Anyone have this problem with Brother PQ1500s?
 

hey all, I have an older Brother PQ1500s that is my main quilter. I use it as a sit down (not on a frame) quilter and have done a lot of FMQ with it, using a variety of different threads as well as different thicknesses of quilt sandwiches etc. it had been handling anything I threw at it until recently when it began doing a strange speed up when I let off the foot controller. it doesn't always do this, but when it does the red needle down light starts to flash and the machine stops working. if I turn it off and then back on the light stops blinking and the machine works again. This has gotten more frequent over the past couple of months and today, I had to turn my machine off and back on at least 10 times while quilting. has anyone else had this problem? Any suggestions on what could be wrong?

thanks,
Rob

Time to get a checkup.

Could your foot controller be wearing out?

This happened with my Janome, I opened up the food pedal and it was full of lint, once I cleaned it out, the problem stopped,

another great tip to remember when things go wrong

I agree. I had to have a foot control repaired for a problem with my mechanical Singer. I sew with stocking feet and the controller would get so warm that it was uncomfortable to sew with.

I have an older PQ1500 but it doesn't have that issue. When you get it solved would you please let us know for future reference? I'm going to guess it is the foot controller.

Thanks everyone. I'll check the foot controller to see if I can see any lint. If not I guess we'll take a little trip to the repair shop.

Rob

I have this machine and it's an older one. I haven't had that problem yet. I would think it's the foot pedal electrical signal. Not much else it could be but electrical if not mechanical. The problems I have had weren't death warrants but here they are so if anyone has the same.

1. Don't leave an extra spool of thread on the second spool pin. The wheel will pick up the loose end and wind half the cone around it before you notice. Very tedious to get all that thread out.
2. Straight pin somehow got in the bottom of the machine through the reverse lever gap. Jammed up a gear. Removed the pin and kept sewing.
3. Loud pop! Spring on reverse lever popped off and went all the way to the top of the machine. Reverse lever has to be manually lifted up when finished until I can get the spring back on. Sews fine.
4. Bobbin winder slipped, went off track. Straightened it back and sews fine.
5. The bottom and top of machine housing comes off easy and easy to put back on. It's easy to clean and troubleshoot for most all problems.

Thanks Onebyone. I got my machine used right after it had been serviced by someone I trust, so haven't done anything but oil frequently and clean out lint from bobbin area. One day I will take the top and bottom off for a look/see.

Well, I couldn't see how to open up the foot controller, but there were lots of twists in the wire connecting the foot controller to the machine---how in the world that happened I don't know (maybe it gets spun around when I chase it with my foot???). I untwisted the wire and straightened it best I could. Stitched a little on it and the same thing happened while I was stitching fairly slowly. Turned machine off and then back on and did some FMQ stitching pretty fast and it didn't happen. We'll see what happens in the next couple of days.

Rob

I have a Brother Innovis 5000 but the needle down light flashing then shutting down the machine brought back many 'not so fond' memories for me. I had something similar happening with my machine and had no luck describing it to the repair technician over a period of about 18 months so it continued to get worse, and then much worse over time. Finally, I watching the light flash red to green, red to green, every time I wanted to sew. By then the repair technicians were as frustrated seeing me as I was with the overall situation.

Finally they broke down and called Brother directly with me present to hear the conversation; bottom line - the switch where the foot pedal plugged into the machine was faulty. Once it was replaced - machine works great! There is a test the technicians can run to test the pedal as well which probably should be done. The key for the technicians seemed to be the flashing needle down button.

A few years back my machine kept sewing after taking my foot off the pedal. Someone told me it could be a fuse in the fuse-box on the house, can you believe that? Well a week later a fuse did blow, and after I had it replaced there was no more problem with the machine. It was a Brother embroidery machine, computerised, so maybe a bit touchy.

But I would still have your pedal checked

YES.

I took apart my foot pedal and it was fairly clean inside. I cleaned it anyway but it continued to stop working. So I went and got another foot pedal to test it (I have more than one Brother and fortunately the pedals are interchangeable) and that solved the problem. So I purchased a replacement pedal for the 1500, problem solved permanently.

BTW, Rob, you might be interested to know there is a service manual available in the files of the Yahoo group for this machine. A service manual, not an owner's manual. A valuable piece of info, especially if you're handy. :)

I concur with foot pedal being thr culprit. The same thing happened with my older Pfaff and once the foot pedal was replaced, all was well. I am embarrassed to say that a huge clump of dust/lint/batting fell out of the area where the light is (right to the left of the needle carriage. I never looked there. Now I know.

Thank you for pointing out the service manual! Using their trouble shooting guide I was able to determine that there is a broken wire in the foot controller. So I will be ordering a new foot controller ASAP.

Rob

To the lady a few weeks ago who had a similar machine which shredded the cotton while sewing free motion (mine was doing that same thing) The mechanic found the culprit was the free motion foot (not threading, cleaning or anything else) The cotton was snagging on the little hole so he drilled out a new larger hole in the plastic and no more problem. And of course that explains why I never had a problem when I was just sewing with the ordinary foot. Didn't know about the Service Manual - sounds a great idea.

My Innovis 4000D sometimes has a similar problem--the red light would come on and off, and it wouldn't sew when the red light was on. My dealer gave me a new foot pedal, and it was fine for a while, but then started again. I found the solution on this board. Every time it's a problem I extend the foot pedal cord as far out as it will go and I vacuum in the opening. That solves it for at least several months. Somehow lint/dust gets in and messes things up.