Trimmer not trimming at all after maintenance

[Kristie]

Hi, I did the maintenance on my XT and now the trimmer is not trimming the thread. Top or bobbin thread is not cutting at all... not sure what I did, but I checked the past boards and did what was recommended. I even ordered a new knife. I removed the needle plate cleaned and replaced everything. The knife does move in and out, so it should be in there ok... I think,,
what else could it be? please help!!!
Thank you,
Kristie

[gcannon]

Did anything unusual take place before, during, or after the maintenance you did? Specifically, did the trimmer misfire or did anything get caught in the rotary hook? If so (and, maybe, even if not) the cable that "pushes" the knife could be bent. You have to open the back cover to see if this is the case- it usually tends to bend near the servo that drives it- complicated assembly, theses trimmers. One more thing- have you tried to "detect trimmer" under tools>maintenance>steppers tab? Do this & hit "apply" & "ok" and see if this helps.

[Rod or Sharon]

Kristie,

Gregs advice on items to check is right on, but just reading your description means that several things may be going on depending on just "what" you did during the maintanence.

You say the knife goes back and forth, but you did not say whether the "selector" that has the fish hook on it also goes back and forth. You can command these to move in and out individually (XT's only) by going into maintanence, steppers and selecting their respective columns labled "cutter" or "selector". Check to make absolutely sure that the push rod wires are connected to the knife carrier and also properly attached to the selector. Big Reds have the cutter and selector as a one piece item so do not have separate columns for testing purposes.

The spring clip that must be removed "must" be replaced properly so that the pin fits up into the hole in the top of the clip and securely snaped into place on both sides.

If by some chance you took out the one screw that holds the housing block assemblyto the sewing arm that both the knife and selector fit onto......well lets just say that we hope you did not do that....readjusting the housing block assembly, depending on the individual machine can be very critical at times....

Rod Springer
Amaya Tech & Trainer

[gcannon]

Rod!- you're back- I'm so glad you feel well enough to visit with us once again!

[Body Cover]

So great to see you post Rod!
Hope your feeling better in no time!

Ron

[Kristie]

Hi,

All I did was remove the needle plate and bobbin, oil and shoot the air around to clear the dust. Well, I did use a brush as well.. softly though. I will try the recommendations today as my son has been ill, so I didn't get to use my machine yet. I didn't remove any other screws. I didn't even take out the knife before this happened. I only removed the knife to change the blade because I thought that was the problem. I will post again, when I go thru your instructions at the shop.

Thanks!

[Nalo_b]

hi I also have this problem. i took off the needle plate because a thread was stuck and replace the plate and now my trimmer doesnt trim as well...

[Nalo_b]

Just took off the needle plate again n hit clean trimmer. I see that there are two rods one that is connected to the longer part of the trimmer on the left and another rod that not connected to anything but is pushing on the trimmer. Does that rod belong in the hole on the short side of the trimmer? Looms like it supposed to be hooked up to that piece. But don't know how it would of come off

[Rod or Sharon]

The answer is yes, both pushrods must be attached and yes, the bent up end of the pushrod goes in the hole on the knife carrier.

I would say the main reason that these come out of this hole is because the trimmer has been but in a bind caused by debris, fuzz, lint, etc...that builds up and lack of lubrication that allows the knife and carrier to slide freely.

The end of the knife carrier should also be flexed upward so that it puts slight pressure on the bottom side of the knife carrier.

Rod Springer
Amaya Tech & Trainer

[Nalo_b]

Thanks Rod! That's exactly what happened. It had a stuck thread caught in the hook area and jammed up pretty tight. Put the rod back and trimming fine now. Thank you.

[Fabrications]

My trimmer isn't working (XT machine) - before doing the maintenance, and now again after the maint.
I did the 4mil maintenance which cleaned and lubed the trimmer so I hoped that would help, but still no luck.
Everything is in place where it should be. Bobbin thread is cutting, but not top.
I have complicated multi-color designs backing up now since it's not efficient to run this machine for them.
Ideas?

[Rod or Sharon]

Janet,

The most common cause is that the selector is not traveling far enough forward to allow the selector hook to pick up the top thread. A bent selector is usually the culprit. The back lower cover on the rear of the machine must be removed to access the pushrods......

The correct setting and travel of both the knife and selector is critical to its proper function....

Rod springer
amaya Tech & Trainer

[Rod or Sharon]

Janet.....I meant to say..."bent selector pushrod" .....oops....there is a big difference..

Rod Springer
Amaya Tech & Trainer

[Posylane]

We had a rod popping out of the hole every once in a while. I finally took a pair of needle noise pliers and put a little more bend on the "hook" and that solved the problem once and seeming for all.