Melco troubleshooting

Likely causes: burred or backwards needle, thread snagging in the path or cone, too much spray adhesive, damaged hook or cutter, Acti-Feed settings

1. Change the needle. Seat it fully up, with the groove to the front and the eye turned about 5° to the right (anywhere from 0° to 20° right is OK; any left turn is wrong).
2. Rethread that needle from the cone, making sure the thread wraps around the thread break bar and sits in every guide.
3. Check the cone: the thread tube should stand about ½–1 in. above the cone, and the cone should feed freely.
4. Wipe off spray adhesive build-up on the needle and plate, and use less spray.
5. Check the bobbin tension (250–300 on the Melco gauge) and the Acti-Feed settings for this fabric.
6. Inspect the hook point and cutter for burrs.

Call a technician if: breaks continue with a new needle, clean path and correct bobbin, which points to hook timing or needle depth.

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Likely causes: thread not around the break bar, wrong bobbin tension, Acti-Feed lower limit too high, sensitivity setting

1. Rethread and confirm the thread goes around the thread break bar.
2. Check bobbin tension on the gauge.
3. Check the Acti-Feed lower limit is not raised above the default (4 points).
4. Reset the thread break sensitivity to default (0), then raise it one step at a time if false stops continue.
5. Update Melco OS.

Call a technician if: a sensor foam washer has fallen off or one needle always false-stops after the steps above.

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Likely causes: sensitivity set too low, thread detection disabled

1. Make sure bobbin and upper thread detection are enabled in the settings.
2. Run the thread break sensor test on needles 1, 9 and 16.
3. If breaks are missed, set TBS sensitivity to -10, then step it up only if false breaks start.

Call a technician if: the test fails on one needle with all settings correct.

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Likely causes: upper thread out of the tension path, bobbin problems, flagging fabric

1. Stop the machine. Never pull the hoop to free it.
2. Cut the threads between the garment and the needle plate, then remove the hoop.
3. Remove the needle plate and clean all thread out of the bobbin and hook area.
4. Inspect the knife, oil the hook, recentre and refit the needle plate.
5. Reinsert the bobbin, rehoop and check the whole upper thread path before restarting.

Call a technician if: birdnests keep returning with a clean hook and correct bobbin tension.

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Likely causes: needle deflection on buckram, centre seams or the visor; needle too thin; worn needle; bent presser foot; cap not clamped

1. Use a sharp, larger needle on structured caps; 85/13 is often a good start. Avoid sizes under 75/11 on caps.
2. Make sure the cap is held by all three clamps and none are bent.
3. Set the presser foot to the cap, then go down one click after it touches. For 3D puff, raise it to the last (9th) click.
4. Replace chrome needles every 4–8 sewing hours. Titanium lasts longer but snaps rather than bends.
5. Check for a Z bind.

Call a technician if: needles hit the plate or hook, which means needle depth or hook timing is off.

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Likely causes: no tie-in or tie-off before the trim, wrong bobbin tension, retaining finger out of adjustment, dull knife, trimmer not homed

1. Check the design has tie-ins and tie-offs and enough stitches between trims.
2. Check bobbin tension on the gauge.
3. On the EMT16X, home the knife and run the trim test from the maintenance menu.
4. On the EMT16 and EMT16 Plus, check the cutter blade screws are tight and the S95 cutter is not damaged.
5. Do the rotary hook maintenance and check the retaining finger.

Call a technician if: the knife is worn, the trimmer setup is wrong or a re-flash of the main PCB is needed.

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Likely causes: thread wrapped in the hook, bobbin tension wrong, stitches pulled too tight, loose cap, dry hook

1. Remove the needle plate and clear any thread in the hook.
2. Check bobbin tension and the Acti-Feed setting (too little thread fed makes stitches bind).
3. Rehoop caps tightly and confirm the cap driver is set correctly.
4. Clean and oil the hook, then update Melco OS.

Call a technician if: the error returns on a clean machine; the selector cable or hook timing may need attention.

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Likely causes: birdnest pulling on the needles, presser foot caught between needles, gear misalignment, sensor

1. Clear any birdnest; thread binds commonly cause colour-change seek errors.
2. Check by hand that the needle case sits on a needle with the head up.
3. Delete the Jobs and Machines folders and power cycle.
4. Confirm machine type and trimmer type in settings and run Set Table.

Call a technician if: the case still will not index or the colour-change motor or sensor is suspect.

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Likely causes: garment trapped, X cable tension wrong, cap driver set wrong, fabric shifting

1. Free any garment caught under the arms and restart.
2. Remove the hoop or cap driver and power cycle; if the error goes away, find the bind.
3. Check the wide-angle cap driver height: a business card should just fit between the needle plate and driver ring.
4. If shapes distort but there is no error, it is usually fabric movement: hoop tighter, use better backing, and add pull compensation in the design.

Call a technician if: the X cable is frayed or needs tensioning; Melco says only certified technicians should replace it.

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Likely causes: Windows update, missing administrator rights, old design still active, design too big, dongle not read

1. Run Melco OS as Administrator and turn off Compatibility Mode.
2. Press Reset Design (or Return to Origin) and reload.
3. Delete the Jobs folder and power cycle machine and PC.
4. Save the design as OFM or EXP and split very large designs.
5. Check the USB security dongle is recognised.

Call a technician if: the machine is never detected on a known-good cable and PC.

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Likely causes: bobbin tension too loose, wrong or dirty bobbin case

1. Clean the bobbin case and check it on the Melco gauge: 250–300, steady while pulling about 1 in. per second.
2. Replace the case if the reading jumps around.
3. On EMT16 machines, use the recommended case PN 004267-01, not the early PN 34396.

Call a technician if: a new case still gives unstable readings.

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