Colour Change Seek Error

[whynotkates]

Hi,

We have an Amaya XT and when i turned on this morning it has moved all the way to the left and saying colour change seek error. When i go into maintenance>steppers and click home under colour change its making a sound like it blocked and cant move. and when i go under sensors it says home is blocked. Please help.. I need to do embroidery ASAP before christmas.

Thanx,
Sam

[gcannon]

Try pushing the emergency-stop button & the release it by turning it to the right till it pops out. That could be all that is needed (don't know why, but it works for mine sometimes). If that doesn't do it, shut everything down & reboot OS, wait about a minute & turn the machine back on. What happened?

[whynotkates]

thanx but no it didnt work. now its saying the z axis is blocked?

[Rod or Sharon]

Sam,

Some questions....

Is a needle/needlebar lined up with the presser foot?

IS the bobbincase in or out of the sewing arm/rotary hook basket?

With the machine off or the E-stop pushed in, can you manually rotate the Z-axis shaft 360 degrees and have the needlebar move up and down?

The Z-axis shaft is located in a hole in the upper machine casting just above the sewing arm. It is a steel colored rod running from the fron towards the rear of the machine.

Is something caught in the rotary hook?

Is the retaining support finger engauged in the rotary hook basket?

Check to see that the presser foot is not locked up against the needlebar clamp.

If you are getting a Z-axis error, then something is binding and not allowing the rotary hook/Z-axis shaft to turn. You may have one or more of the following.......

Frozen needlebar.
Frozen or bound up rotary hook.
Reciprocator shaft/reciprocator frozen.
Broken connecting rod.
Anything that will not allow the Z-axis shaft to rotate.

Rod Springer
Amaya Tech & Trainer

[whynotkates]

Hi,
thankyou for responding and your for ur help.
The needlebar is not lined up with the presser foot.

I just took the bobbin case out and it hasnt done anything. When we try to move the needle case it makes a clicking sound and wont move like it is jammed.

Sorry i am only new and not sure of all the names and parts of the machine.

thanx again for your help.

Sam

[Rod or Sharon]

Sam,

More questions........

Are all of the needlebars up to their highest position and lined up horizontally with each other?

Are all of the takeup levers lined up horizontally with each other? The takeup levers are the black plactic levers that move up and down in the slots in the needlecase cover.

Whn you try to move the needlecas, how are you trying to do this? Are you using the software or trying to do it manually? The machine "must" be either turned off or the E-stop must be depressed to allow the needlecase to be moved manually as well as all of the needlebars and the takeup levers lined up with each other.

The first step is to get that needlebar lined up with the presser foot. the machine will not go to headup unless it is.

There may be a chance that the threadfeed drive gear is broken and binding the needlecase not allowing it to move. Check your Parts and Tech CD to see where this drive gear is located. The color change motor covers on the right side needs to be removed to see this gear clearly. It is about 1.5" in diameter and white in color. There are two long screws that hold the right side cover on and one short one that is located on the left side cover in the rear of the cover that hold the two halves together.

If it is broken, it will need to be replaced.

Rod Springer
Amaya Tech & Trainer

[gcannon]

Glad you jumped in here, Ron. Sounds like Sam has a big problem. You da man for the big things.

[Rod or Sharon]

Greg,

Sam has one of those problems that can either have a fairly easy, obvious fix or given the worst case senario, some very bad news with lots of space between the two.

As Sam has indicated he is pretty new to all of this. Machine lubrication may be part or all of the culprit here. The diagnostic evaluation can get lengthy when trying to fix or help fix a machine without actually seeing it. You must "drag" out the information from the operator, not because they are trying to hold something back, but because they just do not know where to go, what to look at or what to say. Guess I just partially defined the difference between a machine operator and a Tech..

The other side, as Paul Harvey used to say, is what is the rest of the story? What caused this in the first place? It is important to search out and determine why this happened so it does not happen again....sometimes even I don't like the "big" things I find.

Kind of on the same order as the Doc telling me after the angiogram, Rod we don't like what we are seeing in there!

Rod Springer
Amaya Tech & Trainer

[whynotkates]

Hi,

Yes all the take up levers are up to there highest position. thay are alsmost all horizontal except number 1 is down a little bit lower.
Im not sure wat the needle bar is and the book and help on software wont show me.
sorry for not knowing much!

When i try to move the needlecase I am using the keypad on the machine. im not sure how to move it manually.

Thanx,
Sam

[Rod or Sharon]

Sam,

The needlebar is the shaft that you put a needle into. The clamp that holds the needle in the needlebar is called the needlebar clamp. All 16 needlebars should be in their uppermost position. Are they lined up horizonally?

The takeup levers should also be lined up horizonally and exactly in line with each other.

You said that the needlecase has moved all the way to the left. That should mean the number one needle/needlebar should be lined up with the hole in the needle plate on the sewing arm. It should also be direcly in front of and lined up with the presser foot.

Trying to move the needlecase with the keypad on the machine will not work in this case.

Again, it is important for me to know if the number one needlebar is lined up with the presser foot and is in its upper most position? If it is, go into Tools, Maintanence, Head Timing and left click on "Headup." Then do the Maintanence, Steppers, Color Change Home and see what happens. The machine MUST be at Headup before the machine software will let the needlecase color change.

I believe you need to give me a call. I have a doctors appointment at 1pm mountain time, so if you want to give me a call early in the morning, I will help you diagnois the problem. It may be that you will have to get a tech on site to fix something on the machine, but at least you will know what it is...

Rod Springer
Amaya Tech & Trainer

[whynotkates]

Hi,
thankyou for ur help. We have a tech coming in on monday but i was just trying to see if we could fix it ourselves if it is something simple.
We are in Australia so i dont no if i would be able to call you.

I checked the needlebar. all of them are lined up except number 1 is down a little bit more. It is not lined up with the hole or the presser foot. it is more to the left.

I have gone into maintenance and if i click head up it beeps then goes down then back up again.

if i press colour change home it makes that some clicky nose like it is jammed.

Thanx again,

Sam

[Rod or Sharon]

Sam,

Geesh....didn't know you were from "down under"...that is probably what is wrong with the machine....they don't work very well when they are upside down!!!

Just kidding. Let us all know what the tech finds...curiosity does kill the cat, you know...

Rod Springer
Amaya Tech & Trainer

[Shuffletown Embroidery]

Rod,
I'm glad you're back in your true form. I really appreciate the good laugh you provide from time to time. Keep it up!

[whynotkates]

Hi everyone,

Thanx for all ur help. we got the tech guy out yesterday and he said that the machine was doing something completely different to what the program and computer were. so there would have been nothing I could have done.

Thanx again guys,
Merry Christmas for a couple of weeks

Sam