Hello mig-welding.co.uk!!!
Great resource of information here. I have a question regarding my 2008 Miller Maxstar 200DX.
It's a used machine with roughly 87 hours of use on it. I have given the machine a test run on both 115/120v which I use for my smaller Lincoln MIGpak 140, as well as 240v plug which I have used for my Century 225 and a friends Lincoln SP-175.
The welder had about 2 hours of use by me on the 120v plug. I then switched to 240v, wired correctly as per the diagrams and identically wired to my Century 225. Whilst using it under 240v power, I had the machine set to about 125amps and it started to smoke, after about the one hour mark, but didn't catch my attention.
There was just a faint "wood burning" smell. I thought it was just dirty metal reacting with the argon and arcing, so as I continued to use it, the smoke started to billow out the back. The display was STILL ON while it was smoking like a tug boat so I cut the power and used a blowgun to air it out, and let it cool off with an exhaust fan pointed at the unit for a few minutes.
Upon inspecting within the unit with the case/cover off, I noticed front-most 450v 1500uf PANASONIC T-UP capacitor had spat its guts out underneath itself and sprayed electrolytic fluid/oil all over the interior of the two boards and the main power board.
I went ahead and replaced both capacitors, and replaced all the items that are on heatsinks on the PC2 Main Power board. One is an IGBT, another is a IR640N, and there is also a diode on the other side of the heatsink that the IR640N was on.
I checked and triple checked all the connections, pulled out the board underneath the power board that the display connects to, everything looks good there. Ended up putting it back together.
Upon turning it on using 120v this time around, no display, but I do get the familiar IGBT hum that is common with these machines. However, depressing the pedal with the torch facing the ground produces no arc.
I did look at this thread here but some of the procedures seem like they would be impossible to test with the outlined procedure posted by Jake SS:
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/dead-miller-maxstar-200.10795/
I managed to locate a Dynasty 200DX technical manual from 2010, but it differs too much to test accurately.
My question is, if the display is the only thing not turning on, what should I be checking? Is there a fuse of some sort that is surface mounted or something that I can replace to see if the display panel is getting power?
This couldn't have happened at a worse time, I was planning on using the unit for an upcoming job that requires TIG welding, and it set me back already with the purchase of the equipment. The unit does not have any service history with Miller and it was brand new inside before I hooked it up to 240v.
There are no burn marks or cracks on any diodes or resistors.
I have an electrical engineer in my immediate family that can take a look at the neccessary parts, but he would like some information to go on before doing so and replacing things here and there beyond the CAPS that wet the bed!
Thanks to all whom reply.
Great resource of information here. I have a question regarding my 2008 Miller Maxstar 200DX.
It's a used machine with roughly 87 hours of use on it. I have given the machine a test run on both 115/120v which I use for my smaller Lincoln MIGpak 140, as well as 240v plug which I have used for my Century 225 and a friends Lincoln SP-175.
The welder had about 2 hours of use by me on the 120v plug. I then switched to 240v, wired correctly as per the diagrams and identically wired to my Century 225. Whilst using it under 240v power, I had the machine set to about 125amps and it started to smoke, after about the one hour mark, but didn't catch my attention.
There was just a faint "wood burning" smell. I thought it was just dirty metal reacting with the argon and arcing, so as I continued to use it, the smoke started to billow out the back. The display was STILL ON while it was smoking like a tug boat so I cut the power and used a blowgun to air it out, and let it cool off with an exhaust fan pointed at the unit for a few minutes.
Upon inspecting within the unit with the case/cover off, I noticed front-most 450v 1500uf PANASONIC T-UP capacitor had spat its guts out underneath itself and sprayed electrolytic fluid/oil all over the interior of the two boards and the main power board.
I went ahead and replaced both capacitors, and replaced all the items that are on heatsinks on the PC2 Main Power board. One is an IGBT, another is a IR640N, and there is also a diode on the other side of the heatsink that the IR640N was on.
I checked and triple checked all the connections, pulled out the board underneath the power board that the display connects to, everything looks good there. Ended up putting it back together.
Upon turning it on using 120v this time around, no display, but I do get the familiar IGBT hum that is common with these machines. However, depressing the pedal with the torch facing the ground produces no arc.
I did look at this thread here but some of the procedures seem like they would be impossible to test with the outlined procedure posted by Jake SS:
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/dead-miller-maxstar-200.10795/
I managed to locate a Dynasty 200DX technical manual from 2010, but it differs too much to test accurately.
My question is, if the display is the only thing not turning on, what should I be checking? Is there a fuse of some sort that is surface mounted or something that I can replace to see if the display panel is getting power?
This couldn't have happened at a worse time, I was planning on using the unit for an upcoming job that requires TIG welding, and it set me back already with the purchase of the equipment. The unit does not have any service history with Miller and it was brand new inside before I hooked it up to 240v.
There are no burn marks or cracks on any diodes or resistors.
I have an electrical engineer in my immediate family that can take a look at the neccessary parts, but he would like some information to go on before doing so and replacing things here and there beyond the CAPS that wet the bed!
Thanks to all whom reply.