Probably a similar problem to the one that plagues my Dressmaker 7000 machine. I think I posted these pics before but I didn't bookmark the thread and I'm not gonna take the time to search for them.
Just like Jothesewer's machine when this one was set on "L" it hit the foot or the needle plate. When on "C" it parked to the left. This machine is NOT supposed to park to the left when the needle position lever is on C.
Joethesewer, here is a pic of the insides of these machines. They can get complicated so that's why I suggested taking it to a repairman.
Joe