How to Fix a Sewing Machine Pedal - (At Home) (2023)

Last updated on August 9, 2022

Breaking an electric pedal on a sewing or overlock machine makes it difficult to use the machine. It can happen that the electric motor does not respond when you press the starter with your foot and the sewing machine does not sew. And in this case it becomes clear that it is not possible to continue using this pedal.

How to fix the sewing machine pedal at home?

The obvious malfunction of an electric pedal is easy to fix yourself with your own hands. There's nothing to lose by trying to repair an electric pedal. If all else fails, you can always buy a new pedal or electric motor, even for an overlock. But before you start repairing, make sure that only the sewing machine pedal is broken and try to repair it.

How do I know if my sewing machine needs repairs?

The design of the pedal allows you to find out some problems without using special devices, but this applies only to simple faults, such as broken wires or contact oxidation.

Other damage is not so easy to spot. To solve this problem, special diagnostics are required, and the equipment necessary for its implementation is usually available only from specialized masters.

However, it is possible to determine the presence of a malfunction without a thorough inspection of the pedal. A sewing machine repair is necessary for even the slightest malfunction of a part.

For example, in situations where, when pressed, the pedal only works after some time, and at high speeds it starts to work immediately. The lack of a slow speed is an alarming sign, implying the need to repair a sewing machine. The master quickly adjusts the pedal and restores it to normal functionality or (in the worst case) replaces the mechanism.

Repair sewing pedal, where to start?

When repairing an electric sewing machine foot pedal, there are some problems with the foot pedal of a sewing machine.sewing machine or overlock.

• First, make sure that the sewing machine electric pedal is out of order, just broken and nothing more. Check the sewing machine motor separately by connecting the plug cord directly.
• Next, check the integrity of the power cord of the electric drive of the sewing machine, check for breaks, damage to the insulation, and repair if necessary. Carefully examine the foot pedal connector where it connects to the power cord connector. Also check the connection of the power cord terminal block to the sewing/overlock machine. Contacts must be free of oxidation and green oxide. The plastic around the contacts should not melt.
• The power cord that connects the foot control to the sewing machine and has visible fusing at the electrical contacts must be completely replaced with a new one. And only after constantly following our recommendations and eliminating the defects found, you can try again to sew on a sewing machine with a pedal that you found defective.

Everything may work, but if not, it will make the sewing machine electric foot pedal broken and the foot pedal needs to be repaired or replaced with a new one.

Why does the sewing machine pedal break?

There are two types of sewing machine foot pedals:

• Rheostatic (found inAmazonas),
• Electronics (these usually come with almost everyoneelectric sewing machine:Janome,Brothers, etc).

They are easy to distinguish: the electronic pedal is much lighter than the rheostat pedal.

The former are very light and thin. The latter, on the other hand, are quite heavy and massive. However, both of them very often have problems with their work after the contacts have oxidized, for example, due to operation in a room with humid air.

You should also check whether there is a violation of the integrity of the wiring. The thread can break as a result of disregard for operating regulations, after careless handling or as a result of animal gnawing.

Rheostat-Nähpedal

A rheostat pedal is often "famous" for its not very durable plastic body. If you push too hard, the case can simply break. This is particularly important if the device is operated under heavy loads, e.g. B. in a studio. Fixing or gluing something in this case is basically pointless. It's easier to buy a new pedal.

electronic pedal

The electronics themselves can also fail. The electronic pedal in most cases fails because the main microcircuit has failed. It's easier and cheaper to replace it or buy a new pedal.

Can you repair the pedal yourself?

Everything here depends on the skill of the user and the type of breakdown. For example, you can sand down oxidized contacts with fine sandpaper if you have experience in handling electrical devices. And changing the cable or plug is also very easy.

Yes! You can try gluing some parts to the rheostat pedals and replacing them. You can attempt to repair or replace the rheostat if you have the necessary qualifications. But an inexperienced user in such work is better not to interfere with an electrician. There is a risk that an incorrectly installed rheostat can cause a fire or even an electric shock.

But it is not always possible to repair the electronic pedal. This requires special equipment and the ability to read and solder chips. Also, you may need all sorts of special components that are sometimes very hard to come by on the open market.

