it was not hard to do. After putting things back together I ran the machine for a while, then started the bobbin winder to see what would happen. The needle dropped by about half of a marking on the stitch length indicator each time I started the bobbin winder, but did not continue to drop, nor did it jump around wildly. This is good. So is there still something I can do to address the stitch length dropping? You mentioned something about the circuit panel, is that the next step? THANK YOU so much for helping me out with all of this. It's good to know you're out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connie hurst Posted October 21, 2004 Report Share Posted October 21, 2004 Lisa, I think it is a problem in the circuit boards, it could be in the bobbin winder itself, but I'm thinking it is a board issue.. you can e-mail me your address and the age of your machine and I will send the boards out on Friday! Connie churst@apqs.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa Thiesssen Posted October 22, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2004 It's a done deal, Connie. Thanks so much for everything. I appreciate working with your company, especially on a public forum where we might benefit other quilters who may be having the same type of problems! My machine has been really great and this has caused me some concern over the last while. Thanks for helping me get back up to speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhintsa Posted October 22, 2004 Report Share Posted October 22, 2004 Lisa, I couldn't tell from you post if the problem resolved after you checked motor brushes and blew out the area? Did you do anything to bobbin winder or circuit board? Just wondering so can file away a note in my head and here on the board for the future reference! Thanks! Nancy Minnesota Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connie hurst Posted October 22, 2004 Report Share Posted October 22, 2004 Nancy, The trouble we think is in the circuit boards, so I am sending her some out today! We will see what happens and let you know. Connie APQS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa Thiesssen Posted October 22, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2004 Hi Nancy, Things were not totally resolved, although they are better. It was a good thing that I blew the motor out anyway, as there was quite a bit of sooty stuff in there! It was easy enough to do, and my brushes came out and went back in without incident. If this is something you decide to do be forwarned - they are on a spring and will want to 'pop' out - remove the plug in a slow, controlled fashion so that you have a chance to see which way things are in and they don't 'sproing' out on you! I do hope that the circuit boards are the final answer, though. Don't worry, I'll post the results! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa Thiesssen Posted November 24, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2004 Just wanted to keep everyone who was writing me abreast of the latest, here - My circuit boards arrived, and with Connie's over-the-phone hand holding, I switched them with the old ones - and so far things have been great! I put my sweet old Milli through her paces here over the past few days and thought I'd post a photo of the outcome. This is a quilt of mine (I didn't want to see if things were working productively on a customer quilt) that I've been waiting to put on the machine for an awfully long time now. Things went well. A huge THANK YOU to Connie for her patience and perseverence in helping me get this whole thing figured out. - now back to work! ( I hope the photo posts, I'm new at this posting thing...) http://www.ofoto.com/PhotoView.jsp?&collid=10486159506&photoid=99386159506 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyL Posted November 24, 2004 Report Share Posted November 24, 2004 Lisa: Gorgeous quilting!! Looks like everything is working great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhintsa Posted November 25, 2004 Report Share Posted November 25, 2004 Lisa, I could hardly wait to get to the end of the pics to see the entire quilt! It is beautiful and a job very well done! What kind of hooks are you using to hold the quilt from the bar? Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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