TAJIMA EMBROIDERY MACHINE ERROR CODES Code information provided by
RB Digital [Link]
Your Tajima embroidery machine constantly monitors itself while in operation. It has an assortment of sensors and
fuses, as well as circuitry monitoring the internal electronics. If it detects a condition it has been programmed to watch
out for, it will stop and a three-digit number will appear on the operating panel display. When this happens your first
course of action should be to look up the displayed error code in your USER'S MANUAL. You will find this section near
the back of the User's Manual. Your manual set consists of several bound books held together in a two ring binder.
Typically the User's Manual is the first or second book in the set and contains information on machine operation,
maintenance, cleaning, set-up, and construction. Reading the whole set of manuals is always a good idea even
though for many of us it can be a confusing experience.
These pages will attempt to simplify the most common error codes and give you a layman's explanation of how to get
your machine sewing again. Tajima has formatted the error code section in your User's Manual as a chart showing the
Code No. (number) and the Stop Factor (what caused the error code or stop code as they have named it) and the
Corrective Action (how do you clear the code and get the machine running again).
The error codes shown below apply to most Tajima embroidery machines. If your machine never experiences a
specific code it is probably because the feature that would generate that particular error code is not installed on your
machine. You have no reason to worry about an error code your machine will never generate. There are error codes
that only the Tajima factory reps know about, these are rarely shown in the manuals as they refer to an uncommon
condition or a rarely installed feature. If your machine displays a code not explained here or in your manual, then
contact your Tajima authorized technician for advice.
These first set of codes come up only occasionally and they are in fact not really errors at all. Any code beginning with
the digit 1 indicates that the operator has stopped the machine or the design itself has stopped the machine, or, both
conditions can apply. For instance you may have hit the stop button just as the machine was about to trim or change
colour.
1B1. The machine was stopped in the middle of frame movement.
1B2. The machine was stopped at a stop code.
1B3. The machine was stopped right at the end of the design.
1B4. The machine was stopped at a trim.
1C1. The machine was stopped while it was in the middle of frame movement.
1C2. The machine was stopped by a manual trim.
1D1. After backing up to repair missing stitches the machine has been told to stop sewing by a parameter setting at
the point the machine noticed the thread break.
In all instances of an error code beginning with 1 simply start the machine or hit the stop button to clear the code then
continue as normal with embroidery.
The next set of codes occurs due to an actual error made by the machine or in some cases by the operator.
211. The machine is not at the stop position. Check the position of the wheel with the numbers on it; we call this the
degree wheel. The machine likes to rest with the indicator in the red zone. Alternatively your machine has an indicator
on the operating panel to show when the machine is at the stop position. On the panels that require you to move the
cursor up or down and side to side it will be shown in the field marked as POS. On the panels that use the A, B, C, and
D, buttons plus a jog wheel it is the rectangular block that appears as the first symbol on the left side of your LCD
display screen. It will not let you do anything but start the machine or do a trim if it is not at the stop position. To clear
this code turn the wheel until the indicator is in the red zone and hit set on the operator panel. To ensure that nothing is
jammed you might want to rotate the wheel one or two full revolutions and then stop at the red marked area. Your
TajimaPlus
needle[s] will probably be in the down position after rotating one full rotation. If your needle[s] are down and you want
them up, do a manual colour change to the neighbouring needle. The machine will return to the correct needle when
you push the start button. If you are able to spin the wheel without a problem you may continue sewing. If the wheel
sticks anywhere in its rotation you may have a piece of broken needle caught in one of the hooks or perhaps a birds
nest has formed under one of the needle plates. Clear the debris and continue sewing.
221, 222, 223, [Link] codes result when you exceed the maximum allowable sewing area. 221 means you went
to far to the left. 222 means you went to far to the right. 223 means you went to far forward and 224 means you went to
far back. If you are sure you are well within the area allowed and you have one of the TME or TMF type machines you
may have the wrong frame selected in the parameter section of the panel. On the operator panel move the cursor to
the bottom row, type in 4 set, and then 2 set and check item number n-6. Ensure it matches the frame mounted at the
moment, Cap, Tubular or Border Sash.
225. You have exceeded the allowed left or right movement while in cap frame drive mode (with the TME, TMF type
machines only)
228. If you receive this error code it is because you have either tried to raise your power drop table without moving the
frame all the way back, or you have attempted to raise the table while the machine is set to sew using the cap drive
parameters (with TME and TMF models). Move the frame all the way to the back or check you parameter settings and
change them to the appropriate values for tubular or border sash use and try to raise the table again.
