Tradesmig 130 wire live/gas on - wire feed off

[JCB]

26 year old tradesmig 130 great machine. Recently, when hot, the wire stays hot, gas continues and wire stops when switch is released. Several clicks sometimes stops, though at times the macjine needs to be switched off and left. Later restart and several clicks and the machine works fine for a while. I have the manual and the description of how the circuit operates. Any help appreciated, especially in relation to the precice spare needed to fix this problem.

 

[GrahamGKD]

Contactor sticking 'on' maybe? When you pull the trigger do you hear a clunk which is present when the machine is working properly but not when the fault is present? If it is the contactor then clearly the wire feed is controlled from somewhere else?

 

[JCB]

When fault is present, the clunk is subdued, and definite when working properly. Suspect the contactor RL1 on the PCB but won't be able to check until Sunday.

 

[GrahamGKD]

If the clunk is subdued it may well be because the solenoid actuator is still moving but the contacts are remaining stuck together - sounds like you are onto something and hopefully easy to fix by cleaning the contacts, assuming you can get access to them. Good luck.