Bernina activa 210 won't zigzag and has bobbin issues on straight stitch

Perhaps the manual would be helpful:

BERNINA activa 210 Support BERNINA

You may want to download and keep this manual. A lot of manuals for older Berninas are no longer available.

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12 wt thread generally will not work well in the bobbin...


"Aurifil 12wt Thread
Aurifil 12 wt thread is ideal for hand quilting, big stitch hand quilting and machine quilting. 12 weight thread creates a more defined and often primitive look. It's great for designs that use a longer stitch length if using a machine. When machine quilting with 12 wt thread, use 40 wt in the bobbin, increase your stitch length, lower your tension, use Topstitch size 90 needles and stitch slowly."

I am willing to bet that your sewing machine's computer battery has died. A lot of people don't realize that these machines are computers... there is a small battery in all computers it has to be replaced now and then. (I think they call it an "eprom" battery.)

Btw.. I would NOT have paid 4 times for servicing on the same problem. If they didn't' fix it the first time... they can try again... but I won't pay for nothing.

seems silly, but did you remember to plug it in? If you used a power strip, did you remember to make sure the strip is turned on?

Make sure the connection is plugged into the machine.

Good luck

Are you absolutley sure you're not getting a problem with stitch formation on, for example, wide zig-zag. Check again, using a different colour top and bottom and make sure that the stitch is being formed properly with only the top colour on top and bottom colour on the bottom. It sounds as though the bottom loop is not being picked-up by the hook properly. Make sure you've thoroughly cleaned-out any fluff under the stitch-plate and remove the hook/shuttle and give the hook race a good clean and give it a single drop of oil, even if you've got the lightweight part-plastic hook/shuttle fitted.

Firstly, I assume you've cleaned-out under the stitch-plate and after removing the bobbin, have removed the hook/shuttle, cleaned the hook race and given the hook race a drop of oil. Whilst you've got the hook/shuttle out, just check that the point is not damaged. Also, if you've got the lightweight hook/shuttle often fitted to these machines (it's black plastic with a metal outer/point), make sure there's no needle damage to the plastic - sometimes this can catch the thread as the hook rotates, preventing the loop from being picked-up. After doing that, check if you can sew straight stitch with the needle in centre, fully left and fully right. If it works in one location but not the others, there could be a number of issues such as timing/synchronisation or possibly the needle bar is offset front-to-back so that there's too large a spacing between the needle and hook.

Check that your needle is centred when straight-stitch is selected and / or that you have the correct stitch-plate fitted. Is the needle breaking because it is hitting the stitch-plate or is it breaking when the needle goes down through the slot/hole in the stitch-plate. If you are sewing zig/zag or patterns, you must have a slotted stitch-plate fitted. If it's breaking when the needle passes below the stitch-plate, then take the bobbin /bobbin case out and the hook/shuttle and see if it still happens. If it does, the timing on your machine may be out and need professional adjustment. If it doesn'y happen after removing just the bobbin case, make sure the bobbin case is being correctly fitted.

Check that you have got the thread correctly routed on the bobbin case and that there is noticeable 'drag' on the thread when you pull the thread out of the bobbin, in its case. If there's little or no drag, it is likely that the bobbin tension needs increasing. I'm assuming you've set the top tension to thered line. A good check is to load two colours of the same thread type top-and-bottom - when sewing on wide zig-zag, the top thread colour should be the only one seen on the top of the material and the bottom colour should be mostly seen on the bottom ... it's OK to have just a spot of the top colour showing on the underside on wide zig-zag/satin stitch.

I would take it to a Bernina repairman, nice machine and well worth getting it serviced by a qualified technician.

I presume that you've tried the obvious things like a new needle and checking the bobbin case is in correctly.

Sounds like your zig zag stop is out of position, simple adjustment for a tech.