Welding machine help needed Hobart

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rod7515

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I need some advice on my Hobart 140 welder. It doesn't have a lot of hours on it. I used it over the last 7 years to weld up my roll bar, install frame connectors and to do some welding for body work on my 66 Dart. I pulled it out on Sunday to weld a few brackets on a heater box for my tractor. It worked great on the first bracket but when I went to strike a weld on the 2nd bracket all it would do is lightly spark at the wire. I've tried attaching a very short video but its not allowing me to. Ive tried other ground areas as well as touching the ground clamp with my wire but it just barely sparks. It doesnt even turn the wire red. Where do I go to have it looked at or is it something you think is a simple fix? I can send a video in an email if you think you could help.
Thanks Rod
 
Maybe try blowing out the whip, and making sure that your tip is tight, clean, and the right size for the wire. These are all part of the circuit.
 
I need some advice on my Hobart 140 welder. It doesn't have a lot of hours on it. I used it over the last 7 years to weld up my roll bar, install frame connectors and to do some welding for body work on my 66 Dart. I pulled it out on Sunday to weld a few brackets on a heater box for my tractor. It worked great on the first bracket but when I went to strike a weld on the 2nd bracket all it would do is lightly spark at the wire. I've tried attaching a very short video but its not allowing me to. Ive tried other ground areas as well as touching the ground clamp with my wire but it just barely sparks. It doesnt even turn the wire red. Where do I go to have it looked at or is it something you think is a simple fix? I can send a video in an email if you think you could help.
Thanks Rod
Check voltage at +/-.
 
The stinger cable plugs into the machine. There is a thumbscrew (large wingnut) that holds the stinger into the machine. Sometimes the wire will break between the roller and the stinger tube. If you loosen the thumb screw and pull out the stinger you can clear out any wire that had bundled up in there. Make sure machine is off and unplugged. You need to unscrew the thumbscrew quite a bit before the stinger cable will come out and don't forget to unplug the stinger electrical connector.

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On my 140 the drive wheel wore out and I had to buy a replacement...check to see if the wheel is spinning without feeding the wire. It may just need an adjustment there, but if you examine the wheel you'll be able to tell.
 
Any chance the ground got jarred out of the machine?
 
Thanks guys, tomorrow I have the neighbor coming down to check my voltage. He thinks it may be the extension cord and is making me a new heavier cord. Im sure its going to be something simple as it doesnt have enough time on it to have gone bad. I will also check the grounds and the stinger as well. Ill let you know how it turns out.
Rod
 
Those don't like extension cords at all.

In fact I think the manual says not to use one.

Maybe a 10 gauge, 10 foot or so would be OK, but there is definitely a voltage drop if using a longer or smaller cord that will cause it not to work.
 
I got rid of cheesy ground clamp and upgraded it. I needed an ext cord also but only added about 10' and thick gauge.
Clamp like this, my welder is 120v.
Does wire feed normally?

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Flux or reg. wire? Rusted wire? Is the wire feeding smoothly? Like autos, stuff works better when they get used regular. Like said, these things do not do well with ext. cords.
 
I had one of my old mig welders on the bench, was welding a bracket,and it touched the welder and i didnt notice, it blew out the control board. It behaved very similar to what you describe. So if welder housing was touching car body as you were welding, this may be your issue. Hope it is something simple, but if your luck is like mine,it wont be.
 
A couple of checks to make. First is to check where the ground lug connects to the clamp. I see a lot that come into the shop that have loosened some and arced causing a poor connection. The second is to check at the lugs inside the drive door for voltage. With it triggered you should be able to see 10-28 volts dc. This should change as you change your voltage setting. If it does also keep the meter on it while you attempt to strike an arc. If it drops dramatically then you have a voltage supply issue of a failure inside the machine.
You can run these off of a 10 awg extension cord up to 50 ft without issue. Running a smaller extension cord will work for short bursts but the longer you weld with then the more voltage drop you will have and you will see the weld performance deteriorate.
 
Really doubt it's the extension cord. About every 3 years I'm welding a new patch on the Wife's steel boat at camp and I'm using a #16 x 100' extension cord.
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If the extension cord is up to the duty cycle of the welder, I'd rule it out. I've run my machines with extension cords for years, but they were well above the duty cycle of the machines. From there, I'd begin checking other things i.e. motor, feed wheels & wire.
 
I had the neighbor come down today and he checked the voltage at the wall socket as well as the extension cord. Im no electrician at all but he was. We pulled the cover off the welder and he checked power coming into unit and says its good.
Ive taken all the wiring ends inside the machine off and made sure they were clean and making good contacts and found nothing. Im guessing its in the mother board or a capacitor or something like that. I dont weld enough to justify getting a new welder and i dont know if there are any local repair places near me.
Rod
 
Oh forgot to say, Yes it does feed wire when trying to strike a bead. everything seems to work fine except I can not get an arc.
Rod
 
There are a couple of Hobart repair centers in PA, I don't know how close you are to them. Google Hobart & see what you can find, or Google welder repair & see what's close. When I was in York, I think I remember a few repair places close by.
 
Hey Demonracer, You are right. I did the google and see one is in Harrisburg. Ill give them a call and see where they are at? Im 25-30 miles from there and could sneak over from work one day.
Thanks Rod
 
Good deal, hopefully the part or parts you need aren't obsolete. Good luck with the repair.
 
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VERY easy to check the operation without the extension cord.

I'd almost bet money.....
 
Might check the rectifier diodes to see if one of them opened up.
 
Check where the torch goes into the machine. Pull it loose and clean up that lug and reinstall the torch. Letter F in the diagram. Most welders I've messed with feed power through that collar and can get some dust/crap build up. If the diffusor inside the nozzle is jacked up/ grounded out from slag it will also act like you describe. A couple quick checks before you run to the shop if you haven't already.

I'll also say this the duty cycle on the Hobart's isn't much and if you're constantly running past it they can be short lived and running them on insufficient amperage is pretty hard on them as well. It's not so much as how long it's been run as how it's been run.
 
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