Is your tattoo machine not working? Here is a listing of the height 10 tattoo motorcar problems you may come across. We've been in the concern of making them for close to a decade at present and we've encountered our off-white share of bug and have come with merely as many fixes.

1. The Throw is too Weak

Troubleshoot: You are running the machine and the needle is barely moving. No matter how much y'all turn up the voltage, the needle does non appear to have enough upwards and downward movement. This may be caused past a back spring that does not have enough tension.

bend tattoo machine backspring

Fix: Loosen the back spring screw, flip the dorsum spring/armature bar/forepart jump assembly around and turn it around so that the front spring is facing downward on the other side of the frame (basically y'all did a 180 with the assembly). Carefully bend the back spring downward to create more tension, do this a footling at a time, a little goes a long manner. Put the associates back in its original position and tighten.

ii. My Grip Keeps Loosening

Fix: 3 possible reasons

1) Even though you may have tightened the hex bolts on the grip and the tube on a 3 piece metal tube assembly, you may not have tightened the hex bolt enough. Some of those hex bolts on stainless steel or aluminum grips (if they have been used for a long time) get worn downwards and so you may need to really tighten it in order to get it to clamp onto the tube. Just be careful not to strip the head, or your left with a useless gripplastic washer tube fit2) If the thumb screw of your tube vise tightens but the tube and grip doesn't seem to, it may be because the betoken where your thumb spiral goes into the frame is not getting enough tension. This can be fixed past adding in a spacer washer. Sometimes a plastic one is meliorate than a metallic one as plastic compresses more than when tightened.
three) If the above two fixes don't work, check the threading on the thumb screw. Through wear and tear, the tip of the screw thread will wearable down faster than the balance of it. This is because you are mainly screwing in the tip when you tighten. If the threading appears worn, its time to get a new thumb screw.

3. My Tattoo Car was Working Fine Till I Took it Apart

tattoo machine fix insulation

Troubleshoot: And then you lot decided to take apart your automobile and when you put it back together it is not working anymore.

Gear up:

There are quite a few parts and aside from remembering where they were supposed to go, you lot should have noted which direction certain washers faced and where along the screws they were oriented. For example, both the top binding mail service screw and the back binding post spiral should exist insulated from the frame by a plastic or rubber washer. Most tattoo machines will have a unproblematic washer on one side and a washer with an elongated plastic tube sticking out from the other. The plastic tube end should get into the frame. This tube insulates the threading of the spiral then information technology does not allow electric current to pass to the frame. Too, the 2 circular connectors from the coils/capacitor assembly must exist touching the height binding mail and the back binding post, if they are behind the plastic washer, they will either not work, or will not piece of work as effectively.

iv. My Tattoo Auto Cuts in and Out

Troubleshoot: This is likely caused by a weak connector in the circuit somewhere along the tattoo machine

Ready:

If y'all accept taken apart your machine at any time before, inspect the wiring to ensure no wires got clamped or damaged when yous were putting them back on. The wires are not very thick and are fastened by pocket-size solder joints, if any of those joints were damaged, the automobile will cut in and out. Another possibility is the clip cord not making a total connectedness. This may be from an oxidized bespeak of contact. You can gear up this past taking a scrap of sand paper and sanding clean the clip cord prongs. If the machine cuts in and out when you lot motion information technology in certain angles, it is likely acquired past a clip cord not making a full connection.

5. I have to Turn upwardly the Voltage to Max to get the Auto to Run

Troubleshoot: This is likely the same issue equally No. 3 where your springs exercise non take enough tension. Same set equally No.3.

Fix:

Loosen the back leap screw, flip the dorsum leap/armature bar/front bound assembly around and turn it around and then that the front end spring is facing downward on the other side of the frame (basically you did a 180 with the associates). Carefully bend the dorsum spring downward to create more tension, do this a footling at a time, a piddling goes a long mode. Put the associates back in its original position and tighten.

vi. Sparking Betwixt the Front Bound and Contact Screw

Troubleshoot: Some tattoo machines volition spark a piddling bit merely if you become excessive sparking then it may be a problem. Possible causes of excessive sparking is a rear spring that has been aptitude too tight, installation of a new front spring that has been plated or a bad capacitor.

Prepare: Rear spring too tight

This would be the reverse of bending the rear jump for more than tension, loosen the dorsum spring screw, flip the back bound/armature bar/front spring assembly around and turn it effectually so that the forepart jump is facing downward on the other side of the frame (basically you did a 180 with the assembly). Carefully bend the back jump upwardly to subtract the tension. Put the assembly back in its original position and tighten.

