Singer 99K Motor needed
 

If any one can help me it will be the people on this board.

I just purchased a Singer 99K that is beautiful. All of the gold trim is intact, everything shines like a dream. Serial number EL591058 (1956). However, it doesn't work. Figure it must be the motor, or the wires are broken somehow in the plug in cord. I only paid $50 for it so can afford to put some money into it. Is there somewhere I can order parts? Motor says "CAT No RF5-8 Simanco USA".
Thanks to all in advance.

I hope someone can steer you in the right direction to getting your vintage machine to work!!

Set it up and thread and fix the bobbin as if you're going to sew. Put some fabric under the needle. Then hand crank the wheel to see if it sews. That'll get you started.

If you don't know if it's the cord, I'd start there. If you have a multimeter check the continuity between the two plugs.
Cords are extremely easy to disassemble for checking and repair.
When taking the motor plug apart, don't get the order of the copper contacts mixed up. A digital camera is a great help here.
Electrical problems are very easy to diagnose, and safe if you're thorough.

I'd check the wiring and motor first. The motors are pretty hard to kill.
Rodney

It is usually the wiring, not the motor. Rodney is right, they are hard to kill. I have never had a really bad motor. Wiring on the other hand, is usually bad if the machine is 50 years or older. If it is hard and brittle, "crunchy" insulation, then get rid of the old wiring. DH routinely puts new wiring on my machines. We buy it by the roll. Better safe than sorry. Our local Home Depot has nice plugs too. He is losing his sight and has made diagrams for me to follow when he can no longer do it for me.

I've had only one that's truly dead and I was amazed (because I've revived about a hundred). The armature had truly had it, and the poor old thing will never go again, unless I have the armature rewound. The machine it was on is in the same condition: a 319K that was used and used and used until everything is worn out.
Here's why yours couldn't be worn out: The gold decals are in good condition. That's all I need to be sure the motor is also. If all the decals and Japan had been worn off (like poor old 319K) I'd think otherwise, but if it's unworn i will be unused and so will the motor.
Take one of the motor brushes out and check it for wear. I'm willing to bet it's like new.

Is the machine stitching at all? Visually inspect the machine - are there any parts missing??? Cord ok, etc??? First make sure it is cleaned and oiled. When I refurb one, I start with the bobbin area. I take it apart and clean, clean, clean. I've seen lint cakes in those machines more than any others. Once that is clean I take apart the tension, clean and make sure it is reassembled correctly. Then everything else gets cleaned and oiled. Then I sew test by turning it by hand. If the motor doesn't work I have spares but usually the motor is fine. If the motor isn't fine you can do the mentioned above stuff or you could buy a spoked wheel and a hand crank attachment from Sew-classic. Those little machines make a really nice hand crank.

Hello all.....my 99K that I posted the message about is absolutely clean, and all parts are there, and the wiring is intact. I know nothing about electrical issues and must admit that the subject somewhat scares me. My fiancé thinks I should simply take it to a sewing machine repair place and have them fix it. I've seen replacement motors on EBAY. What are the chances that I'll get a good one there? Would you take it somewhere to be repaired, or do the replacement arts?

Your fiancé is right: Taking it to a good repair place is the best idea and they'll probably spot the problem instantly. If the motor isn't the problem you're just wasting your money.

Just make sure you take it to someone who repairs the older machines as a rule. So many places nowadays don't, and they'll try to tell you it's junk or can't be repaired and try to sell you a new plastic fantastic. I agree with Mike, a knowledgeable repair person should be able to spot the problem rather quickly.

Cari

Around here there are appliance repair shops that may rewire a motor and controller for you. It might be cheaper if you remove the electrical parts yourself and reinstall after they have been refurbished.

Excellent idea Miriam.

