Arctec 230e blows fuse apart -help!

[johno74]

I'm new to the forum but would appreciate some help please.

It's an Arctec 230e mig that was running on 3 phase until it stopped mid-weld.
The 2.5amp slow blow fuse in one of the lines was blown to pieces and one of the control board fuses was blown but not obliterated like the other.

I'm struggling to find any useful info but would be keen to know if this rings any bells with anyone

Also it says 400/230 on the front panel. Obviously it's 3 phase at the mo but does 230 mean it can be wired single phase?

thanks John

 

[the snooper]

you will need to find what the fuse protects when they blow that badly it usually indicates a dead short, test the parts wih a meter until you find one shorting out

 

[johno74]

thanks for your reply snooper.

The fuse on the control board I can test surrounding components etc but I'm not sure what the other fuse in the back of the welder does/protects so not sure how to proceed ie what to test for a short..

 

[the snooper]

your first thing is to find whats causing that fuse to blow that badly and remove it once you find it, that may stop the second fuse blowing aswell.
its hard to give any really good info over the internet when it comes to this sort of fault

 

[johno74]

ok. shame!

What about the 230/400v does it mean that the welder can run 230v single phase or 3 phase in your opinion?
As a wild guess, the 3 with the pin icon means '3 phase' but whats the 230v for if its not a dual voltage machine?
As you might be able to tell i'm hardly an expert...
If it looks like it can run either 3ph or single ph how do i re wire it- i can see jumpers that show the positions for 400 or 230 but is that all i have to do? If there is a guide or info here i've obviously missed it.

thanks again

 

[madkayaker]

Chances are its currently running 400V single phase (wired between two phases) so its not three phase. If its only a 2.5A fuse I would be tempted to replace with same size and see what happens

 

[shenion]

The data plate shows it as 3-phase only.

230 3-phase would be US/Canada and other countries.

 

[madkayaker]

So it does missed that bit on the screen

 

[Wedg1e]

I'd replace the fuses and switch it on. If it powers-up OK but blows the fuses again when you hit the trigger I'd go with a short-circuit rectifier. If the fuses blow as soon as you turn the set on, I'd be expecting a shorted transformer primary (very rare and bloody unlucky as it'll probably scrap the set) or something obscure like a short-circuit cooling fan.