Fix: New front leap

Not much of a fix hither to be honest, you'll just need to run the machine for a while till the contact spiral takes off the plating layer and and so information technology should stop sparking. If your machine is brand new and is sparking, this may be the fix for it.

tattoo machine capacitor uf

Fix: Bad capacitor

If you have a capacitor that is the wrong uF, so it may cause the sparking. Liners will demand to run a lower uF and shaders will need to run a higher uF capacitor. You may want to drib by Radioshack to pick upwardly a few and test them with your setup. They are easy to solder on and off.

7. Needles are Chewing up the Skin

Troubleshoot: This is a tough one as it may simply boil downward to lack of experience working with your needle depth. Nevertheless, if this pertains to bug with a tattoo motorcar, two possible causes is your armature bar/springs assembly is crooked or your frame geometry is messed up.

Fix:

The armature blank/springs assembly is a elementary one as you'll only need to ensure that the dorsum spring connecting to the front spring and the armature below are positioned so they form a straight line in relation to the back bounden postal service. There are tools that you tin can use to ensure you have them straight but generally speaking, eyeballing will do just fine. If your frame geometry is messed up, your out of luck, look at the machine from the top, midline and frontward position from the back binding mail. If the frame is noticeably bent in any of these views, y'all take bad geometry. Also, if you put the grip in and yous can come across that information technology is going in at a camber, aforementioned deal. It's possible to bend the frame, if this is the case, please see the next troubleshoot on our listing.

8. My Grip is coming out of the Tube Vise at a Slant

Troubleshoot: Championship says it all; your tube grip is coming out of the tube vise at a slant. This is due to poor geometry of the frame.

tattoo gun geometry

Fix:

This ready is not highly recommended as you run the risk of really messing up your frame. However, if yous must, we suggest you get a stainless steel tube and grip and tighten it to the tube vise. Note which direction the camber is and put a thick towel on a sturdy table. Position the machine on the table so you have decent leverage against the camber with the position you want the tube grip to motion towards facing down. Agree the grip firmly in your hand and press downwards. Monitor your strength; you exercise not want to overdo it. It is improve to have bent too little and so it is to curve besides much as you can always try over again.

tattoo machine geometry

tattoo frame geometry

9. My Tattoo machine keeps getting Hot

Troubleshoot: Possible causes are you are using too much voltage, springs are too heavy of a gauge or your armature/springs setup has besides much tension.

Fix: Armature/springs as well much tension

Aforementioned as number 6, reverse of bending the rear jump for more tension, loosen the back jump screw, flip the back spring/armature bar/front jump assembly around and plow it around so that the front jump is facing downward on the other side of the frame (basically you did a 180 with the assembly). Advisedly bend the back spring upward to subtract the tension. Put the assembly back in its original position and tighten.

Prepare: Likewise much voltage

If you need to run the motorcar at max voltage or virtually max, in that location is something wrong with the style you tuned. Y'all're going to demand to adjust the tensions on the springs or gap of the front spring to the contact spiral to lower the corporeality of voltage necessary to become it to run right.

10. My Tattoo Machine runs expert and so Loses Ability

Troubleshoot: This is a doozy as in that location are many possibilities. Common ones include: bad capacitor, bad clip cord or pes pedal and oxidizing contact points.

Fix: Bad capacitor

Only fashion you are going to effigy this one out is if you have another capacitor or entire whorl setup to troubleshoot against the suspect one. You can buy capacitors at Radioshack for cheap.

Ready: Bad clip string or human foot pedal

Clip cords and foot pedals will wearable downward over time, specially if you yank on the wire here and there. You tin can troubleshoot them if you have another prune cord or foot pedal to test with. Sanding down the connecting prongs of the clip cord may help equally oxidization can build up at those points causing a progressively poor connectedness. Among the products nosotros sell the about to shops, other than needles and ink, is foot pedals and clip cords because they do wear down merely at least they are cheap to buy!

contact points to sand

Fix: Oxidizing contact points

You lot should always maintain a clean contact bespeak for your contact screw, front leap, prune cord and to a lesser extent, the connectors to the top binding post and back binding mail service. Some steel wool will do the trick, simply give the points a good buffing every couple of weeks to ensure oxidization does not build up to bog down your auto.