I have a brother ult2003d. the fabric will not do thought., the feed dog will not come up to grap the fabric. i change needle ,check the thread. made sure i had the right foot on it, i cleaned the mechine but the feed dog still will not catch the fabric to move it though . could some one help me please

The needle never moves forward/back on its own for most sewing machines. The needle bar goes up and down. The fabric moves due to the action of the feed dogs. First remove the fabric from under the presser foot. Check for tangled thread wrapped around the feed dogs or fabric/thread going down into the bobbin area in a tangle. Next check if the feed dogs are up. (When the feed dogs are down or covered (on some machines), the machine is in darning mode. The fabric will only move if you move it yourself.) With the fabric out of the way, rotate the hand wheel and check if the feed dogs are moving. Open up the bobbin compartment and clean out any lint, thread or other debris that may be tangling the mechanism. Take off the throat plate and check the feed dogs. A damaged throat plate can stop the feed dogs from moving properly. You may need to replace the throat plate.

For some machines, you may need to make sure that the unit is not in bobbin wind mode. This is usually obvious since the needle bar won't move either.

I hope this helps.

Cindy Wells

check for broken drive belt that works the bottom shaft in the machine
have a sewing machine service center service it

Skipped stitches
1. The needle is not inserted correctly
Remove needle & reinsert needle( flat side towards the back of machine)
2. The needle is damaged
replace with new needle
3. The wrong size needle is being used
Choose a needle to suit the thread & fabric
4. The foot not attached correctly
Check & attach correctly
5. If the above suggestions don't help then the machine needs to be checked
For a timing problem.

try these suggestions first
make sure top thread has not come off thread take up lever
try a new needle--make sure it's the right one for the fabric being sewed--make sure the needle is inserted correctly up into the needle holder
make sure the bobbin is turned the correct way in the bobbin case
if none of these suggestions help
it's possible that the timing could be off, it would be a good idea to have the machine checked

try using a different spool of thead on the top and bobbin
also try changing the needle
and if these suggestions don't help then call the repair shop and check
with them about the machine not sewing light fabric

Hello

The feed dogs should be in the highest position for regular sewing. If the feed dogs are not raised above the plate it will do this. With the machine unthreaded and no fabric.. run the machine to see if the feed dogs are moving and are working.

.Always make sure you have about 3 inches of both threads before taking any stitches, and both threads are positioned directly behind the needle.

make sure you re-thread it exactly as the owners manual shows.

Change the needle

Change the thread

Take it in for servicing

First do a process of elemination. Unthread the machine, both top and bottom, take out the needle. Place a piece of fabric under the pressure foot, lower the pressure, and depress the foot control. Does the fabric feed? If it does, then put in a NEW needle, thread up the machine, and see what happens. A dull needle won't prevent the fabric from feeding. If the fabric does not feed with no thread, then you have a pressure foot pressure problem, or a feed dog height problem, or a feed step motor problem, or possibly a board problem. If it only has a problem when you thread it up, then maybe you have a burr on the needle plate and the thread is hanging up on it and preventing the fabric from feeding. Check for all of these and if you still need assistance respond back.

change the needle
also make sure the needle is right one for the fabric & thread
clean under the needle plate where the feed dogs are for lint
check to see if the thread has come off the thread take lever

The presser foot is not suppose to feed. It's purpose is to hold the fabric in place as the feed dogs feed the fabric from the front to the back of the machine as stitches are formed.

Check the needle to be sure it is installed with the flat side of the needle shank facing the back of the sewing machine.

Refer to your manual to be sure the bobbin thread is feeding from the bobbin spool in the correct direction and through the guides.

Pull the bobbin thread up by lowering the threaded needed down and then back up. Pull both threads under the presser foot and to the back of the machine.

Set the stitch length to 2.

Place a scrap of fabric under the presser foot. Holding onto the ends of both threads, lower the needle into the fabric for the first stitch.

If the machine still does not stitch, the machine may need to go in for maintenance as the timing may need to be adjusted.

If the feed dogs are not moving, this also needs to be repaired by sewing machine service tech.

About the needle problem, Brother's FAQ gives the following response: 

Make sure the needle is correctly inserted with the flat side facing the back and pushed up into the machine as far as possible.

The needle could have been damaged or bent. If so replace with a new one.

Make sure the fabric is not pulled excessively when sewing. Let the feed dogs move the fabric. Do not pull the fabric.

The combination of needle size, thread size and fabric is incorrect. 
Be sure to use the correct needle and thread size for the fabric you are sewing.(example: Denim-size 16 needle and 40-50 heavy duty thread).

As for the manual, here's the link:
http://welcome.solutions.brother.com/BSC/public/files/dlf/doch000063/ps21xl55565700ug02en.pdf