# Passap problems



## Peanut Tinker (Oct 10, 2012)

Hi, I have barely used my Passap as it always had problems (or I did) making it work. I now am much more confident and understand it better, with a few years experience on other machines. 
My problem: the carriage and needles work perfectly when I do not use the console. When I do use the console, suddenly the pushers are randomly selected, or not , differently with each pass of the carriage. This is for every attempt, even the simplest cast on. I have oiled everything well and the carriage passes smoothly . Has anyone had this problem before? I checked Passap Paramedic, but there is no info on the electronics. I also think I read somewhere about a dirty electric eye, but i don't know where that would be. Help? 
Thanks


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## jaysclark (Jan 26, 2013)

I think it is on the underside of the front lock

I have problems with pushers mispatterning and I have just keep oiling the pushers until they started behaving!


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## Peanut Tinker (Oct 10, 2012)

I have done a lot of oiling, and it doesn't seem to work. I have found if I move the carriage slowly, at first it work, then as I get going it suddenly ignores a bunch of pushers , sometimes on one side, sometimes the other ,and occasionally a few odd ones in the middle. I am worried that something in the electronics is gone.... Do you know if there is an electric eye?


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## jaysclark (Jan 26, 2013)

Yes as above, it is on the underside of the front lock and it may need cleaning


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## Peanut Tinker (Oct 10, 2012)

Thanks, I will try and see if I can recognize anything that looks like that.


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## Maryknits513 (Feb 12, 2011)

Peanut Tinker said:


> Thanks, I will try and see if I can recognize anything that looks like that.


The eye isn't very big,and sometimes has brushes in one or both sides (light barrier) it's in the center of the front lock, between the upper and lower cams. My E6000 is at my friend's house where the Passap workshop was held last week, or I would take a picture of it to show you.

Clean it carefully with a soft rag -- old shirts are the best thing to use -- and some denatured alcohol without oil in it.

Let me know if you still can't find it, and I'll try to go over to my friends house and get a picture of it.


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## JillKay (Mar 17, 2013)

Peanut Tinker said:


> Hi, I have barely used my Passap as it always had problems (or I did) making it work. I now am much more confident and understand it better, with a few years experience on other machines.
> My problem: the carriage and needles work perfectly when I do not use the console. When I do use the console, suddenly the pushers are randomly selected, or not , differently with each pass of the carriage. This is for every attempt, even the simplest cast on. I have oiled everything well and the carriage passes smoothly . Has anyone had this problem before? I checked Passap Paramedic, but there is no info on the electronics. I also think I read somewhere about a dirty electric eye, but i don't know where that would be. Help?
> Thanks


I have discovered that the FB pushers will misspattern when they become magnetised (they should not have a magnetic charge). You might like to see whether this is your problem. Good luck - Jill


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## Peanut Tinker (Oct 10, 2012)

JillKay said:


> I have discovered that the FB pushers will misspattern when they become magnetised (they should not have a magnetic charge). You might like to see whether this is your problem. Good luck - Jill


Maybe this is why everything I hear says to oil them like crazy. How would I check that? Do I check with a magnet ? Is this something to do withthe grounding wire? Sorry I am not familiar with this term. 
Thanks


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## Peanut Tinker (Oct 10, 2012)

Maryknits513 said:


> The eye isn't very big,and sometimes has brushes in one or both sides (light barrier) it's in the center of the front lock, between the upper and lower cams. My E6000 is at my friend's house where the Passap workshop was held last week, or I would take a picture of it to show you.
> 
> Clean it carefully with a soft rag -- old shirts are the best thing to use -- and some denatured alcohol without oil in it.
> 
> Let me know if you still can't find it, and I'll try to go over to my friends house and get a picture of it.


Thanks for the description, I think I have found this now.


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## JillKay (Mar 17, 2013)

Peanut Tinker said:


> Maybe this is why everything I hear says to oil them like crazy. How would I check that? Do I check with a magnet ? Is this something to do withthe grounding wire? Sorry I am not familiar with this term.
> Thanks


I think overoiling might make them slippery and more prone to fall down after selection. You can check whether they are magnetised with a compass. A slight movement of the needle should be okay but a large movement may affect the pusher's behaviour. I think it happens because of the constant movement of the carriage over the pushers. In the short term you could replace the offending pushers with ones which are not magnetised (if you don't have any spares you could change them with some at the ends if you are not using the whole bed). In the long term there are various methods of de-magnetising the pushers - people used to erase tapes with such a thing. My husband had something he made a while back but you should be able to find some ideas on the internet. I hope this solves your problem - Jill


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## Peanut Tinker (Oct 10, 2012)

JillKay said:


> I think overoiling might make them slippery and more prone to fall down after selection. You can check whether they are magnetised with a compass. A slight movement of the needle should be okay but a large movement may affect the pusher's behaviour. I think it happens because of the constant movement of the carriage over the pushers. In the short term you could replace the offending pushers with ones which are not magnetised (if you don't have any spares you could change them with some at the ends if you are not using the whole bed). In the long term there are various methods of de-magnetising the pushers - people used to erase tapes with such a thing. My husband had something he made a while back but you should be able to find some ideas on the internet. I hope this solves your problem - Jill


Wow, I am learning stuff I never knew I wanted to know!! LOL! Thanks. At this point I will check anything!


