Welding machine help needed Hobart

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I've been to busy this week to call anywhere about getting the welder repaired. I will do a quick check tonight on the things you have pointed out. I did try to run without an extention cord as someone else had mentioned but that did not help. I hope to call a repair facility today or tomorrow and get an idea of costs. I don't weld that often so I may decide not to fix it. It's just nice to have it when I need it. Thanks for the suggestions.
Rod
 
You can loosen the tension where the feed roller pinches the wire, and see if you can pull the wire easily from the tip.

There should be almost no resistance.

If there is, you could have some crap in the sleeve, or a kink in the wire or the sleeve.

Also sometimes the wire gets dirty if not used for a while.

I've had to pull several feet out of mine before it pulled easily and would feed correctly once the feed roller was tightened to the wire properly.
 
YY1, are you talking about a wire feed problem (which I dont have or a lack of arc problem) which is what I am experiencing. When I try to weld the wire will get red for bout a .5" then the glow goes away but the wire will feed the entire time.
Rod
 
I bought one of those new Hobart back about 2000. I has never welded right. Like said above^^^^ I met a body shop guy that had same Hobart, he reversed the polarity and fixed his, did nothing for mine. I get it done, just won't buy another welder and sell this POS to soeone or throw it away!
 
I have a hard time believing it's the extension cord unless it has some sort of damage to it or it's over 100ft at 14 gauge or smaller.
 
Welders are high amp draw machines.

They come with a short, heavy gauge cord for a reason.
 
I have a Hobart 140 and I'm 90% sure the cord is just a standard looking 14 gauge cord.
 
Not sure what the gauge is but it's only about 3 feet long.

...again, for a reason.
 
Well I had it at an electrical shop and the capacitor was bad but they couldnt check further until that was replaced. I gave the ok and he ordered it. Came in Yesterday and was installed only to find that the transformer is also bad and not available. This sucks because I had to pay for the capacitor. Why would the transformer not be available? Well looks like im going to be watching for another welder.

Thanks for all the suggestions.
Rod
 
Go to different sites, here, the other Mopar sites, Craig's list & others to put out a wanted ad.
 
Sounds odd Capacitor ,Transformer the capacitor should not limit the output to such an extent & if the transformer was shorted it would be blowing fuses is the damage physically evident.
The problem with a lot of these smaller machines is the torch cable people pull the machine around by torch & damages the conductor cable inside the current then goes through the welding wire to the tip rather than the copper conductor resulting in a small spark & sticking of the wire as it welds itself to the liner 1 way to check it is to removed the torch & connect it to a 12 vdc battery then connect the other to a jumper lead & try to start a car with it if you just get a click at the starter you will find the lead is bad.
We repair a lot with the same fault mainly the Lincoln SP170 & Miller machines
 
I wouldnt spend the money to replace the transformer. I dont think that's what's bad anyways. Is this an infinitely variable or stepped power machine? I'd be more suspicious of a bad switch if stepped. Take it to a different shop or sell it AsIs and buy a new one. Not cost effective to replace the transformer.
 
Well I had it at an electrical shop and the capacitor was bad but they couldnt check further until that was replaced. I gave the ok and he ordered it. Came in Yesterday and was installed only to find that the transformer is also bad and not available. This sucks because I had to pay for the capacitor. Why would the transformer not be available? Well looks like im going to be watching for another welder.

Thanks for all the suggestions.
Rod
I would almost bet those people are full of crap. Almost always, when a high power transformer goes bad, it SHORTS, and this results in burned paint/ varnish/ other smells, some quantity of smoke, and blown fuses/ breakers
 
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