20 Most Recent Elna Quilter's Dream 6003Q - Page 6 Questions & Answers

You will have to take the machine in for service.

Refer to the troubleshooting section of your manual.

If this does not help, you will need to take the machine in for service.

slide the accessory case off; locate the feed dog lever on the back of the free arm. Slide the lever either to the right (down) or to the left (up).

There is a slide switch on the underside of the back of the free-arm. The feed dogs will not immediately raise when you slide it, the machine must make a full rotation for it to engage.

Drop the feed dogs and use the freemotion or darning foot...you have complete control of the feeding....entirely ....so you will need to practice to achieve consistent results.

Please TRY the solution BEFORE giving your considered rating.
Specific detail on bobbin case adjustment (with picture) near halfway down reply, the remainder will help you achieve a balance of top and bottom tensions.

Ensure that all is clean and free of lint and jams, this is the most likely cause....now for tension troubleshooting .......

This solution is for tension problems...if you cannot form any sort of stitch, the issue is quite different, so please let me know if you need a different problem solved.....

It is quite long, but just work through each section in order.
The "knotting up" can reveal a lot. If you have loose threads on one side or the other, the tension on the opposite side will be the culprit.

QUICK SUMMARY FIRST:
Ensure sharp new needle,
Thread guides and Bobbin are Clean & Clear of lint
Set Top Tesion to 4 ....then....
Balance Bobbin to suit.

TOP THREAD TENSION:
If the looping threads are on the underside as you sew, it is the top tension. Top tension ought to be between 4 & 6 (this variation to allow for the different weights of fabric in your projects).

IS YOUR NEEDLE SHARP ?
If you are using a needle that has seen quite a deal of work, or you suspect it may be blunt, change it for a new one !

TOP TENSION & GUIDES:
Make sure that when you thread the machine the presser foot is up so the thread goes between the discs and not to one side, top tension between 4 and 6, and that you have threaded through all the guides, including the last one, usually on the needle arm, just above the needle clamp.

It may be there is lint trapped between the discs, this will keep them slightly apart and reduce the actual tension, sometimes dramatically.

If tensions appear correct, and the thread is definitely in the channel between the discs, but still too loose and looping, try raising presser foot and remove your thread.

Now, with a 2" (50mm) wide strip piece of fabric 8 - 10" (20 - 25cm) moistened with methylated or denatured spirit, gently insert the fabric strip and clean between the discs with a see saw / to and fro action.

In the worst cases, gentle use of a needle to pick & remove the jam may be necessary, but be very gentle and make sure the tension is set at Zero and the presser foot is raised, (to disengage tension plates).... do not gouge or score the plates, they need a polished surface to work correctly.

BOBBIN TENSION:
Far less common, but if the loose threads are on the top, it is bobbin tension that is loose, it too may have lint in the spring and be giving a "false" tension.

I would not recommend fiddling with bobbin tension without good reason, it may end up with missing small screws and spring pieces, however, you can take the needle plate off to clean
the hook race area (where bobbin case sits)

...this is just good housekeeping, my wife does this every time she replaces the bobbin....

just take it out and clean the bobbin case and the fixed metal hook race with a small brush to remove lint. If there is a significant amount of lint, use a vacuum and small brush to get the worst.

Then wipe all this area with a cloth or cotton bud (Q tip) moistened (not soaked) with methylated spirit, especially if there appears to be fine dirty deposits....oil and lint combine to conspire against you.

If it seems likely that you ......really ....do .....actually .....need .....to adjust the bobbin case, first check there is no lint trapped in the metal spring where the thread is tensioned.

TOP LOADER:
Drop-in Bobbin case will look similar to this image with the tension screw in the middle of the metalwork....

...the other screw at one end is holding it all together, so beware....it is not a tragedy to undo the whole lot and clean it, but very gingerly and lay the bits out in sequence and orientation, or you risk tearing your hair out !

FRONT LOADER:
....this is a bobbin case from a front loading machine and works in a very similar fashion to the top loader with drop in bobbin, again, if you dismantle it, take care so you can put it all
back properly.
FINISHING UP
GETTING THE BALANCE RIGHT:
When you are certain there's no trapped lint in top tension or bobbin, set the top tension to 4 and the bobbin tension to a point where you just begin to feel resistance.

Try using good quality thread of contrasting colours so you can more easily spot the changes.

Set your zigzag to one width less than maximum (eg. 5 of 6 ...or... 4 of 5 etc) and sew a sample for a few inches and check the result.... adjust the bobbin tension screw very little at
a time, perhaps 1/16 of a turn.

You may find you are playing with this balance for some little while and if you are putting the needleplate on and off each time begin to think it cannot be correct to do this.....BUT....it is,
and eventually, you do get a "feel" for the correct tension and then it happens quite quickly.....as a user you won't be doing it very often unless there is lint built up (or are there small hands at work around the house !?!?!)

