This Husqvarna Viking Optima 150E was given to me by a friend in Gainesville Florida who wanted to find an easy way to get these “Electronic” machines up and running. We started out with three machines, each one indicating some failure in the speed control board. Since these machines are more than 30 years old and have already suffered a failure, it was decided that eliminating the speed control board and using a traditional foot control unit was the solution that made the most sense.

The Husqvarna Viking Optima 150E was probably the least electronically complicated machine in the Optima line at that time. It’s basically a zig-zag machine using an internal cam stack for added stitch patterns. The only “Electronic” part of the machine is it’s speed control. Other machines in the Husqvarna Viking Optima line may have “Electronic” options included, so removing the speed control board may remove options or even render the machine inoperable.

If you’re unfamiliar with electrical repairs please have a qualified professional make changes for you. This conversion requires working with line voltages and capacitors that can store and discharge line voltage. Proceed at your own risk.

Plastic frame machine

Unlike even the new sewing machines, this machine has no metal sub frame. Unsurprisingly it also has a plastic stich pattern cam stack.

Speed controller computer board

The speed controller computer board had a blown capacitor on it. It’s possible to solder in a replacement, but the goal of this project was to inexpensively repair this type of machine since they were being donated to a charity. The machine will run with the capacitor removed, but it may allow the computer board to be damaged (See notes later on in the article).

Converted to a duplex plug controller

Solution: Scrap the computer board, and hardwire one plug to the motor, and another to the light/switch to convert the machine to use a duplex plug power/foot control.

Notes:

• I used a home built duplex plug for this project, but you can find ready made duplex controllers for sale online.
• I didn’t bother wiring in the light switch on this machine, the light is on as long as the machine has power.
• Yes, the machine did run when tested after I removed the capacitor, I only ran it for a moment to make sure that I wasn’t dealing with a dead machine.
• Putting the machine back together sans capacitor is not a good idea. Unlike capacitors used to simply filter and limit radio frequency noise generated by the machine, this filter protects the machine, specifically the speed control board.

Specifications

Brand	Husqvarna Viking
Series	Optima
Model	150E
Model Number	Optima 150E
Year	–
Machine Body	Plastic
Drivetrain & Gears	Mostly Plastic
Color	White
Motor Mount	Internal
Belt	Rubber