welder on the fritz.

[cantwell.colton]

man ... my mig is not working --
crapppy

it turns on has power etc and when you pull the trigger you can hear it want to engage -- but nothing -- no wire feed ... any ideas of whats wrong>?

 

[Bonehead]

There is a big list. Starting with the tip. If the wire won't pass through the tip, it is a no go all the way back. The wire drive, and also check to see if there is a backlash on the spool, keeping the wire from coming off the reel. The liner could be bad, the list goes on and on.

 

[Tripper]

What size wire are u using? That generally happens to me when I burn the wire down to the tip. It will get welded to the tip & if u keep hittin' the trigger it will eventually start windin' up inside the case. Also... all the above that the Bonehead said!

BoB

 

[kelseydum]

Ditto on the above... check the tip and spool first.

 

[cantwell.colton]

ill double check but the little wheels on the the inside that feed the wire arent moving... could it still be the tip?

 

[kelseydum]

If something has the wire jammed then the wheels won't be able to turn.

 

[Sam_Fear]

Flip up the tensioner sprocket and see if the drive wheel rotates without the wire.

 

[cantwell.colton]

Flip up the tensioner sprocket and see if the drive wheel rotates without the wire.

nope... nothing ... just the hum and sound of the relay ... but no wheels a turnin..

 

[kelseydum]

I'm no expert but just trying to help go through some of the small easy "maybe's". Is there a chance the nut on the spool is too tight or something hung up there? Did your wire speed get turned all the way down or something? My father-in-law keeps a lot of clamps hanging on his welder and one time the wire speed got turned way down when I bumped it. Took me hours to figure out what was wrong.

I know Bonehead or Tripper can probably help more.

 

[Lightning]

Check to see if the drive motor has a seperate fuse or breaker some where on the feeder. Just maybe the motor to the drive wheel has burnt out - check to see if you can see the brushes and if they are working. It has to be something going on with the feeder drive motor,maybe the wires in the torch handle have come off of the trigger connections while the connection for the gas solenoid is working .

 

[cantwell.colton]

the wires fine -- and you can hear something inside switch over when you pull the trigger -- its like a clutch is burnt out or where the drive motor meets the feeder wheels isnt right ... i dont know -- if its something stupid like that i would rather just pull it apart and fix it rather than in to get fixed ... but if its not ... i dunno.

 

[Sam_Fear]

Unless it's under warranty, open it up! See if there is something inside amiss.

 

[Lightning]

the wires fine -- and you can hear something inside switch over when you pull the trigger -- its like a clutch is burnt out or where the drive motor meets the feeder wheels isnt right ... i dont know -- if its something stupid like that i would rather just pull it apart and fix it rather than in to get fixed ... but if its not ... i dunno.

That clicking sound you hear when you pull the trigger is probably the gas solenoid working, now if the drive gear isn't turning it has some thing to do with the motor - be it brushes,burnt commutator,loose wires or the tension wheel might be jammed against the drive wheel or the individual circuit for the drive motor maybe disconnected,unplugged or look for a small red or white button on the back of the drive motor[ a reset button] and push it.

 

[ratdog]

There is a little component on the circuit board that shuts down the feed if the welder overheats or anything like that. This part can go bad . I dont know what kind of machine you have, on my hobart i found out where it is and bypassed it to see if it was the problem. supposed to be common on hobarts. Turns out thou that one wire going to the alu plate on top of the transformer was never tightened from the factory, evertime you moved the machine it would work again or stop working ,took a while to figure out.

Part is called a thermistor. Usually just some small thing thats the problem, motor and transformer
seldom go bad. But sounds like it could be that part, check wires for contact also.

 

[cantwell.colton]

frustrating.

 

[cantwell.colton]

Check to see if the drive motor has a seperate fuse or breaker some where on the feeder. Just maybe the motor to the drive wheel has burnt out - check to see if you can see the brushes and if they are working. It has to be something going on with the feeder drive motor,maybe the wires in the torch handle have come off of the trigger connections while the connection for the gas solenoid is working .

yup ... blown fuse.

 

[Sam_Fear]

yup ... blown fuse.

Well then.... get back too it! [