BSR frustrations

I've had my Bernina with the stitch regulator for maybe 4 years. All
of a sudden, in the middle of a big queen size quilt, it won't quilt.

In the middle of quilting, it will start throwing loops on the
bottom. There's a very unpleasant knocking sound that's intermittent,
but very frequent; maybe 70 of the stitches. It makes this sound even
when the stitches are ok. I've taken it back to the dealer 3 times
now.

Every time it messes up, I stop, get out a test piece of material and
batting and try to make a sample of the garbage, but then it starts
working again. I've used up all my spool of masterpiece thread
ripping out stitches from the quilt and making test samples.

They don't really ever find anything *wrong*, but they have seen it
make the sound and throw loops... Also, they've seen the BSR audio
signal fail to beep even when I've set it.

I've changed needles, bobbins, and thread, trying to elminate anything
that could be wrong. It behaves the same no matter what.

I'm getting so frustrated. I just don't know what to do.

Susan K

Are you sure you are putting the presser foot down each time? Does it
do this also when you are not freemotioning? Are you sure that the
connection is tight? Those are just the starting points I can think
of.

On Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:16:53 -0800 (PST), kratersge
wrote:

I've had my Bernina with the stitch regulator for maybe 4 years. All
of a sudden, in the middle of a big queen size quilt, it won't quilt.

In the middle of quilting, it will start throwing loops on the
bottom. There's a very unpleasant knocking sound that's intermittent,
but very frequent; maybe 70 of the stitches. It makes this sound even
when the stitches are ok. I've taken it back to the dealer 3 times
now.

Every time it messes up, I stop, get out a test piece of material and
batting and try to make a sample of the garbage, but then it starts
working again. I've used up all my spool of masterpiece thread
ripping out stitches from the quilt and making test samples.

They don't really ever find anything *wrong*, but they have seen it
make the sound and throw loops... Also, they've seen the BSR audio
signal fail to beep even when I've set it.

I've changed needles, bobbins, and thread, trying to elminate anything
that could be wrong. It behaves the same no matter what.

I'm getting so frustrated. I just don't know what to do.

Susan K

I don't have a clue as to how to solve your problem, but I did want to tell
you that I, too, had a long seige where I could quilt just fine on a sample
piece, but as soon as I put the real quilt under the darning foot, the
thread started snarling and snapping. Drove me nuts. I put the quilt aside
for a while and am just now starting back to work on it. I hope I have
better luck this time.

ep


"kratersge" wrote in message
...
I've had my Bernina with the stitch regulator for maybe 4 years. All
of a sudden, in the middle of a big queen size quilt, it won't quilt.

In the middle of quilting, it will start throwing loops on the
bottom. There's a very unpleasant knocking sound that's intermittent,
but very frequent; maybe 70 of the stitches. It makes this sound even
when the stitches are ok. I've taken it back to the dealer 3 times
now.

Every time it messes up, I stop, get out a test piece of material and
batting and try to make a sample of the garbage, but then it starts
working again. I've used up all my spool of masterpiece thread
ripping out stitches from the quilt and making test samples.

They don't really ever find anything *wrong*, but they have seen it
make the sound and throw loops... Also, they've seen the BSR audio
signal fail to beep even when I've set it.

I've changed needles, bobbins, and thread, trying to elminate anything
that could be wrong. It behaves the same no matter what.

I'm getting so frustrated. I just don't know what to do.

Susan K

I don't have a bernina and I don't have the bsr but I searched for
'bernina bsr troubleshooting'

http://www.dognamedbanjo.com/2008/08...-of-2-the-bsr/

I read down to the bottom of the page - possible? update available
for the bsr? another possible reason for the looping - one person
talked of the thread on a particular spool from Connecting
Threads ..... maybe this blogger can offer more help and/or
suggestions for you. jennellh


On Nov 22, 4:16*pm, kratersge wrote:
I've had my Bernina with the stitch regulator for maybe 4 years. *All
of a sudden, in the middle of a big queen size quilt, it won't quilt.

In the middle of quilting, it will start throwing loops on the
bottom. *There's a very unpleasant knocking sound that's intermittent,
but very frequent; maybe 70 of the stitches. *It makes this sound even
when the stitches are ok. *I've taken it back to the dealer 3 times
now.

Every time it messes up, I stop, get out a test piece of material and
batting and try to make a sample of the garbage, but then it starts
working again. *I've used up all my spool of masterpiece thread
ripping out stitches from the quilt and making test samples.

They don't really ever find anything *wrong*, but they have seen it
make the sound and throw loops... Also, they've seen the BSR audio
signal fail to beep even when I've set it.

I've changed needles, bobbins, and thread, trying to elminate anything
that could be wrong. *It behaves the same no matter what.

I'm getting so frustrated. *I just don't know what to do.

Susan K

On Nov 23, 12:18*am, Jennifer in Ottawa wrote:
I don't have a bernina and I don't have the bsr but I searched for
'bernina bsr troubleshooting'

*http://www.dognamedbanjo.com/2008/08...440-qe-free-mo....