251. If your machine has the automatic lube system and you allow the oil in the system to drop below acceptable
levels you will get this error.
281. The machine has attempted a colour change unsuccessfully or the colour change took longer than 15 seconds.
You may have a misadjusted colour change encoder, or perhaps something is keeping the colour change from
occurring. Call your Tajima technician for help with this one.
[Link] indicates that the top thread has broken on the head with the solid red light. Rethread the needle, backup a
few stitches to ensure you have not left any gaps in the stitching, and hit start. If the thread breaks again immediately
check the thread path for obstructions, check the underside of the fabric for thread build-up and check under the
needle plate for any thread build up. If you are still having problems check the needle position and or replace it. The
needle eye should always be straight ahead.
[Link] indicates a problem with the bobbin thread. Not all Tajima machines have the ability to recognize a problem
with the under thread but for those that do, the thread break light will flash intermittently until you clear the error by
hitting set. If the code comes up again, you should do a thread trim and pull the bobbin case out of the machine to
check the state of the bobbin thread. The bobbin may have emptied, it may have been wound badly and is hanging up
every now and then, or the paper sides may be damaged; replace the bobbin. If you find nothing and still are having
problems change the bobbin case and try again. If the error persists check the path the bobbin thread follows, it may
be packed with thread residue, or the hook support may be too close to the hooks basket to allow smooth travel for the
bobbin thread.
2B1, 2B2, 2B3, [Link] errors indicate a problem with the design data. Examine your design closely, it may
contain errors the machine has found and will not allow to be saved in memory or write the design to another floppy
disc or if sending from the PC, check your connection and try again.
[Link] operator may have been trying to write a design to memory either from paper tape or from the serial interface
connecting your machine to your Pulse or Tajima software when the operation failed. Confirm that your design format
is correct. You have 4 choices for design format; A for automatic recognition of design data, B for Barudan design data,
T for Tajima design data, and Z for ZSK design data. Choose A if you are not sure what format you have. Press set to
clear the error. Then confirm your serial cable is properly connected at both ends. If you are reading a paper tape
ensure it is loaded correctly and feeding through the reader properly.
[Link] have attempted to sew a design or frame forward through a design that you have not yet loaded or a design
that did not load correctly. To correct press set and reload the design.
2B8. If you receive this error message you are probably running from a paper tape, or you might have your machine
connected to a computer system through a direct connect interface. The error resulted when the equipment feeding
design data to the machine couldn't keep up, the pre-read buffer became empty. Push set to clear the error and slow
the sewing speed of the machine to a pace the source equipment can maintain or if it occurred whilst frame
forwarding, wait for all the design data to load before attempting to jump ahead in the design.
TajimaPlus
2B9. If you receive this error the machine may have a problem with its internal memory. Try to clear all designs from
memory, and then attempt to load a design to memory number99 instead of memory number01 or one of the other
lower numbers so often used. If the machine takes the data at the higher range, then you may delete all designs and
attempt to reload to memory number01 again. If the problem persists call your Tajima service technician for advice.
2BA. This error occurs when the design you are trying to load is larger than the remaining available memory. Push set,
clear any unnecessary designs from memory, and reload the design.
2BB. The machine will not let you backup through the stitches past the beginning of the design. Older machines had a
limited range of stitches they could move backwards by. If you receive this error you have exceeded that range of
stitches. Hit set and check the reason you have moved back to this point. You may have made an error in judging the
location of the stitch you wished to back up to, or you are attempting to back up an older machine too much.
2BC. This error is caused by attempting to load a design when all the available memory numbers are used up even
though the overall quantity of memory is not. You are able to use memory numbers between 01 and 99 regardless of
how much memory you may have installed in your machine. Once the memory slots are all full you must clear at least
one to able to load a new design. You may have also attempted to erase or edit the design currently being sewn. Once
started the machine will not allow you to change the design data until the end of design command is received. Finish
sewing the design or reload the same design from memory before attempting to erase or edit the data. You will also
receive this error code if you attempt to start the machine with no data loaded into memory.
2C1. The operator attempted to run the machine while operations on the operator panel were still being carried out.
Complete your task on the operator panel first then attempt to backup, forward or sew the design. For example, you
may have not chosen any needles and none are present from the last run (rare).
