One problem that I had with my Bernina that is just about the same age as is your Viking is that the carbon brushes wore out. It sounds like different symptoms, though.

What happened when the carbon brushes wore out was that it lost power until it just no longer would get any power in the machine motor.

I am not going to delineate what happened after than for fear of angering the machine powers and having it stop working today, like yours did.

Here's an update: I took my machine to the only place I'll let work on my machines, today. Right then and there, he tested the cord (which is a double cord, one to the foot pedal and one for the machine itself). There was a complete circuit so the problem was not a bad cord. He fears it is probably the machine's inner power supply. Evidently for 30 year old Viking-Husqvarna's, those are hard to come by, He will test the machine inside and ensure what the problem really is, but his experience has been that this is the problem.

I may be facing a new machine, something I'm not too thrilled about since I have a nice collection of bobbins and feet for my machine. I'll get another Viking-Husqvarna IF the feet and bobbins are the same. If not, I may change brands. I'd like to get it from that particular dealer, though, because he offers classes and trade-ins....two things you can't get from an online dealership.

Donna

Isn't your machine just run by an external motor?

They told me that my machine motor was toast. They put the commutator up on a machine that rotated it around at a fast speed, like a drill, and cleaned the carbon off of it and it worked for a while until the carbon built back up on it.

The problem was the carbon brushes. I put my machine away for a couple of years thinking that it was done for. Then, I decided to get it out and take apart that motor myself . I managed to clean that commentator and replace the carbon brushes and, somehow, I got it to work. At the risk of jinxing myself like you did, I tell you that is in going strong now. (knocking on wood and crossing the fingers!)

I say to get a second opinion. I am no expert on this, but IS there a power source inside of your Viking? I was under the impression that your machine was a mechanical model Viking. As far as I know all mechanical machines run with an external motor.

Maybe your machine is different and has an electronic board, but my Bernina runs a motor that turns a belt and turns the gears.

If your foot pedal is electronic there are some little plates in there that get worn. Again I am no expert on this but these plates have something to do with being electric resistors. I have had to replace my foot pedal on my Bernina some years ago. You can get replacement pedals for some machine that are relatively inexpensive.

Mechanical or electronic?

If it is a motor you can even replace them often. The problem with my Bernina was that the Bernina corp claims to have lost all of their reserve repair parts in some fire or flood. So, the original parts are hard to come by. True? Not true? I don't know.

If you do decide that your machine is not beyound fixing, I recommend SewingPartsOnline as a source of parts. I just last month ordered a new bobbin case for my Bernina. You can buy new carbon brushes and they are really inexpensive and they are not difficult to change. They are not really brushes. They are little rectangular blocks of soft black carbon that simple fit into little holders on each side of the commutator and they glide over the commentator as it turns. They get worn down. Most vacuums use carbon brushes, too. Most small motors like that use them.

when they get worn down, they don't make the electrical connections that the motor needs.

Since your Viking is about the same age as my Bernina I was assuming that it was a mechanical model.

Maybe not?

Bottom line is that if you have an external motor, that can often be replaced or fixed. Electronic boards I don't know but I suspect that you might find replacement parts for that, too.

AFAIK, my machine is mechanical and the power unit is within the inside of the body. I've done google and ebay searches and cannot come up with a motor of any sort for it, used or new. I do plan to get a second opinion from the Sew & Vac place down the road, probably tomorrow or Friday. My machine has an all-metal body.

I, too, was a bit skeptical - thus the reason I posted on here, hoping maybe somebody had some insight for me. I always hesitate when somebody tells me something of mine can't be repaired and just happens to have a bunch of new things for sale.

When I picked up my old machine today (no charge), they had lost my almost full spool of Coats & Clark thread. They gave me another spool of "a better brand" to replace it, explaining why C & C (which I have used for years and years) is an inferior brand.

I did allow the gal to show me a couple of new machines. She started with a Baby Lock machine that retails at about $1800 (OY VEY, WAY OVER MY BUDGET) that had a lot of bells & whistles on it that I definitely don't need. Then when she finally asked what my budget is (about 1/3rd of that, at the MOST), she showed me the Baby Lock that is a bit under that one, saying she could probably put me in that machine for about my budget price. Now, I do like my Baby Lock Eclipse (which I inherited), but I had not done any research into Baby Lock sewing machines. The gal kept telling me she didn't want to put me in any machines that use cams....my reply was, "why not, that's what my old machine used," and promptly showed her. (I think she's younger than my machine.)

I want to go over to the S & V store and get a second opinion (they do sell machines, but maybe not as aggressively???). If I still come up dry, I'll run up to SM+ and see what they've got.

Donna

Good luck, Donna. The sewing store that I took my machine to had me convinced that my machine was not salvagable. I thoroughly believed them that it was dead and they advised me to try and sell it to the Amish who take these machines and put a hand wheel or a treadle on them. Well, that was not going to happen.

