My baby's sick

Troubleshoot a problem or get machine recommendations.

My baby's sick

New postby SmilieFace on Mon Jan 16, 2012 4:29 pm

I've had my Brother SE 350 for about 4 years now (the precursor to the Brother SE 400). It's sick! Whenever I have a needle and thread in there, it seizes up, the needle comes up above the plate but not all the way up, it makes a funny noise, and then my machine beeps and says "safety switch activated." Anyone have any idea what's wrong?

I've tried cleaning the machine, a needle, and new fabric. If I don't have the needle in, everything works fine (well, it of course doesn't sew without the needle, but i can press the foot pedal for a while and the machine doesn't make any funny noises). When the machine stops working, the thread has caught the fabric enough that I can't pull the fabric out, but not enough that there's a birds nest under the plate.
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Re: My baby's sick

New postby lendube on Mon Jan 16, 2012 6:19 pm

I'm not going to insult your intelligence, Smilie, so I'm sure you've gone through your manual under troubleshooting, etc. Sounds like your machine is warning you before further damage occurs.Thread wrapped around the take up lever jamming it? Could it be the needle? Have you tried others? Is your machine one that needs oiling or greasing? Is your bobbin case dislodged? Needle plate not straight? Personally I'd open the machine and have a look but (disclaimer, disclaimer) I wouldn't recommend it. ;) :D Let us know what you find, okay? Good luck!
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Re: My baby's sick

New postby MartySews2 on Mon Jan 16, 2012 6:23 pm

Sounds like it needs a trip to the service dept unless you get it cleaned & serviced every year. Either way, your dealer should be able to fix it.
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Re: My baby's sick

New postby temom on Mon Jan 16, 2012 7:03 pm

I found the error message on the Brother web site for the SE 400: http://welcome.solutions.brother.com/BS ... eus&Cat=56

This is what they say: Title:
"The safety device has been activated." appears on the LCD.
Description:

The upper thread has become tangled around the bobbin case,
The needle is bent and hitting the needle plate, so the machine stops.

Note

Each time a key is pressed or an incorrect operation is performed, a beep is sounded.

For a correct operation
One beep is sounded.
If an incorrect operation is performed
Two or four beeps are sounded.
If the machine locks up, for example, because the thread is tangled
The sewing machine continues to beep for four seconds.
The machine automatically stops.
Be sure to check for the cause of the error, and correct it before continuing to sew.

Smilie, if everything has been rethreaded, top and bottom, a new needle put in (make sure it is in all the way into the needle holder), try turning the machine off and unplugging it for a few minutes.
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Re: My baby's sick

New postby bridesmom on Mon Jan 16, 2012 8:54 pm

I'm wondering if the timing may be off and that's not a fix you can do. If a new needle doesn't fix it and if it makes a noise then I'd take it to the shop.
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Re: My baby's sick

New postby SmilieFace on Tue Jan 17, 2012 6:09 am

I've done all the basic trouble shooting and changed everything I can think of. My machine doesn't need oiling, but I gave it a good cleaning. Thanks for finding the error description, temom. I think that is what's happening. I have no idea how to fix it, though.

Unfortunately, the closest dealership is too far away (a good 50 miles!). I bought the machine when I lived about 15 miles from a dealer, but have since moved. Is this something that would be covered by the warranty? If not, how much should I expect to pay to have it serviced? If it is covered by the warranty, will I have to pay something anyway? No, I haven't been getting my machine serviced every year.
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Re: My baby's sick

New postby lendube on Tue Jan 17, 2012 11:28 am

I'd say it's definitely worth the trip but I travel an hour just to go to a Costco. :D And whether it's warranty depends on the coverage you got. You always get at least 1 year from the manufacturer. After that it's up to the dealer. A basic service call, just tune-up and cleaning, should be around $100.00. If it's a timing problem it can be a lot.
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