Need trouble shooting for Brother CE5000 Runway model
 

I am having trouble with my Brother. It is locked and won't let the needle move. When I shut it off and on again the needle moves and resets itself but other wise nothing.

I took the bobbin case and all of that out and cleaned it and put it back in. It will only go in one way so not any help there. I threaded it and put bobbin in and everything is as it should be. but it won't let me turn the hand knob at all.

When I put the foot down and step on the pedal the needle area shudders then stops and it says E6
The only troubleshooting I saw online was to turn the handle to take the needle up but as it is froze up I can't do that.

Any ideas? I have other Brothers but of course this one is the only one that has the stitch I wanted to use. I'll probably have to use one of my others and just use a different stitch.

Any suggestions would be welcome. thanks Rhonda

Try replacing the needle. If it’s already a fresh one, try a different brand. I have this model of sewing machine and got an E6 when I put in a needle branded as “universal” made by Singer. Replaced that with a Schmetz and it solved my problem.

Can you take the feed dog plate/needle plate off? Check to make sure a thread is not caught in there.

There were a couple of search results about the problem. The links were long so I didn't post them here.

According to http://www.brothersewingmachinemanual.com and https://support.brother.com/g/b/sp/f...qh00000068_000 it looks like there may be a thread stuck somewhere. I read some of the replies at https://answers.yahoo.com/question/i...2121550AAHxN8y The "best answer" has some good information and suggestions.


Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

Check handwheel for thread

I am also a brother user. With what you are experiencing, I would pull the needle first. It sounds like the needle is bent. They will lock up like that to protect themselves from further damage. It is a hazard warning. Use a good quality needle and see if that fixes the problem. If not, call the Brother hotline, and they can help you further.

Have you tried to turn the hand wheel backwards, with the engine off. Just to see if it will release, then turn forward. Then turn on power and see if there is any change.

Switch off the bobbin winder. When the bobbin winder is engaged, it locks the machine up.

I just reread your question. Something is activating it to do that, each time you “try again”, the computer is checking to see if it has been fixed, hence the reset sounds then nothing. Your manual will have things to check, or take it in for service...and tell them. I called ahead to get an estimate, and they were $30 less than the estimate. Good luck. (Try the manual first, and try YouTube. Free.

Yes, do this. Can you take the front end cover off? I have 2 Brother machines that sometimes freeze and it is always thread wrapped in the bearing inside--the take-up mechanism...the only way to reach is to remove a part of the front cover. Then it is a chore to carefully unwind with tweezers. A faulty design, but I love my machines.

I took the plate off and the bobbin cover out. I can not see any thread anywhere inside.

What do you mean by handwheel?

The round thing on the right top end of the machine. It raises and lowers the needle.

How would thread get around the handwheel? Besides the handwheel won't move it is locked up tight.

It's not an unusual problem. I had to unwind thread for a long time from one of my machine handwheels. Usually there is a screw or pop out cover on the wheel itself to take off to see the guts of the wheel. When my Brother froze up the repair guy found a pin stuck in one of the machine gears. He said he has seen that before too. Usually it's something easy to fix with a new part or removing a foreign object.

Ok I took a screwdriver and popped the handwheel cover off. there is no thread or foreign anything in there.

Rhonda,

Did you remove the feed dog plate? Check under there for stray threads.

Can you see in the area of the uptake lever? I use a flashlight and tweezers if thread is caught in there.

Did you have a recent needle break? That can damage the bobbin case.

Will the hand-wheel turn if you take out the needle?

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions everyone. I do appreciate it

Rhonda

yes i have taken the feeddog plate off a coupel of times and taken the bobbin cover out. there is no thread or lint in that area at all.

I just now turned the machine upside down and with a flashlight and stilleto took out a few bits of lint. but no threads. I t didn't help at all.

No recent needle break. Yes I put in a new needle and it is in correctly. it will only go in one way.

The handwheel won't turn no matter what. I took out the needle - it wont' turn
I lifted the foot - it won't budge no matter what I do it wont' budge.

I am wondering if it is out of timing or something.

I will take a look on youtube.

I ordered another one this afternoon off of ebay so I should get it in a few days. I want to use this one stitch that is on this machine. I have 4 other brothers but they don't have the fancy stitches this one does. LOL so now I will have 6 Brothers LOL and oh did I tell you I am an only child LOL It always strikes me funny when I say I have Brothers LOL

I ordered another one this afternoon off of ebay so I should get it in a few days. I want to use this one stitch that is on this machine. ( I love your remedy. LOL)

When you new one comes, then take the old one apart. You may be able to see why it won't move and if it happens again you will know. At least practice taking the housing off of the old one. LOL That is always the hardest part.

I watched a video on youtube a little bit ago. she showed how to take the screws out and how to remove the cover on the left end above the needle. I tried to remove that screw but I need to go find a screwdriver with a smaller head on it. The one I tried using the end is too big to fit the screw head. so I will try again soon! If not I'll have my husband take it apart for me. LOL He used to be a mechanic and he is better at those kind of things than I am. :) Now I'm determined to find out why it locked up LOL

It still could be a thread hiding in the innards. Another possibility - http://www.piecesofsoul.com/e6-error/


Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

This sounds dumb, but when you get the E6 message, did you try pressing the "OK" button? In doing so, you're saying "I got the message." Then you can do some of the suggestions above that are do-able. I've done this with the "the safety device has been activated" msg on my NX4000.

Good answer! I forgot about the OK button. Also, turning the machine off, resets the machine, so when you believe you have solved the problem, turn it off, the. Back on. Good luck Rhonda.

