Bernina 440 QE -- Freezing with blank display

Definatly it is an electronic issue. Have the cables checked to be sure there weren't any pinched between the covers etc. And that the plugs on them are seated properly. This they should do naturally. I have also seen this before when what is called the EEPROM chip went bad. Screen lit, no info. The EEPROM is a small chip, black and rectangular on the S-Print board,The EEPROM stores all the information for the machine to work. The screen will light but no info on the screen if its bad. Before replacing a whole circuitboard I would suggest replacing this. It just plugs and unplugs from the S-Print and much less expensive.
If your not feeling all that trustworthy if the tech can do it then ask that it be sent to Bernina in Illinois and repaired. It could take 6 weeks though.

I can tell you precisely what this is .... the fault is on the power supply board in the back of your sewing machine - it is called an 'L'-print. Bernina had a quality problem with some of the chips that were supplied to them and it resulted in failure of the +5v internal supply after a period of time - the voltage goes down from 5 to 3.5 volts resulting in the screen going blank, the machine stopping working but, and this is the key indicator of the fault, the display backlight and the sewing light remain on. You can double-check this .... you may not realise it but the front of the upright part of the case (the part that has the 'Aurora 440' with the 'QE' in large letters) is actually an inspection door that can be taken off. If you look, you'll see a 'D' shaped serrated thumb-sized part on the centre-left of the front panel - if you press and pull this the whole panel will come off and there are a number of green LEDs underneath. Switch the machine on and the top three, at least, should all be lit brightly - if, when the display goes blank, one of these LEDs also goes dim, this confirms the fault. Two solutions .... 1) Easy and expensive - take the machine to your Bernina service man and get him to change the board - it'll cost around £150-200. 2) More difficult but cheaper - find a local service repair man who has some electronic knowledge - tell him the power supply is faulty, that it's located in the back of the back cover and he needs to change the 8-pin DIL SMPS chip labelled KA34063 for a new one - the part costs under £5 and it's about a half-hour job, so the whole thing shouldn't cost more than £30-40. Hope this helps.

Thanks Rick Beament, my 440QE blank display was the KA34063 chip that I replaced for $ 2.50. Thanks again.

I have the same problem with my Aurora 440QE. If the cause is indeed a bad chip, might it be the result of the company using a defective part when the machines were manufactured?