- Thread starter Pete P
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mike 109444
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There is probable a relay stuck "ON" on the pcb failing that a transistor stuck on (gone short)
Post a pic of pcb to assist diagnoses.
And Welcome Pete
Post a pic of pcb to assist diagnoses.
And Welcome Pete
mike 109444
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With no relays on the pcb and looking at the circuit diagram none shown, then it could be your contactor is sticking. This should be a largish block (bout 2"x3") that makes a clonk when you pull the trigger. It works as a very large relay (switch). So with CARE and the covers off pull trigger and see if you can see a device like this operate. The black pegs on top will go down when operated
I have exactly the same prob with mine. I went to use it yesterday and away it went all on its lonesome, Its been in a very damp container for 4or5 weeks without use so I dried the P.C.B. board with a heat gun it kind of done trick except is has wire over run again, Gonna have to find drier storage.
Norm
Norm
i am unsure it is the contactor sticking - the welder was just sitting there and just started up on its own (i was other end of workshop!),i guess the pcb pulled the contactor in somehow.maybe as mechman said,its damp conditions,sitting in a unheated workshop? it used to be ok though.
Pete
Pete
mike 109444
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If drying a pcb you might be better off using a hair dryer as the heat from a heat gun can do damage (more so with modern electronics as surface mount devices are soldered (flowed) at a similar if not cooler temp than that from a heat gun.
If putting away a warm welder it will condense moisture in the air as it cools. Best bet if you have to put in storage is some old blankets over the machine.
If putting away a warm welder it will condense moisture in the air as it cools. Best bet if you have to put in storage is some old blankets over the machine.
Pete.
If you get prob sorted let us know on forum and I,ll do like wise. Did you read my post on 180 difficulties.Mine is same as yours.
Norm.
Had my 180 mono fixed, Apparently when the machine was launched off the back of a pick up it done some unseen damage to the PCB board, transistor pins or something electremical(above me) working good now. Salient Services came thru again.
The mig has started acting up again, same problem as before (Wire feed kicking off on its own) only this time its only doing it when its warmed up, anyway its in for repair will keep forum updated.Had my 180 mono fixed, Apparently when the machine was launched off the back of a pick up it done some unseen damage to the PCB board, transistor pins or something electremical(above me) working good now. Salient Services came thru again.
Norm
mike 109444
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Well that's not bad, been nearly a year since your post above so guessing it has worked this long. Still it sounds like a connection issue. See what they find (fingers crossed for you).The mig has started acting up again, same problem as before (Wire feed kicking off on its own) only this time its only doing it when its warmed up, anyway its in for repair will keep forum updated.
Norm
It hasn't exactly lived in cotton wool but then again it hasn't done a lot of work for the age of it ( about 35 to 40 years old ) I think the most it ever done was making 6 mini skips.
mike 109444
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Lets hope they get to the bottom of it 
I'm going to ring the company tomorrow to give them a little nudge, I know the company is extremely busy at the moment and welding machines are not their main source of income, in fact mine is the only one in there. They will drop onto it when things ease up, the last time it was in the bill money just went in their tea jar, so I reckon the 180 is a job on the side. they are a good bunch of guys so I'll have to be patient.
I've been to guys about welder apparently they've given it a going over and can't find anything, the b*****d thing is working perfectly. Just work it till the fault gets worse or shows itself all the time and they'll have another go. They checked the caps pcb etc (means nowt to me its all Klingon)so there we are. Bill = a couple of packets of biscuits which I think I can stand.
mike 109444
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Sometimes a dead piece of equipment can be easier to fix than an intermittent fault !
Due to the age of the components on the pcb ( I have couple of machines of same age!) the resistors can become flaky and there values can change. Capacitors can dry out and give different characteristics. Semiconductors can be poor on conducting or insulation (internally) can be poor. All of which can cause false triggering of other components that switch on the feed. Even a cracked pcb can cause this type of fault. crack goes across a track so that circuit is open then pcb warms up and track makes contact and triggers ???
keep an eye on ebay for a machine of same specs that's a "spares or repair" and get it's pcb for back up.
Due to the age of the components on the pcb ( I have couple of machines of same age!) the resistors can become flaky and there values can change. Capacitors can dry out and give different characteristics. Semiconductors can be poor on conducting or insulation (internally) can be poor. All of which can cause false triggering of other components that switch on the feed. Even a cracked pcb can cause this type of fault. crack goes across a track so that circuit is open then pcb warms up and track makes contact and triggers ???
keep an eye on ebay for a machine of same specs that's a "spares or repair" and get it's pcb for back up.
They did mention caps drying out but checked them and they're ok so I'll just press on with it, Using the sealey(light weight as in weight) as a back up