2C2. Option switches on the back of the operator panel have been miss-set. Call your Tajima technician for
instructions.
2CD. A power failure occurred while deleting or editing data, or the power switch may have been turned off by accident
during the same process. The 2CD error code is displayed when power is turned back on. Push set to clear the error,
then reload the data to memory and continue with your previous task.
2CE. The emergency stop switch has been pushed.
2E3. The power to the machine was interrupted during embroidery either with the power switch or because of a power
failure. After the power is back on, your design may have shifted, the machine is probably not at the stop position and
depending on what it was doing when the power died, it may be in the needle centre or the knives may be open. Check
the position of the main shaft degree wheel, set the wheel to the red indicated stop position. Make sure your machine
is indicating the correct needle on the operator panel and check the knife position if it died during a trim. Now, because
your machine was moving front to back and/or side to side while the power died it is probably not in the correct
position. You will have to adjust the position of the needle using the manual frame movement keys while you attempt
to line the needle up over the hole the last stitch made (the thread should still be attached). Confirm you are in the right
place by performing frame back and frame forward with the stop button and watch the needle position in relation to the
stitches already sewn as you frame. If in doubt on a multi head, only sew one garment until you have the placement
realigned. Built into the newer machines, is a power fail recovery menu. Check your operator manual or ask your
Tajima technician for instructions on how to use power fail recovery. It will provide all of the above steps for you.
311, 312, 314, 316. These errors occur when the machine has been told to start sewing and finds it cannot turn its
main shaft. Upon start-up the machine checks its various sensors to ensure everything is ok, and finds the one
monitoring the position of the main shaft does not appear to change or its signal is missing. The machine assumes
there is a problem and stops the electronics from attempting to start the sewing operation. This can be caused by a
blown fuse, a clogged fan on the underside of the inverter drive unit (multihead machines), a mechanical problem
such as a piece of a broken needle caught in a rotating hook, or an electronic problem within the machine. Call your
Tajima technician for help with this if any of the above problems are not found.
321. Tajima explains this as a pulse motor driver failure. This means that one of the circuit boards that drives your
frame front to back (X), or side to side (Y), or possibly, the main shaft driver has failed. You can check the status of
these boards by looking for a red light on the small silver box usually located on the chassis under head 1 or 2. If you
see a red light it means that there is an electronic fault with the board and it will probably need replacement.
TajimaPlus
322, 323. An X or Y axis pulse motor error signal is detected by the machine and will probably require replacement of
the X or Y axis pulse motor driver unit. This is a similar error to the 321 but is found on the TMFX V series machines.
324. This error code warns that the machine is ready to move the fabric to the next stitch but it believes the needles are
still in the fabric. This is probably due to an error with the main shaft encoder and should be looked at by your Tajima
technician.
325. Older Tajima's use a sensor to detect the centre or origin of the cap frame sewing field. This error occurs when
the machine cannot find a signal from the cap frame origin censor. The sensor or its harness may be damaged.
Inspect and replace if necessary.
[Link] is unlikely that many of you will get this error. It would require that you purchased the automatic bobbin changer
accessory with your TMFX V. This error asks you to check the bobbin changer device for a jam.
382, [Link] are errors relating to the colour change mechanism. The machine is attempting to drive the needle
case/s to another colour. The machine is expecting to see a corresponding change in the signal from the sensors that
monitor the needle centre position and the actual needle number but it sees no change. An adjustment to one or both
of these sensors may be necessary and or a loose cover or a loose screw may have kept the needle cases from
moving.
384. While colour changing, the machine has a sensor that monitors the rotation of the cam that drives the colour
change mechanism. It is called the one rotation sensor. It also ensures the needle is centred in the needle plate hole.
This error code occurs because the machine does not see a signal from this sensor while the machine is sewing. Just
in case the needle has drifted off centre the machine is stopped. If you have received this error your one rotation
sensor may need replacing or the harness to it may be disconnected.
3A2. This error indicates the mechanism driving the knife solenoid may be damaged. Call your Tajima technician.
