Is it the cruise control?
 

I bought a frame with Juki TL98E and "Quilter's Cruise Control from a friends estate last Fall. I've done maybe 6 quilts with some bit of success, but am now at the end of my rope (no more knots to tie in the end) and so tired of picking out stitches. I have changed needles, threads. bobbin cases over and over
to no avail. I can do about 2 passes without problems. then it begins to skip stitches. Here is example:
See in the pix on L..a loooong stitch over the scissors, and another near left edge. The 2nd pix shows
long stitch over hem clip. I'm using the med stitch setting on the cruise ctrl, but I get the same results with small or large stitch setting. Does this sound like the machine or the cruise cntrl? I hope someone can give me some suggestions or tho'ts on what the problem might be. I think I will commit hari kari if this is not resolved soon. Or else I will go back to my ''sit down'' fmq. Pls voice your opinions..it may be just a small thing that I have missed. TYIA
[ATTACH=CONFIG]619799[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]619800[/ATTACH]

not familiar with Cruise Control but thinking it's a stitch regulator? If so when you get those long stitches with no holes underneath it usually means that something is wrong with the encoders that control the stitch regulator. Make sure it is all well connected and if there are wheels that roll on the carriage to feel the stitch regulator encoders, that they are working properly.


OK, just googled your machine and the Cruise Control--definitely you are having issues with the stitch regulator. Not real sure how it connects to the Juki, but guessing the problem is with that connection or with the way it reads the stitching.

What size needle are you using?

I had a Quilter's Cruise Control on a Brother 1500. When it skipped stitches while FMQ, I found going to a size 16 or 18 needle fixed the problem.

Thank you, shorttimer--I was suspicious of that and I had heard the regulators could not be repaired. ? I will check closely now, as I know all the cords are in a tangle on the trolly. I love the Juki E for it's feature of not having to pull the bobbin thread up, and we don't have any dealers or repair persons closer than 100 miles.

Appreciate the suggestion, but I've tried every size needle from 12 to 18 + emb & metallic. Have some 19's that I've not tested.

I'm not seeing needle holes so this most definitely looks like an encoder issue and the pic you show appears that it is happening in close to the same spot of your design. I am thinking your encoder wheels are not making complete contact to the rails in that area and I am thinking it is the machine carriage rails that are on the "Y" axis.

These are the steps I would take:

First make sure your rack is perfectly level. Get a big carpenter's level and check every where. Both side to side and front to back with the level.
If the rails are metal clean them well with a soft cloth saturated with rubbing alcohol. Also clean the rubber on the encoders. check those rubbers well. If they are starting to dry rot or crack you may need to replace them. I'm not familiar with cruise control but my encoders have rubber "o" rings that act like "tread" and can be replaced.

Go over all the rails with super fine steel wool then clean them again with the rubbing alcohol cloth. Finally get a big piece of wax paper, wad it up in a ball and wax your rails by going over them with the wadded up wax paper.
Check where the encoder wheels connect to the arm that is holding them to make sure you don't have a little piece of thread wrapped around the axle.
Stand at the back of the machine when it is not running and slowly guide your machine to the place with the missed stitches. Stop it there and check those encoder wheels to make sure they are making good and firm contact on the rails paying special attention to the encoder that rides on the carriage rails that go front to back (the Y axis). Try to spin those encoder wheels while holding the machine stationary. if they move freely they are not making good contact.

On some encoder wheels you may have to put a weight on them so they make good continuous contact. some people adhere fishing weights to them to help or add washers.

I just found this awesome trouble shooting blog for you. https://myqbot.blogspot.com/2012/10/quilters-cruise-control-troubleshooting.html

I'm thinking it is the encoders more specifically the roller bits. Sometimes bits of crud can build up, clean them well and the frame itself.

Does it happen in one spot on the frame? My friend's system had some damage done to the rails when she moved it with the "help" of her daughter, they bent the center support area and it would always skip stitches there, we took it back apart and put the ends together in the middle for the frame and that helped quite a bit.

I’ve not heard of Quilters Cruise control but before I got my long arm I had a similar issue with a stitch regulator that caused me so much aggravation it would sometimes make me just go ahead and pay someone to quilt it for me. It just seemed like no matter what I did it kept happening so it was either my sanity or just buy a different machine. I opted to purchase a mid arm initially before my long arm. Happy me! Hopefully you will be happy soon.

If encoder wheels start to crack they need replaced because your stitches won't be even. Not sure if that's your problem, though.

I have a Juki like yours only without the extension and it sews beautifully. I just use it as is.