I read down to the bottom of the page - possible? *update available
for the bsr? *another possible reason for the looping - one person
talked of the thread on a particular spool from Connecting
Threads ..... maybe this blogger can offer more help and/or
suggestions for you. * jennellh


Thanks for finding that blog. I'd done my google homework, but I
didn't use "troubleshooting" in my search. Still, I think I've
eliminated the thread issue as a variable.

The guy at the shop updated the firmware when we discovered that the
audio signal was flakey, so I know that's up to date. Still, the
audio signal is still flakey.

I've tried several different threads, trying to go finer and finer
figuring that if it was catching on something it might stop if the
thread was different. At first, I had Superior Masterpiece in the top
and some thick variegated thread (just a cardboard spool; no label).
Having different threads could be messing it up, although I've done
that successfully in the past. Changed to King Tut on both bobbin and
top; same spool so not even a dye lot different. Then, changed to
Superior Masterpiece on both; same spool. At this point, I've used up
my entire last spool of the Masterpiece for my quilt, so I've
reordered.

I think I'll switch back to the King Tut for test stitching when I
take it to the shop this time. The thread doesn't really seemed to
have changed the behavior anyway.

In article
,
kratersge wrote:

I've had my Bernina with the stitch regulator for maybe 4 years. All
of a sudden, in the middle of a big queen size quilt, it won't quilt.

In the middle of quilting, it will start throwing loops on the
bottom. There's a very unpleasant knocking sound that's intermittent,
but very frequent; maybe 70 of the stitches. It makes this sound even
when the stitches are ok. I've taken it back to the dealer 3 times
now.

Every time it messes up, I stop, get out a test piece of material and
batting and try to make a sample of the garbage, but then it starts
working again. I've used up all my spool of masterpiece thread
ripping out stitches from the quilt and making test samples.

They don't really ever find anything *wrong*, but they have seen it
make the sound and throw loops... Also, they've seen the BSR audio
signal fail to beep even when I've set it.

I've changed needles, bobbins, and thread, trying to elminate anything
that could be wrong. It behaves the same no matter what.

I'm getting so frustrated. I just don't know what to do.

Susan K


Susan, I found out on the Bernina group I belong to that sometimes
quirky behavior by a BSR is caused by a faulty spring. There's a new
spring available, and you can easily tell whether you have it or not.
Simply look at the spring on your BSR; is it shiny? If so, you have the
old style -- go to your dealer and request the new one (it also has some
sort of "ring" thingy that goes with it). If the one you have isn't
shiny, you already have the new one.

That said, if the tech can't even find the problem, I'd say it's time
they gave you a replacement BSR. :S

--
Sandy in Henderson, near Las Vegas
sw.foster1 (at) gmail (dot) com (remove/change the obvious)
http://www.sandymike.net

I'm wondering why you don't just put that BSR in its nice box and proceed
with your quilt without it. You probably have done enough stitching to not
really need it. I know. It's the principle of the thing. Maybe this quilt
doesn't like the BSR. I only use my BSR when I want/need to stitch with my
feet propped up. I (almost) made one quilt that defied quilting. It
belongs to the Yorkie. The fabric was a WOW and something about the finish
was entirely too contrary. Polly

When my brand new machine was playing tricks like that and I took it
back, it turned out that the spring in the bobbin case was out of
whack and a different bobbin case solved the problem. Do you have an
extra one you could try?

On Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:27:43 -0800 (PST), kratersge
wrote:

On Nov 23, 12:18*am, Jennifer in Ottawa wrote:
I don't have a bernina and I don't have the bsr but I searched for
'bernina bsr troubleshooting'

Carole D. - Retired and loving it in the foothills of NW Georgia

My quilts, crafts, QIs, and more - http://home.windstream.net/caroledoyle

Well, on the far side of 4 trips to the shop and 2 hours spent in the
shop doing my quilting in front of them I think I have a conclusion.

When I oil the hook it sews beautifully.
If it starts to make that "knocking" sound -- stop at the first
convenient point and OIL IT AGAIN.
If I don't, eventually it will start throwing loops to force me to
stop.

You know that little oil can display that comes up to tell you to oil
it? Forget it.
You know that "every 4 hours of sewing" recommendation from the sweet
older lady in the shop. Forget it.
If it starts knocking -- even after 2 hours -- OIL IT.

The problem with the shop is that every time they swap out a part,
they finish by oiling the hook. So, it always tested fine for them
and I had to sew for at least a couple hours before it messed up.

I feel kind of silly. She kept asking me if I was oiling it, and I
said yes. I just didn't understand how frequently it needed to be
done.

In my defense, I've done several queen size quilts on this and it
didn't *use* to be true. Maybe this is the "mature adult" behavior of
the bernina after it's broken in.

Susan K
see my quilts: members.cox.net/kratersge

On Dec 8, 9:27*am, kratersge wrote:

In my defense, I've done several queen size quilts on this and it
didn't *use* to be true. *Maybe this is the "mature adult" behavior of
the bernina after it's broken in.

Susan K
see my quilts: members.cox.net/kratersge

No need to be defensive. It may just go back to a comment I made
about precision mass-produced machines still being individual. Some
may need "recommended" oiling, some less, some more.

The important thing is that you found the fix and hopefully that will
be the end of it and the joy will return to your quilting.

Doc