There is no ok button as far as I know. and yes I turned it off and on several times. I have retired it for now. I will try again another day or take it to have it looked at somewhere. For now I'm using one of my other Brothers. it doesn't have the stitch I wanted but I am using a similar stitch that is doing ok. I hope to see the one I ordered today or monday.

Thank you so much to all who commented. I have tried everything suggested if possible. I knew I would get lots of help here. I so appreciate your input.

I also appreciate the help in this thread (since I own the same machine). You all are the best!

Rhonda, what’s the model of the new Brother you ordered? Gonna keep that one in mind since I really like my ce5000prw.

I downloaded https://download.brother.com/welcome...6677ug10en.pdf and on page 64 it says :If you press the stitch selection key or do the operation correctly while the error message is displayed the message disappears." So while you may not have an "OK" key, perhaps if you just select the stitch you want to use, it will clear the "E6" provided there really isn't a tangle or something else.


Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

I ordered another Brother CE5000prw Project Runway machine. It is my favorite machine. I saw where they don't make this one anymore so I went on Ebay and found one. Most of them listed were around $200 plus shipping and I found this one for $60 plus shipping brought it to $97 so I jumped on it. I am anxiously waiting hoping it comes tomorrow.

Thanks for the suggestion. That was one of the first things I tried. I've had the E6 error different times before but this is the first time it locked up.

worst case, the motherboard that runs the sewing machine has gone bad. I don't know why that would orevent you from turning the wheel to raise the needle, though.

I am going to take my machine apart some time soon and see if I can figure out the problem. RT now I am in the middle of other stuff. I really want to know what went wrong with this machine. LOL

I had this happen once with my Brother. I had changed my foot and it did the same thing. It turned out that the foot opening did not line up correctly with the needle and as a safety feature it stopped the needle from coming down and hitting the foot metal. If I moved over the needle position to the left, it would then have a clear path to come down and then engage. Is it possible you moved your needle position over too far for your foot opening by accident. Just something else to consider.

You got a great deal!

I love my ce5000prw too. I got another machine to do quilting on, but love this lil Brother for garments, also used it for decorative walking foot stitch on a quilt.

I admit that I haven’t experienced the problem you are having but a google search yielded the following on the Sewing Machines Plus website;

How to Fix Brother Sewing Machine Error Code E6

<dl class="smp4" style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px; caret-color: rgb(49, 49, 49); color: rgb(49, 49, 49); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><dt style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.42857143; font-weight: bold; margin-top: 1em;">Q: What does E6 error message mean?</dt><dd style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.42857143; margin-left: 10px; font-size: medium;">A: The motor locked up because thread is tangled</dd><dt style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.42857143; font-weight: bold; margin-top: 1em;">Q: How to fix E6 error message?</dt><dd style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.42857143; margin-left: 10px; font-size: medium;">A: Do the following:

• The upper thread could be tangled. Remove the upper thread and any loose threads. Raise the pressure foot, raise the needle to its highest position and rethread the machine.
• Remove the bobbin and bobbin case to clean any lint or loose threads. Install the bobbin case so that the projection on it aligns with the spring. Then install the bobbin into the bobbin case.
• The needle could be bent. Replace the needle making sure the flat side is facing the back

Sounds like you have done most, all of these things but it does confirm you are on the right track.
</dd></dl>

thanks everyone for all the great suggestions.


as you probably saw I just ordered another CE5000prw and it came last Thurs. Not real happy with the seller's service but I have it and it works great!

I wanted the herringbone stitch not sure what the manufacturer calls it but that is what the hand embroidery version is called. I used it to close around the raw edge on my Christmas ornaments. No other stitch works as well.

And of course the only machine I have that had that stitch is my Project Runway Brother. hence the reason I bought a new one. They don't make them anymore so you can't buy them from a store any more.

i'm happy and I'm sure the seller was happy I bought this machine. LOL

I am going to take my first one apart and see if I can find anything.

I have done everything to it possible except take all the screws out. so that will be the next step. I can't see how thread would get up in there but then I am no technician.

This is what I am working on. This is a mini dresden kaleidoscope. It is about 4" in width. I used the herringbone stitch and just let it go over the edge. It finishes it off nicely. This is why I wanted another CE5000prw I have 12 of them ready to stitch and I am adding a hanger to these 12 so they could be hung on a tree. This one I made last year. LOL don't look too close it could use a trim of all the little fuzzies on the edge.


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I had a brother that kept doing this. It was still under warranty so swapped it for another one - which also did the same after a few months of use. The repair centre took it apart and said the machine was seizing because parts were not accurately aligned. He fixed it but it lasted a few months (and the whole time I could tell it didn’t sound right). So I got a refund. Will never buy brother again.

Im sorry to say that now you have had this fault I think it may be recurring...

I now have a Janome and love it.

I have a Brother 420 and it has this stitch. The stitches aren't named just shows a picture of it on the little computer screen. Brother 420 and other low range Brothers are made for mass market not for dealers. Most Brother dealers won't sell them. The Brothers sold at dealers are made to different standards. Mass market machines are usually good but sometimes due to the luck of the draw someone will get an off one.

Just had the same thing happen
 

Did you ever figure out why the handwheel and related internal shafts stopped turning? I was sewing yesterday and suddenly the machine made a strained noise and turning parts stopped turning. Took everything apart but can't see any caught threads, pins etc and both belts on handwheel shaft look good. Puzzled. Looking at buying a new machine or repairable?

Old thread but very interesting. I'd love to know if a solution was found.