In what cases is it possible to repair the sewing machine pedal at home?

You can do DIY repairs in the following cases:

contact oxidation

Enough to clean them. First it is necessary to disconnect the device from the mains, disassemble the pedal, and then clean the contacts with sandpaper or other means. It remains to assemble the pedal, connect the device to the network and visually evaluate the result of the work. If you have no cleaning experience, you should entrust the job to a sewing machine mechanic.

cable damage

With long-term and improper use, there may be some problems with the threads.these thingsWe are talking about kinks and mechanical damage to the cables caused by improper use or storage of the machine (especially the pedals). Since it's difficult to find the exact area of ​​the break without using a tester, it's easier to swap out all the wiring. If you want to leave old threads and remove local damage, consult a sewing machine repair specialist.

Other types of malfunctions are much more difficult to fix. So don't waste your time. In addition, it is quite easy to call the masters.

Causes of defective sewing machine pedal

A pedal with a rheostat is very durable and only breaks the body: from time to time or from improper use. It is easy to understand that the pedal will soon become unusable. The machine will only respond to pedal depressions if the pedal is depressed all the way to the floor.

With breakdowns of electric pedals, everything is more complicated. To fix the electronic pedal you need to solder the circuit board. Such a pedal gets on its feet immediately. This happens because the main component of the radio, the resistor, burns out.

Is it worth it to fix the pedal on the machine with your own hands?

If you can still try to repair the pedal using a rheostat at home, then you should entrust the repair of the electronic pedal to the master. Soldering the board is difficult. You need special equipment and an understanding of the structure of the board. If mishandled, you can simply throw the pedal away.

Features of repairing sewing machines with a foot control

Sometimes, some craftswomen still have sewing machines with feet that they inherited from their mothers and grandmothers. They cannot be compared to modern models in terms of the number of functions performed, but they are still quite reliable.

The main difference between foot-operated machines and analogue electric ones is that the machine is operated with the help of the legs. You step on the pedal, the flywheel is activated and the belt drive transmits the torque to the rotating parts of the machine.

The most common malfunctions of the foot sewing machine:

• The drive belt has snapped.
• The wheel stopped turning.
• The machine needs adjustment and adjustment.
• pedal locked.

Differences in repairing pedals with rheostat and electronic sewing pedals.

If your electric overlock sewing machine/pedal is broken, please check what type of foot pedal you have before repairing. If the sewing machine electric foot pedal is rheostatic type, you can start to repair it.

If it is an electronic pedal (there are various microcircuits and radio components inside the pedal), you will also need special equipment and knowledge of radio electronics.

How to distinguish a rheostat pedal from an electronic pedal?

The rheostatic pedal of a sewing machine is heavy. The pedal body is solid and does not bend when pressed with a finger. And the electronic pedal is as light as if there was nothing in it. The repair of an electronic pedal is usually entrusted to an experienced radio installer.

Repairing an electronic sewing machine foot pedal is similar to repairing rheostat type foot pedals. Everything is the same: you open the pedal, inspect it and re-solder suspicious spots with a soldering iron. That's all you can do with your own hands when repairing an electronic type sewing pedal.

How to fix the pedal on a sewing machine at home?

A broken pedal is often not noticed immediately. People think that everything stopped working because the engine burned out. But when the motor breaks, the stuck wiring starts smelling in the air, and when the pedal breaks, it doesn't stink.

The reasons for breaking the pedal can be:

• oxidation of the connection fork contacts;
• Broken wire in the cable.

It's easy to deal with the first reason. You have to wait and clean the contacts. The second reason for the correction is more complicated than the first. You need to find a specific spot where the thread broke.

• If you don't want to look for a disconnect point, you can replace all the wiring. But for this you need the help of a specialist - an electrician.
• But even expert help does not always save the situation. Therefore, the best solution is to buy a new pedal.
• There are also machine failures that have nothing to do with electricity.

Conclusion

A more complex repair of an electronic pedal can only be carried out by an electronics specialist who has a tester, an oscilloscope and, above all, knowledge of his field at hand. We hope this article has been helpful to youHow to attach the sewing machine pedal