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## arthurine (May 21, 2013)

The problem you described is very common, and is usually cured by a regular cleaning. I was completely baffled when my machine first played up in the manner you described.
The correct term for the "electric eye" you describe is actually 'optical sensor', and there are two under your front lock. They detect the passage of the slots in the metal rail fixed along the front bed. The optical sensors detect which way the lock is travelling, and count the number of pushers you pass in either direction.
If the slots or the area in front of the optical sensors become blocked or sometimes even slightly obscured, the sensor cannot properly detect the slot and will send corrupt data to the console, resulting in miss aligned pushers.
The optical sensors can be found underneath your front lock. There is a full length black plastic rail running underneath. In the centre sits a separate piece about 2.5cm long, and this piece of plastic contains the two optical sensors. They are located on the side with a 3mm gap to the adjacent metal plate.
I suggest cleaning with a small dry paintbrush. Do not use oil as this will perpetuate the problem by actually attracting pieces of wool to stick to it. 
I hope this does the trick. I clean mine periodically as a precautionary measure, as it's very frustrating if this fault occurs part way through a garment. 
As a final point, the first thing I did when I bought my second-hand machine was to strip it down and completely wash all the parts with surgical spirit to remove copious quantities of oil. I then re-assembled using a blend of spirit and a very small amount of 'Bellodor Oil'. I have not oiled my machine since; as the saying goes - less is more.

Husband of Arthurine.


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## Peanut Tinker (Oct 10, 2012)

arthurine said:


> The problem you described is very common, and is usually cured by a regular cleaning. I was completely baffled when my machine first played up in the manner you described.
> The correct term for the "electric eye" you describe is actually 'optical sensor', and there are two under your front lock. They detect the passage of the slots in the metal rail fixed along the front bed. The optical sensors detect which way the lock is travelling, and count the number of pushers you pass in either direction.
> If the slots or the area in front of the optical sensors become blocked or sometimes even slightly obscured, the sensor cannot properly detect the slot and will send corrupt data to the console, resulting in miss aligned pushers.
> The optical sensors can be found underneath your front lock. There is a full length black plastic rail running underneath. In the centre sits a separate piece about 2.5cm long, and this piece of plastic contains the two optical sensors. They are located on the side with a 3mm gap to the adjacent metal plate.
> ...


Thank you for such a detailed description. I will take a good look again, and I probably do have some oild in there as I was oiling it a lot, to try and alleviate the problem. If I ever get this fixed, I will let everyone know.


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## Maryknits513 (Feb 12, 2011)

arthurine said:


> The problem you described is very common, and is usually cured by a regular cleaning....I then re-assembled using a blend of spirit and a very small amount of 'Bellodor Oil'. I have not oiled my machine since; as the saying goes - less is more.
> 
> Husband of Arthurine.


A very good explanation!

However, many Passap knitters have stopped using Bellador oil. Bellador oil is a vegetable based oil, and becomes thicker as it ages. It changes from a clear oil to a dark yellow, depending on how old it is. Bellador hasn't been made since Passap went out of business, almost 15 years ago.

Some knitters use Ballistol gun oil I used Hoppes Elite gun oil because it smells better. The locks on my Passap are much easier to push. Unfortunately, you have to do a deep cleaning before switching oil.

"Less is more" but most Passaps knit better if they are properly oiled. At the Passap workshop held in Roselle, Illinois last week, the instructor showed how to clean and oil the machine. You need to clean the Passap after every use by vacuum or using a stiff brush to get th fibers/dust out. Apply a thin coat of oil then wipe off the excess oil. Remember to oil the sliding part of the "jaws" on the back lock.


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## hadley (Jun 26, 2014)

I have a Passap E 6000 and the carriage is stuck on the bed as I was knitting is there a way to release the carriage I released the back bed one now I need to release the front bed Thank you


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## hadley (Jun 26, 2014)

I have a Passap E 6000 and the carriage is stuck on the bed as I was knitting is there a way to release the carriage I released the back bed one now I need to release the front bed Thank you


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## Elenka (Jan 5, 2018)

Hi husband of Arthurine,

I see that you faced with an issue which seems to be my problem now. I bought a second hand E6000 and until now I didn't success to work with it under the control of console. There are two situations - manual (no console) and with console. Manually used, I could knitting some simple projects. The needles and pushers act normally. But, when I switch the console ON, indifferently by the dial from the front lock (LX, SX, N) the pushers goes down in the rest position after each moving of the lock over the bed. Based on your details from 2014, I started to clean the optical sensor. No results. By the way, when console is ON and the lock is ready to work,, the light from sensors is visible or is Infrared? In my case I didn't see an light. Do you have other suggestions? Finally I want to mention that also my husband is in charge with tests.

Thank you.


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## dialknit (Oct 17, 2012)

This post may be of help to you:
from 28pearson 

I have just joined this forum in an attempt to help E6000 users who have a problem.

I am not a knitter, but my wife is. For more than a decade I have been repairing, upgrading and where possible helping people around the world with the E6000.
We have repaired and upgraded (including conversion from 8K to 32K) more that 100 consoles plus numerous curly leads and front locks since 2002.

I am not a dealer and am not employed by one, However I was an Electronic Design Engineer in the UK communications industry for well over 20 years.

If anyone has a problem or questions relating to the console (or other) then please feel free to contact me and we will try to help.

Regards

Richard Croucher - husband to Anne Croucher in Dorset UK


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