clarke 85 not working properly

[txargyll]

hi, a friend has given me his clarke 85 as he is a loss to why it wont work, it used to work just fine, last use was on 0.8mm metal and did the job well on minimum settings....... to him it felt like it was stuck on minimum as it was not getting enough amps when next used 3months later, with 2mm steel set on maximum.

I tried to weld with it, first thing i noticed was that there is no arc unless the torch trigger is pressed which is unlike my Ferm 100 or Kende 105 welders. But i dont think this is an issue but better than my welders as you can position first then get your arc.

The torch swan spins round and on further inspection i see it has no thread so that will be why, the tip was new but i changed it anyway and shroud in good condition, checked the fuse which was good, the wire feed was working as it should too.

The minimum and maximum settings definately change the amps used, but they are both extemely weak. and so the welder is pretty useless. There is no hum from welder when first turned on unlike my own but i reckon thats because its not actually working until the trigger is pulled.

checked all wiring and nothing looks corroded in there, no broken wires and connections all seem to be good.

Live wires are leading up to and are live at the square plates at the back of the welder....... it does purely seem to be the delivery of enough amps that is the issue. on the square plate there is a white plastic thing where there is a live in and out connector...... i took the connectors off, checked getting a live feed and they do, when these were disconnected and welder turned on the switch light came on, so this must be something to do with the duty cycle and would appear to be working as it should.

I also noticed that the swan has within its neck a spiral liner of same length and that there is no brass button on the square block that would depress like on a picture seen on this post.......http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/diagnosing-a-fault-with-clarke-85en.4835/

metal is clean and paint and rust free.

I swapped out the earth clamp as it was not grippy enough.

last thing was to change the flux core wire to one i know works well, no difference

Any ideas where i should look to resolve this issue?

 

[rtbcomp]

The trigger is working correctly, the cheaper welders have a permanently live torch to save the cost of a contactor.

First thing to check would be all the internal connections are nice and tight, after that I'd test the rectifier diodes.

 

[Jan]

Work your way from the transformer, through the rectifier and on to the torch checking each and every electrical contact as you go. Any that can be pulled off or unbolted, should be and then given a coating of petroleum jelly before replacing them. Just the action of breaking and remaking the joint will cut through any corrosion to improve the electrical connection, while the PJ will keep out air & moisture for months if not years. Do the same for the earth clamp as it's common to all power settings and therefore is the usual cause of low amperage across the range.

 

[Robotstar5]

The torch swan spins round and on further inspection i see it has no thread so that will be why, the tip was new but i changed it anyway and shroud in good condition

Which part of the swan neck spins?, it should be tightly fixed to the brass block to allow the welding current to pass through, if it moves/rotates there will be a high resistance joint = losing current.

 

[txargyll]

Torch spins in the block, not tight, cant see how to tighten it either?

 

[Jan]

It should either be threaded and simply wind into the block or be a push fit with a grub screw to tighten/hold it.

 

[mike 109444]

Would go with what Jan has said ref loose swaneck. When or if you meter make sure you know weather it is AC or DC you should be finding!

 

[txargyll]

grub screw must be missing or not tight, ill take a look tomorrow. could this alone account for the lack of amps getting to weld?

 

[mike 109444]

Yep

 

[txargyll]

finally..... it did have a missing grub screw, got one from old guitar and locked it down. Didnt help though. i went back to wiring and stripped back the wires covered by the cloth (on the torch), the wiring was shot, completely burnt out. I had to trim the torch liner by a few inches so that i had longer wire after stripping it back......... made some new connections and put it all back together.

Soon as i pulled the trigger i knew i was into something good.

I reckon its fixed. Min and Max doing their job, wire feed is good and running 0.8 flux. I only had some 5mm steel to play which is way to big for this welder but ran a bead between two and although it was messy (which is my fault cause im a noob) and dont know this welder, it was miles and miles better and the metal is well stuck. Slapped the crap out of it and its stook.

I reckon on 3mm steel this would definatley do the job.

thanks all..... Not bad for a 10yr old welder

 

[Jan]

Nice to hear that you're back on track. For lighter, thinner material (car bodywork and even chassis rails) your little welder should be more than adequate. In future you may wish to tackle heavier, thicker stuff and only a more powerful machine will give decent welds, but as long as this one is still good you could get a decent P/X price for it if/when you upgrade.

 

[txargyll]

unlucky for me as its back to its owner in a couple of days, i only had it to fix. I have my ferm 100. it does fine for what i want it to do. would be nice to have the missing regulator to try out gas but can justify buying it just yet. i want to sell my kende so i can get the gas regulator and a gas bottle but first i need to source an old mask as i done have one to sell with it....... oh the worries.

One of these days it will all come good and i will be able to sit at my welding table quite content.

 

[Robotstar5]

but first i need to source an old mask as i done have one to sell with it....... oh the worries.

You don't need a mask to sell with the welder, the hobby manufacturers include one to cover their ar5es. Industrial/professional weldsets don't come with a mask.

 

[Jan]

As said: It isn't completely necessary to include a welding helmet with a used machine, but as useable auto masks can be sourced from as little as £20 off eBay it only depends on which price bracket you're selling the machine in.