Cari

Singer Motor needed--99K
 

Just 2 weeks ago we went to my tech. to pick up a 99K which he had checked over and we bought from him for our oldest daughter. It sews like a dream, and she loves it!
I didn't look up were you are, but if you want to p.m. me I can lead you to a great tech, who we have used for a lot of years for my machine. Mariah

Does the light come on when you plug it in? Are you getting any juice at all? Does the motor try to move or make any sound? Do the wires look okay visually? (No frayed, cut, or joined areas) When you flex the wires, do you hear any cracking sounds? If you turn the hand wheel, does it move freely or do you really have to crank on it to get things to move?

It could be a lot of things - might be a bad pedal, might be a wiring problem, might be something jammed up in the machine itself... I think it's best if you can diagnose where the problem is before you take it in, particularly if you don't know/trust the repair person yet. But if you're not sure where to even start, a repair person or your nearest sewing machine geek is probably where to go next.

Worst case scenario and your motor is shot - you can buy new replacement motors online or you can try for one on eBay. I actually recently bought a motor & light assembly for a 99K from eBay and it worked great.

I am very fond of 99's - yours sounds lovely!

I just got a 99k and it is running fine. I've been taking it apart and cleaning and oiling it. I think it might need new wiring on the motor. There is no plug on the motor to plug a cord in. My featherweight has a 3 prong plug that plugs the ac cord into the machine but this one is wired direct into the motor. Can I renew the wiring? It has a 2 prong plug that goes in the wall but I'm kind of scared of it. Any suggestions? Thank you!

There are some that will rewire, just because of the age. Picture, please. It is quite possible that it uses a motor block. Does it have a light and does it have a regular plug, too?

There are other places, but what I'm thinking is something like https://www.sewingpartsonline.com/fo...g-machine.aspx

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.
Not affiliated with off-site link(s)

Thank you but I have no idea how to post a pic.

The motor is bolted to the machine but the only electrical connections appear to be connected inside the motor cover. As you are looking at the back of the machine, 2 wires come out of the motor housing on the right, one goes to the wall socket, the other to the light fixture on the machine. On the left side of the motor housing, one wire comes out and has the foot pedal on the end. I have ordered a new belt and it will be here in a few days. The cleaning and oiling has feed up all the moving parts of the machine and it is moving freely with the turning of the hand wheel. However, 😬I'm and oily mess!

Pics of wiring of singer 99
 

Pics of the motor, the plug and a sketchy repair. I'm not sure I could do it myself. The wire itself is in good condition or broken or anything. I could repair, solder that sketchy repair and put heat shrink tubing on it.

The wiring looks like it is still pliable. There were Singer motors like that, which did not have the multi-prong plugs on the side like the featherweight. There is a picture of machine like that (a 99) at https://picclick.com/1950-Singer-99k...400462900.html I don't know how long it will be available as when click on link, it doesn't take you to a listing for that machine.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.
Not affiliated with off-site link(s)

Singer motors I have had with this configuration use wire nuts to connect the wires in the housing under the motor, which makes replacement of wiring a whole lot easier. If you have a button type foot controller then it likely has two screw on wire terminals inside of it for that end of the wire, again, a whole lot easier to replace. When I replace wire to anything but the lamp I use wire of a heavier gauge than lamp cord because of the additional power draw of the motor. And I am guessing that the latch on that replacement plug isn't closed all the way because the wire coming in is the original wiring (heavier than lamp cord) and that plug is made to clamp onto lamp cord. You want an appropriate replacement plug for the heavier gauge wire used there.

I took off the sketchy patch and it's not a break, just a cut in the insulation. I think I'll just clean it up for now.

Thank you, it does appear that the cord is heavier than a lamp cord, I can take it off and get one with screw on terminals at the hardware store. It looks like the wire is the original coming out of the motor. Maybe that's the only changes they made?

Hard to say without seeing it all in person, but my guess is the wire into the original plug was ruined by someone pulling it out by the wire instead of the plug. And remember do not leave your machine plugged in when not in use.

Picked up a proper size plug today but I'm waiting on the shrink wrap I ordered before replacing it. I want to cover the cut in the insulation with shrink wrap before putting the plug on.