Clarke mig 120 problems

[petedut]

Hi all,

I have had the above welder sitting in the garage since last July and when i have come to test it recently it trips the breaker when its switched on.

Its an old machine but the insides look in good condition with nowt obvious sparking/smoking.

I was hoping someone may have an idea what to look for or check as i would like to start using it

Thanks in advance, Pete.

 

[Mr J Morton]

Blow it out with a compressor or a compressed air can.

I had exactly the same problem and this cured it as per this thread, http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=274076#post274076

good luck
Jonnym

 

[petedut]

Thanks for the link, i will give it i go on monday in work. The guy who i bought it off was puzzled as he said it worked ok when he sold it to me.

As soon as the machine is switched on it trips the breaker, there is a 5amp fuse on the front panel which has been bodged by soldering a bit of copper wire across it but it looks like its for a light anyway.

I can also PAT test it in work as i have recently learnt how to use the machine

 

[rtbcomp]

Is it an MCB or an RCD that's tripping?

 

[petedut]

Mcb-1b32 it has stamped on it

 

[rtbcomp]

This thread may also help http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=25098

 

[mike 109444]

Is m/c like mine?

Is the 120 like pic

I would say that it should be blowing 5 amp fuse, but as fuse has been bodged with wire Then trip is tripping.
Fuse is the protection/supply and not just for the neon/power on light. If your m/c is same as mine (mine is about 25 years old. Does the trip trip with the power selector (0 - 6) set on 0. If so you have a short BEFORE the power/on off switch. If it trips when you select 1,2, 3 ect then fault could be with a broken wire shorting. If it trips when you press trigger and try to weld, fault could be with wiring or pcb. See pic of my pcb.
Here as some notes I made when I has a fault on mine.
Wire feed motor is a 24v DC motor.
It is marked as AB Electrolux
K5V 3006 /250
24V 8342
It is controlled by the output from the controller pcb.
Lowest setting of wire feed supplies aprox 9V to motor.
Middle setting of wire feed supplies aprox 23V to motor.
Highest setting of wire feed supplies aprox 26v to motor.
The above values were with the power setting on number 2 of 6.
The value changes as the power setting is increased to give faster feed when power is stepped up.

I hope I have attached photos correctly (first time I've tried) Otherwise most of above will make no sense

 

[petedut]

Cheers for the link rtbcomp

Mike- my welder is similar to yours but it has a stitching function on it too so it has a couple more dials.

The prob is exactly the same though, plug in and as soon as the power knob on the bottom left of your pic is turned either way it trips the MCB.

 

[mike 109444]

see bottom of page

If you look at the bottom of the page of these post, you will see "related" links. The one "problem with 120" It might be worth contacting the guy jon?? who had worked on his. he might have some notes on what he found. Take care when working inside m/c cos there is mains voltage and capacitors can hold a charge for some time. It may be a process of elimination ie unpluging items till it does not trip. If you have a good mulitmeter it maybe possible to work through the various parts such as the large diodes on heatsink. Would like to know the outcome just incase mine start to do same
best of luck with m/c. Will keep an eye on this thread to followup. Shame you are not closer, would have a look at it for you. Mike G Bristol

 

[petedut]

Cheers mike,

I actually bought it off him last year before he moved down south. I have had an email off him but he has no idea really as it did work when i bought it.

I will post any results i find