My son in law told me to take it to a place that repairs motors and that I would probably have to get out of the large urban area and into some small town where this service still exists.

I brought it back to life all by myself by replacing the brushes and cleaning the commutator. I think that one place where I had taken my machine to be serviced some years before had damaged my machine in some way that was making the axel of the motor off balance, thus putting uneven wear on the carbon brushes Perhaps they dropped it. It took me a while after that to notice that there was black carbon dust blowing out of the motor housing. Then, the machine started to have a bit of trouble running and then it was just dead, although the light bulb worked. It was apparent that it was losing electrical power.

It looks to me that the Viking machines may have the same type of motor, but housed a bit differently. Doesn't your machine have a motor that turns a belt?

It would certainly be to your advantage to know for sure that it is NOT the foot pedal and to ask what do they mean by an "inner power supply". Just what is that? The only thing that I can imagine in some sort of circuit board, but I don't see any notion of one in a machine of that era. I could be wrong.

Who am I to question the knowledge of someone who knows a whole lot more about it than I do, but what type of "inner power supply" does your machine have?

As far as my understanding goes, the way the mechanical machines work is that there is a motor that is powered by a foot controller that controls the amount of current to the motor and makes it run faster or slower. The motor turns a belt that transfers that motion to the different gears that work the mechanisms. On a mechanical machine it is really a straight forward system.

I sure looks to me that the Vikings of that era still have an old fashioned motor on them.

As far as I know, for what it is worth, there is only one supply cord inside of the machine and that goes to the light bulb. Everything else inside of the machine is put into motion by the belt that turns the gears.

You have good reason to be skeptical, real good reason.

The foot controller has series of little carbon piles in it that supply electrical resistance that controls the speed.. Those can go bad, or the connection between them can develop a problem.

Is the motor turning? If not, why? It is my understanding that most times it is the carbon brushes that have worn down or you have built up carbon on the commutator. I am assuming that you do not hear the motor running. If the motor is running, the only "inner power supply" left after that point is simply the belt, on a mechanical machine.

I had to educate myself a bit about these motors in order to fix mine. No one wanted to fix it. they wanted to sell me a new machine. I am so glad that I did not accept their diagnosis of it just being dead.

Does your machine really have an "inner power supply" or a motor housed at the back that turns a belt? I have never taken a Viking apart. I have seen a video of someone taking the back panel off of one and it sure looked to me that there is a motor that turns a belt and that motor probably has carbon brushes, as I have seen videos of changing the carbon brushes in the motor. But, that is limited knowledge on. my part.

"Inner power supply"? Just what does that mean? I think it just means the motor.

Have you considered the possibility of maybe looking around for a used one of the same model and keeping it around for spare parts? Just a thought. Motors are replaceable in most things, if you have the motor. And, it is not complicated at all to wire in a new one. It is less complicated than changing out a wall outlet in the house.

I understand your desire to keep your machine that you have developed a close relationship with. It is understandable that you should be skeptical.

At first I did not think that your machine's symptoms were the same as I had with my Bernina. On second thought, they are much the same.-- a loss of electrical power in the motor. At first, I messed around with the controller and thought maybe I messed it up and I bought a new controller. But, it was the carbon brushes and the carbon build up in the motor that was the culprit.

If you do end up taking the back off of the machine and taking a look at the motor, use your phone to take photos of everything before you take anything off of anything.

Just think of all the old machines that are still running after decades! People fix these mechanical models all the time. If the time comes when my Bernina stops, I will just switch back to my moms old Singer 400. That is a great machine and it is almost 70 years old, like me. It has a motor that turns a worm gear, not a belt. It is powerful.

Thanks for all that, I appreciate it. I sought, and got, a second opinion ... the shop that serviced that machine for years. After 30 years, that particular model DOES tank. And, "Viking is not the company that it used to be." My machine is actually a straight Viking, not a Viking-Husqvarna. Parts are hard to come by and expensive. Both places told me, that IF they were able to get it running, it would cost me around $500-600.

It's time for a new machine. I decided that after more than 4 decades in a mechanical machine, it was time to "move on up" to something in the 21st century: Electronic. Just not sure it would be worth spending more than the machine is really worth.

So far, I have looked at three machines: the two Baby Lock machines described above, and yesterday, a Bernina B330. Now that machine just jumped out at me. It's a wee bit above my price range but it's a good machine.

Tomorrow I'm going up to a larger sewing machine place in North County. We'll see what's there, but I want to look at the machine my mom sings praises for: Janome.

Donna

I have heard good things about the Janome. It will be fun to have a new machine.

I am not surprised at the estimate to restore your machine.

My Bernina could have been retrofitted with a new non Bernina motor but the price was more than was worth.

I replaced the brushes and cleaned the commutator with an eraser and some very, very fine steel wool.

If it begins to blow carbon again I will just go back to using my moms old Singer 400.

I just don't plan on doing enough sewing in the future to warrant spending any real dollars on a machine.

Really it must be your motor that has burned out, I guess.