sewidahoquilts Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 Help! My new to me Millie (2004) is blowing fuses . . . any ideas about what\'s the problem? I (we) just put everything together and plugged her in, nothing happened. My SIL is my mechanic, he\'s a machinist and electrician, anyway, we found the fuse and it was already blown. The machine never turned on for me, that first try. To make a long story short, I drove 100 + miles roundtrip to purchase replacement fuses @ Radio Shack. Replaced the fuse and turned her on, she ran for about 30-45 seconds, long enough for the florescent light to start and stay on and then shut down. Another blown fuse. Any ideas or suggestions? She didn\'t sound awful, just a nice smooth hummmmm, nothing moved or acted scary. :(I could have Lloyd my SIL speak with you if you\'d rather talk to someone with a mechanical background, although I\'m usually pretty accomplished with my computer, printer, copiers, etc. If I don\'t hear from you before morning, I will call the 800 help and speak with the lovely lady I talked to about my machine and it\'s "used" status. Thanks so much for anything you can tell me which will get this lovely lady to stitching! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iquiltit Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 Is the machine jammed? Carol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewidahoquilts Posted March 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 Hmmm, good question. I\'ve never had a Millie before, how would I know? I can\'t move the wheel that seems like it should move the needle up and down. There doesn\'t seem to be any other handwheel option that I can see. Should the needle cycle or move up or down when the machine is turned on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewidahoquilts Posted March 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 I don\'t see any foreign matter anywhere. Everything is clean. No threads or fibers. Needle isn\'t broken. Suggestions about what I should look for or check? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lpotter Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 We had this same problem. When we moved into a new home the circuit our Millie was plugged into was a GFI (think it\'s called a ground floor interrupter?) circuit which blew the circuit she was on. We resolved it by having an electrician replace the GFI for a regular circuit. In Oregon the electrical code requires a GFI in all bedrooms (which is where we had Millie located). The electrician was able to switch it out for a regular outlet if we approved it. We had no other problems with Millie blowing the circuits after that change was made. Don\'t know if this will help, but thought I\'d give you our "two cents worth". Good luck! Lisa Potter www.buzzybeequilting.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewidahoquilts Posted March 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 I\'m not sure this is the same type of fuse problem, but I will check it out. Thanks so much for any information about what may be causing my problem. My circuit breakers for the house don\'t trip, just the itty-bitty fuse that\'s in the Machine. Something is causing an electrical overload. I suspect the machine may be jammed as Carol suggested, but I guess I will have to wait till Morning to speak with APQS to find out what and where is is located. I sure wanted to be able to play tonight, but I guess a few more hours won\'t kill me . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 Hi Dixie-- If the hand wheel won\'t turn something is jammed or the motor is seized. The hand wheel should turn even with the machine off and the hum you heard is not a good sound. The machine does not make any noise when turned on except a beep. Ouch! Calling for help should be the first thing to do in the morning. I am so sorry you can\'t play with your new baby yet! Welcome to the wonderful world of longarming. Hope you are up and running soon. Too-little-too-late department--extra fuses are stored in a little recessed box located just below the on-off-switch! I hope it is empty so you didn\'t waste a trip to Radio Shack! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewidahoquilts Posted March 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 Hi Linda, Oh yes, the little box was empty. My trip was not wasted. I am really hoping the motor is not seized, doesn\'t sound like a good thing to be happening . . . I have looked for thread evidence but none seems wrapped around anything, anyway nothing I can see. I know nearly everything can be "fixed" so I\'m trying not to panic. Thanks for the encouragement and kind words. Husbands can be kina "ouchy" when things purchased don\'t function properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 I have had thread break and the the wheel snag it and take it inside and wrap around and around, ugh! I bought a cover so that wouldn\'t happen again. When I power up my Milli and the needle is already in the up position, it does nothing but if the needle is in the down position it goes up as soon as it powers up. I hope you get this resolved soon so you can create fabulous designs! Don\'t get discouraged, APQS will help you get this figured out, Amy has helped me more than once and she is really good at what she does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 Dixie Lee, Call Tech support, they will help you out! They are wonderful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewidahoquilts Posted March 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2008 Oh you gals are so right about how wonderful Tech Support is . . . Amy is so patient and thorough. I am delighted to report she diagnosed my "Malfunction" and walked me through how to fix it. Apparently the person I purchased my machine from had broken a needle and although there was no needle or remains, it had jammed the Hook assembly. A few screws loosened and a new Hook assembly installed, (she had purchased one and included it with my supplies) timing lessons and lo and behold! She Works!!! Now, any of you, (and I suspect that is most of you) if you\'ve had your machine for very long are chuckling because "we" KNOW it\'s not that easy! In fact it\'s a real pain, but I think (read HOPE) I\'ve got that hill climbed. Now I can move on and see how much different and how much the same "Milli-fleur" is from my old Mega-Quilter. Thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement! Last night and this morning, while my DH, DM, and MIL are all having their personal versions of a Major Meltdown, I just kept saying to myself, "The girls say there isn\'t anything that can\'t be fixed on these machines, over the Phone, you just need Amy", now I know first hand how very true that is and how great APQS machines really are . . . YEAH! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennan100 Posted March 18, 2008 Report Share Posted March 18, 2008 Dixie, Glad to see everything is fixed and you are up & running! AND you\'ve gotten the first case of timing out of the way...you\'ve been there and done that now so according to Murphy\'s Law you should be in the clear for years! I have a picture in my head of you doing major surgery on your Millie and a crowd around you weeping and worrying and wringing their hands. I think you\'ll be a good Machine Surgeon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewidahoquilts Posted March 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2008 Now I\'m on to stitching and PPP. Millifleur seems kinda stiff and difficult to move, don\'t know if it\'s because the machine is so much bigger, the stitch regulator or is I need to do some more adjusting. I am checking it out. Also, tried playing with the avitar, we\'ll see if my Logo is up there, I need a new picture . . . until then, Thyme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewidahoquilts Posted March 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2008 Hmmm, no avitar yet . . . let\'s see if it\'s there now . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewidahoquilts Posted March 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2008 Still playing with the Avitar . . . makes me feel kinda dense. Usually computer stuff is easy for me, this is a bit of a challenge. Hope it works this time. It\'s the learning curve thing . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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