Clarke 150te

[hillbillycat65]

Hello everyone
Got a clarke 150te which was bought secondhand few years ago, not really used it till recently when i found the torch was permanently live, meaning machine turned on but trigger not pressed, the electrode arcs soon as it touches the job but wire doesn't feed till trigger is pressed. Now after doing a search on here for similar faults, i checked the relay to make sure contacts aren't stuck, removed cover on relay and on arcing electrode you can see the relay move and hear it click so that seems in order. I then isolated the trigger connection which made no difference, still arcs. Even though the relay seems to work could it still be faulty or can a pcb fault cause the current to flow without the trigger. Not sure of the age of the welder but on the pcb there is a sticker saying passed 1/98 so could this be a live torch model?
Rang a repair company and they seemed adamant that its the relay stuck but it moves. A few things I've noticed its got a 1.0 mm tip but the wire seems to be 0.8 and inside the torch the isulation on the liner at the brass block is frayed, could this cause a current flow, no idea. I've posted some pics. My model has the switches for power settings as opposed to the rotary dial of the latest ones so if it is the pcb are they available. The ones I've seen advertised don't look like mine. Thanks ste

 

[shenion]

Looks like a date code of 1988 on the board. They may have had live torches in those days.

 

[hillbillycat65]

Thanks for your reply, on the pcb it actually says " date passed 1/98 " but whether that's still a live torch, who knows.

 

[mike 109444]

Does your torch have a wire attached to the trigger spring (as in the torch in the link http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/...stopped-working-for-no-apparent-reason.45806/ ) if not then there is no function for switching the power so it would be permanently live. It might be possible to add switching but would be a fair bit of messing around if you are not into electronics.

 

[mike 109444]

Just realized it must have a wire to activate the feed motor..... doh

 

[jimcrow]

Hi have a look at the 150EN files as the inside of mine is almost identical to your 150TE the difference may be down to the suppliers changing the appearance of the components. On the point of voltage at the wire, there is voltage at the wire on mine all the time, however the amps are only there on pulling the trigger, suggest the circuit diagram may be the same as yours with the addition of the changeover circuit of the polarity for gasfree welding, get someone who plays with electronics to have a look.