Astropower 130

[flpalla]

Hello everyone, brand new to the forum. Maybe someone can point me in the right direction. I have the astropower 130 mig welder and for much of it's life it has been pretty reliable. It just started sputtering and doing terrible welds. If I press the trigger while not welding it feeds as smotth as can be, but when I start to weld (under load) it's like the wire feed motor starts making a jerking noise and the wire is not coming out smooth. Just to omit some variables, the wire spool rolls freely, the gas is practically new and the wire feeds through the handle perfect. I guess something electrical is failing. Any feed back would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You,
Frank

 

[shenion]

Could be the swan neck or liner jamming when they get hot, or a worn tip.

Other than that, I'd look for possibly bad connections.

 

[flpalla]

Thanks for the reply, I pretty much checked all the obvious, I'm not sure why it's sputtering under load and is fine when not welding, the wire pulls through fine. Something seems to be effecting the power to the motor while welding. I do see a small chip board inside the machine which connects to the motor.

 

[keith19]

Sounds like the output to both the wire feed motor and the welding torch are down. Several things can cause this.

To start with, take the cover off and check out where the wire feed motor wires come from. Different wire feed motors take power from different sources.
Check there are no loose contacts, as already said.

If you have a manual with a diagram, maybe you could post a picture of the diagram up here. I'm no expert, but some of the guys on here are, and the more information you can give the better.

 

[flpalla]

Unfortunately I do not have a manual or a diagram for this machine, but I did discover something pretty interesting. I had been welding some exhaust parts for my truck, so I used the the lowest settings not to blow through the metal. At this low setting is when it would sputter and do a poor welding bead. I decided to try and turn it up on a heavier piece of steel and it's seems to weld fine. Now I'm really confused!!! I guess something is failing on the low setting.
Thank you very much for the replies, please keep them coming if someone has had a similiar situation. I will keep everyone posted if I can find a resolution
Frank P.

 

[shenion]

What gas are you using?

If you wire speed is uneven, you will see more problems on lower settings as it the usable speed range is narrower.

BTW, if the exhaust is galvanized, that will interfere with the weld and cause poor results. May also do it on aluminized steel also.

 

[flpalla]

Hi Shenion,
I am using Argon gas. Good point about the galvanized metal, but I tried it on another piece of steel and got the same results. When I turned it up, the problem went away. As for this welder I need to use the lowest setting on exhaust, otherwise it just blows right through. I don't do extensive welding, so this machine serves the purpose. I would hate to go purchase a new one........after all I need to spend most of my money putting gas in my car!!!lol
Thanks,
Frank

 

[keith19]

Is your 130 the model with the power selector dial, like the one below?

How does the dial switch work, is it a smooth sweep around to different settings, or does it click into each graduation?

I just wondered if maybe there could be a bad connection down in back of the switch, at the lower setting; I think this might only make sense if it is a 'click in' type of switch. Certainly worth checking out.

 

[flpalla]

Is your 130 the model with the power selector dial, like the one below?

How does the dial switch work, is it a smooth sweep around to different settings, or does it click into each graduation?

I just wondered if maybe there could be a bad connection down in back of the switch, at the lower setting; I think this might only make sense if it is a 'click in' type of switch. Certainly worth checking out.

Hi Keith, yes this is the exact model you have in the picture. It does have the click settings for the heat and the wire feed speed is a smooth turn knob. Great point, I will look at the connections to the switch and see if maybe there is corrosion or bad wire. Thank you for the input, I will post back with results.

 

[mike 109444]

Flpalla It might be worth using the next step up from lowes power setting as the lowest maybe just to low to punch through to get the weld started. Going by your comment that the m/c is ok on the higher settings I would suspect that, more so than a fault with the welder. It might be worth using the "thin metal technique" as discribed through link on home page.

 

[flpalla]

Great news....well for me anyway I had taken the wires off of the feed speed control and cleaned them up a bit. Put everything back and the welder is working perfect again. I got to complete my job I started and it seems to be back to normal.

I would just like to say thank you to everyone that offered their suggestions and their time. It's nice to have forums with such helpful people from all over the world!!!
Best regards,
Frank

 

[Robotstar5]

Thanks for letting us know you got it fixed

 

[suede48]

Hi, I have the welder pictured on this post and am experiencing the same problem ( I have the click switch also ) I will dig into connections on it today ,but I also have something else happening that has me stumped... after welding for about 30 seconds I can stop welding and hit the trigger so I can hear gas and a cloud of smoke comes out for about 30 seconds ??? Do you think I have a wire problem in hose ?

 

[suede48]

hey, did like flpalla did with the wires and blew out all the dust and dirt out of machine . haven't used it a lot but seems to be better. the contacts were covered with corrosion and one wire was loose..? after 12 years it decides to loosen up.???? I will pass this site along to all my friends over on forum site -trifivechevy.com. we all own rusty chevys and are fixing them......I'll be back..............................

 

[suede48]

Its doing it again. I can weld for about 10 minutes and it starts all over again.It almost acts like it has a bad ground,but I am connected to bare metal. I'm wondering if I need to replace the power selector switch ( the click switch for power setting ) Do you have any idea how much it will cost ? I'm replacing the rocker panels on my 56 Chevy so I'm doing a lot of thinner sheet metal work so I need my lower setting on the welder. I am going to pull apart my handle /trigger assembly to make sure there is nothing wrong in there.Any suggestions will be appreciated.....

 

[keith19]

Sounds like something is heating up, then playing up, if it happens regular after about ten minutes.
I guess you have checked the torch and liner, and the wire feed, and everything is running smoothly?
The problem with the gas running on sounds as if either the gas switch or the gas solenoid is sticking, depending on what kind of system it has.

Could be the power switch has a poor connection which overheats after ten minutes weld time, but just as likely to be a component on the pcb which is failing when it heats up.

 

[mike 109444]

Is the smoke coming out of the welding gun or the machine? It would be a bit strange if it is coming out of the gun but if it is then when you get it happen run an ungloved hand along the hose between the gun and the machine and feel for a hot spot. Could be you have a short in the hose ( not driven over hose have you?) If it's coming from inside the machine then remove covers and do some welding and get a spotter to look at your welder while you are welding, looking for sourch of smoke. Don't forget BEFORE investigating disconect from mains !! If there is a fan in unit it will blow the smoke through machine with covers on.

 

[suede48]

the smoke is coming out of the gun.Trigger working ok because it stops when trigger released .All contacts are clean and tight , I will take apart the gun, hose and what ever I can get apart tomorrow to see if I can find anything wrong. No i haven't run over hose or anything like that .I'll let you know what I find ...........................

 

[suede48]

I took the gun apart -everything in there looks good. I got looking around and saw that the cable holder was cracked so I took that assembly all apart,,, found the wire feed motor support broken and the roller holder arm cracked ( all plastic parts ) ...? Then I remembered my nephew came over last week and did some welding on the car for me ...I asked him if he pulled on hose, yes he did...I found a place on the internet --"shop tools for pros". that had the parts I need... hopefully that will solve the problems I'm having. Will let you know when parts are installed ...........later.

 

[Robotstar5]

Then I remembered my nephew came over last week and did some welding on the car for me ...I asked him if he pulled on hose, yes he did...

Kids eh!! at least you've found the problem.