3A6. When this error code appears the sensor monitoring the position of the movable knife drive mechanism tells the
machine that the knife is out of its resting position. When the knives are not properly closed there is a danger of the
needle hitting the movable knife and breaking it off. If the sensor is installed, the machine will not let you sew until the
knives are closed properly. If you were sewing and this error occurred, check for a build up of thread underneath the
needle plate. The ball of thread may have kept one or all of the knives from closing. Check the position of your
movable knives, return them to the closed position, and if necessary adjust the one that jammed for it may have
slipped. To return the knives to the closed position on a TMFX or THFX you must find the knife drive linkage
underneath the table at the back of the machine. It will be composed of several flat metal bars connecting the knife
drive arms underneath each head. The knife drive should be pulled all the way to the right side (from the back of the
machine). Pull the linkage all the way to the left and then back to the right to close the knives. If nothing is blocking the
knives your knife retract sensor ( located at the far right end of the linkages ) will shine with a pinpoint of red light. If you
have one of the larger machines with the panel that requires you to move the cursor up or down, left or right, and you
have a knife retract sensor installed you will find the knife drive linkages behind the vertical covers at the rear facing
edge of your drop table. As in the explanation for the previous machines you may open the knives by pushing the
linkage shaft ( a solid round shinny metal shaft running the length of the machine ) to the left, but from the front of the
machine this time, and you may close your knives by pushing the shaft to the right. The sensor on this type of machine
is installed at the right end of the knife drive shaft underneath head one. If you receive this error just after reloading
your FX machine with the latest version of its operating software, you may have incorrectly set the ATH_SENS setting
to` on ( o ), when it should have been set to off ( - ), as your machine was not installed with the sensor.
3A8. Tajima replaced the old pulse type upper thread hook drive motors for inverter driven motors near the end of last
century. If you have this error code displayed on your panel, the electronics driving these motors may be damaged.
Call your Tajima technician for help.
3C1. Chances are that this error was caused by operator error. It can occur if you push both the start and stop buttons
at the same time. It could also mean you have a bad stop switch or the start/stop switch harness may be damaged.
Call your Tajima technician for help with this one.
3D1, 3D2. In all Tajima machines the main circuit board has a small rechargeable battery attached to it to retain the
designs you store in memory and some of the machine settings. Larger multihead machines have a separate board
with a rechargeable battery where machine settings are stored. If you receive this error, the battery on one or both of
these boards has drained itself or is dead. If you have had your machine unplugged for some time the batteries may
have drained themselves. Leave the machine plugged in and turned on to 2 or 3 days and if the batteries have not
recharged themselves replace them. Call your Tajima technician for help.
TajimaPlus
3D3, 3D5, 3D6, 3D7. These are internal electronics problems and may be caused by one of three different circuit
boards. If you have an FX or EX type machine, there is a chance your machine software is installed incorrectly or is
corrupt. Reinstall the latest version or contact your Tajima technician for help.
B01, B02. You have used an abnormally formatted floppy disc and the machine cannot read it properly. Copy the
designs on the disc to another disc or re-format the disc and rewrite the designs back onto it, then try to read the disc
into the machine again. If you reformatted the disc and tried it again only to fail, throw the disc out and get a new one.
B03. You have tried to write data to the floppy disc (or to format it) but the write protect window (bottom left corner) of
the disc is open. Close the write protect window and try again.
B04. You have not pushed your floppy disc into the disc drive properly while attempting to read it, or you may have
swapped discs before completing a data load.
BC1. Somehow a design written to the floppy disc has had its data lost. The machine can see the design in the file
allocation table written to the disc but cannot find the data for the design in the location specified. Select another
design from the disc or rewrite the design to the floppy disc and try again. If you fail again replace the disc.
BC2. You are attempting to copy a design from the machines memory to a floppy disc but the file number you have
chosen ([Link]) is already used. Chose another number and try again.
BC4. An error has occurred while writing data from memory to the floppy disc drive. Retry the writing operation on
another disc.
BC5. Your floppy disc is full and can take no more data from the machines memory. Try a new disc or one with enough
space left.
C01. If you receive this error code, the machine has determined that something is wrong with your floppy disc drive.
The drive itself could be damaged or you might have a loose connection. You could also try a floppy disc drive cleaning
diskette. You will have to try to read it at least a dozen times, let the drive dry a little while and then try another floppy
disc. If you get the same error again call your Tajima technician.
CE1. If your are directly connected from your computer system to your Tajima embroidery machine and you get this
error, it means that the speed with which the two systems are communicating is incompatible. For adjustment of the
communication speed see your operation manual or call your Tajima technician.
NOTES
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
TajimaPlus