OTHER ISSUES:
If you live near the ocean as we do, salt air can play havoc with metalwork inside and out, so to help minimise this, keep a few small packets of dessicant (silica gel) in your machine
case....no case ? then make some sort of cover !

Same applies in any damp or humid environment, keep your machine dry and dust free.

Budget for a proper full service every couple of years (more often if heavily used) and if you don't use your machine for a few years, be aware that old oil will dry out and combining with
dust and form a "clag" like glue (another reason for some sort of cover, even a teatowel !)

FINALLY, A WORD ON THREAD:
If it is worth spending the time, energy and money on making something that you would like to give lasting enjoyment......use quality thread, .......it may seem to cost a little more at the
time, but the results, ease of use and added longevity will be worth the extra, and as a bonus, your tension troubles may be fewer and further between, because there is a more consistent diameter with good thread, and less compensating to be done by your tension plates and less thread breaks
Best Wishes
Martyn
Bargain Box in Australia

You could have some cotton wrapped around your take-up arm. If you remove the cotton it should go again.
It could be needing oil on the upper shaft bush close to your flywheel. Maybey a drop of oil behind your bobbin case.

Does that model have a plastic or metal Bobbin case?

a quick fix it to go to the hardware store and buy very long, thin bolts and 2 nuts. one for on top of the machine and the other for underneath the top of machine. You should be able to take the top of with about 3 screws.

Am taking it to the shop.

I gently took a screwdriver and press the plastic base of the bobbin spindle to the left, I guess that the spindle base was not making a good connection, so the computer could not tell if it was still in that mode.  It worked for me. thank-you for your other insights to this problem.

Generally on an Elna there's a little hole on the very top of the sewing machine directly above the bulb.
Pushing a long, skinny stick (like a screwdriver,) down into this hole will push the lightbulb and socket assembly down to where you can actually access the bulb without having to try to skvoosh your fingers into the tiny space.

-R

I had the same problem and was sewing for quite awhile without my light working. Finally, a friend of mine was over and we did get it replaced. I believe there are a couple of plastic tabs behind the machine, and we pried them off and there was a screw behind them, (I can't remember if there was one or two plastic tabs) when we unscrewed them that popped off the cover and I was able to replace the bulb. I hope that helps, and when I go home I will check it again to see if I missed anything. Good Luck!!

There is a screw in the side cover of your machine. You can't see it because it is covered with a round piece of plastic and this Can be seen. To remove it, use a small thin blade screwdriver to lift it out.Find the screw and remove it. The cover will be a little difficult to pull off but not impossible.
By the way, Maxi lock thread is a 2ply thread made for overlock machines. It does not give as good a tension as 3 ply sewing machine thread and it is not as strong.
Coats and Clark makes a good quilting thread on a cone. It will cost more but should give you a lot less grief.
P.S.
If thread is building up,it is lint and is usually caused by a sharp surface that it is passing over. Find the sharp edge and make it smoother.
sewman7

I'm sorry but if your shuttle on this machine is only turning half way around you probably have a broken gear. It needs to be seen by a technician. Some of these machines need a complete lower assembly because you can't get "just" a gear.
sewman7

You need to put more tention into the Corners, Try puttin a tention of 10 into the Quilt. And it should work fine. 10-12 Maximum, don't go pass 12 because it will probably Rip, or Shrill up. Hope this Helped.

Thanks for Using FixYa! -CA

On the top left side of your machine is a round thread guide which is supposed to create tension and guide the thread. Sometimes the thread comes out of this thread guide and causes the problems you are experiencing. Wrap the thread around this guide one time and you should have your problem resolved.
sewman7

program-controlled sewing or embroidery machine comprising a stitch-forming device (2), an integrated microcomputer (4), at least one memory (16, 17) and at least one data interface (5), as well as a keyboard (12) and a display (11) for entering and monitoring or checking values for program control. To retrieve sewing or embroidery pattern data from a remote computer (mailbox) in a simple manner, the data interface (5) of the sewing or embroidery machine (1) is able to be connected directly to the mailbox (10) of a central computer (9) via a data transmission connection (7) via a corresponding modem (6), and the structural units which are necessary for communication with the mailbox (10), such as display (11), keyboard (12) and memory (16, 17) are disposed in the sewing or embroidery machine (1) itself, with the functional processes necessary for communication with the mailbox (10) being able to be controlled and monitored by the microcomputer (4) necessary for controlling the program of the sewing or embroidery machine. The invention further relates to a method of operating program-controlled sewing or embroidery machines.

It seems that the bobbin winder sensor needs adjusting and is best done by a service technician with the appropriate service manual to ensure correct parameters are achieved..........to locate your nearest Elna dealer, try ElnaUSA .....here