301A question
 

Good evening,

I just picked up a 301A it appears to be in decent shape just really dirty! I do have a question about it, it has both a two pin and three pin connector. When I read the manual it says the two pin connects the foot controller, however the two pin connector I have has an electrical plug at the other end. The three pin is connected to the foot controller, should I be concerned?

Will a combination three pin (both power and foot control) work?

Thanks in advance for any advice or assistance!

Ivey,

Those Singer machines I have are wired thusly (OEM wiring only);

The 3 pin cord set should have two wires out of it. One side to the power outlet, the other to the controller.
The 2 pin cord set should have a power outlet plug on it.

The block on the machine will have three pins in it regardless. Singer used the same wiring block, just wired it differently.

The wiring for the controller on most cabinet machines comes off the back of the wiring block on the machine, down under the bed of the machine to the controller.
The power cord is removable.

The wiring for the power cord and controller on the portable machines is on the same wire set.

I hope this helps a bit.

Joe

the 301A from the cabinet has two blocks on the machine. I'm at work so can't look, but I had to disconnect both the pedal and the cord from the machine from two different blocks so I could put it back into the cabinet. However, I'm pretty sure my black 301 that is portable only uses one connection - the three pin with the two wires, one to the outlet and one to the foot pedal.

Now I'll have to go look at these and see what is different or if I can swap the wires and still have it work. My cabinet 301 is the two tone short bed and came in the cabinet, my other three 301s are all long bed and came in cases.

I just got a 301A and mine has the cords like this: The 3 pin connector that goes to the standard terminal is only wired at 2 pins and has a plug on the end for the power. Then I have another cord for the foot controller that has 2 pins and plugs into a smaller spot lower down towards the front on that same side.

I also have another 301 waiting for work done and it has a different cord set that plugs into the terminal that has 2 sets of wires, one cord goes to the power plug, the other to the foot controller.

OK, so I boo boo'd on this one. The 301 is set up more like the 401a than the other machines. Ugh, where's my sign?


Joe

Thank you for the replys! I did a little more digging this morning, I think if I understand correctly the 301 short bed were those that could be used in a cabinet and also portable, they have two distinct connections, the standard 3 pin connection on the back of the machine and then the two pin at the base of the machine. The 301's that are the long bed have the 3 pin connector wired for both the controller and the outlet, just like the one I use for my featherweight.

Everything I have read seems to say that the 2 pin connector that connects at the base of the machine should be for the foot controller, and the three pin (with probably only 2 pins wired) should be for the electrical.

I'm thinking that the foot pedal and the 2 pin controller may have been thrown together with this machine by someone who didn't know anything about them.

All that being said, I don't want to cause any electrical problems with the machine so I ordered a new foot controller with the appropriate connector and a new power cord from Sew Classic this morning.

I just wonder as it was sold as "in great working condition".....I guess that is subjective! LOL

I truly appreciate your replys, you are a wonderful group of folks and a great wealth of knowledge for a newbie like me!

I am fairly new to vintage machines but am finding "great working condition!" to mean, I can turn the hand wheel. I am amazed by the number of people who don't know anything at all about sewing machines!

my foot pedal has the two pin MALE connection, the cord is the standard one lead Singer three pin FEMALE plug in. I'll have to dig out a two lead one (foot pedal and plug on one cord) and see if it will work - I expect it will. I may even take the bottom off the long bed 301 and see if it's got the foot pedal connection hidden under there.

My cabinet 301 works just fine with the two lead power/foot pedal cord. I expect if I take off the little cover plate on the long bed, I'd be able to use that one with a separate foot pedal/cord combination. Not going to do that tonight though.

Thank you Cathy! I will give it a try!