Ok, I have a fairly new Lincoln 135-sp that I love. I've owned it since last June (when it was new) bought it from a fellow Hamber. It's been a great welder. but last weekend it developed a problem. It arcs intermittantly and even when it's turned all the way up, barely has enough heat to drop a blob of weld. I checked the ground lead (ok) and blew out the case with air, checked the wire and gas flow. Nothing worked. Any ideas? I guess I'm going to have to take it somewhere to get it looked at. Any leads where I could take it (around the KC area) that is trust worthy? r
Don't use an extension cord. But you probably already knew that. Change out the tip. Plug into a different outlet. Make sure the feed tension is good and snug. Other than these ideas, I'm no good for ****...
And that the wire hasn't stepped out of it's groove on the feed wheels. Also, make sure you are using the correct feed wheel/groove (and torch tip) for the size wire you're using. The extension cord issue makes all the difference in the world in my shop.
Extension cords are fine as long as it has the correct a.w.g for the application. Most extensions cords you get are 14- 18 guage. With a samll 135 welder as long as you are not using a real long cord you will be fine. I dont think thats the problem. Check your voltage at the unit and make sure you dont have a loose neutral at the plug. I had to do some adjusting last night on mine. it is brand new and you still have to do adjusting on the wire pressure ever so often. Mine fixed with putting a new tip in. Old tip did not look bad either. Just small hold up inside and it will really play with your head. Try holding your gun at a 45 degree angle and pulling the trigger on a piece of wood. Your wire should Cull up with no problem. Just my thoughts. Good luck.
I used a 100' extension cord with my little Lincoln 100, never had any problems. Is it a new spool? Ground clamp good and clean? My Ground cable will work loose every so often. Could their possibly be a problem with the gas?
Possibly tangled wire on the spool? I've had that happen before after switching between .023 and .035... Good luck! Ben
It started just as I as finsishing a spool of .023 wire and running out of gas. I got gas and put a new spool of .031 wire in and changed the tip to a new one for the wire guage. I also cleaned the ground lead. I've been using this with a heavy extension cord since I bought it six months ago and this is the first trouble I have had with it. I did switch the feed wheel to the bigger grove since I am now using bigger wire. I've also checked the leads inside the spool area to see if the gound or hot was loose (tunred off of course...), but they are tight. This really doesn't help me in my quest to beat sodas38 for the dinner... r
Maybe there is a groove worn in the liner using the smaller wire and the big wire is hanging up in it? I have had this happen on my welder. If you use them a lot with one size wire and then switch to a different size, it tries to run in the same groove and gets hung up.
Are you sure the "big" groove is for the .031" wire???? It might be for .035 and slipping on the .031". I'd try running it on the "small" groove just to see.
Not sure if I understand fully! Does the machine show that it is recieving jucie? If it is , could it be possable that the trigger in the handle is not making contact or poor contact! Is there a way to test this? Possabally a rely somewhere!
REJ might be on to something. There could be something like the groove he mentioned, a kink, or even a spot where the wire grounded out to a worn part on the inside of the cable that could be causing the wire to feed erratically. Do like Dirty 31 suggested and run the wire against a piece of wood, and see if the wire curls up. If not, and if the feed looks erratic, then there's a little trick that will fix this surprisingly often (***uming the wire's not hanging up as it comes off the spool or in the feed rollers). It's gonna sound stupid, but I've seen this work lots of times: Grab the cable firmly with both hands, about 2 feet apart. Push one hand away from you and pull the other towards you, causing the cable to form sort of an "S" shape. Then "crank" your hands in a motion like pedaling a bicycle, while still frimly holding the cable. (Don't let it slip in your hands.) Shift your grip over about a foot , and repeat the "crank". Do this along the entire length of the cable.... maybe up-and-back a couple times. Often, this will dislodge anything that might be causing the wire to hang inside the cable, and occasionally will remove any slight kinks.
ok! you have juice! Does the feed wheel turn when trigger depressed? We are using a lincon 125 sp, output 20Amp! When we first started using it, it welded but not very good. It was pluged into a wall out let 15 Amp. It would also pop the breaker. We upgraded and installed a designated wire just for the welder ONLY! 12/3 copper wire, 20 amp out let, directly to the sub-panel in garage. We have a 25' ext cord 12/3 copper stranded. Doing the above made all the difference in the world in it performance.
Does it feed at all? Do the feed rollers turn when you depress the trigger? If they do and the wire just doesn't feed or feeds ****ty then your guide liner could be bad. When they get kinked or just worn out from having too much wire run through them, the liner needs to be replaced. Remove the contact tube and feed the wire, if it isn't smooth then the liner probably needs to be replaced.
Where in KC - AirGas in independence or LinWeld should be able to repair or get it repaired. Their warranty says from date of MFG if no recipt - so check to see if it's under warranty. Does that one have a relay to turn the arc voltage on/off when the trigger is pulled? (I'm thinking it does) If so check that relay/contactor... If you need PM/call me and I can take a look and help 'ya troubleshoot/repair, but if it's under warranty just have the pro's do it
One thing to try...pull the cover off and look at the wiring inside while someone pulls an arc. I had one with a loose connection inside by the transformer. It would arc inside the box leaving little for the wire. It was intermittant also. Also check to see if the ground clamp is warm. Any loose connection in the system can create a similar problem. You want all the arcing to be at the business end.
Try going back to the smaller wire and see if it works with that. May just be too much wire for the size of welder.
I was gonna say, sounds like a transformer problem to me. If there is a short in the transformer circuit, it could backfeed and affect the roller circuit, and could explain the sudden at***ude. That kind of stuff you should probably leave toa repairman to do. Unless your me and enjoy pain.
The ground clamp and line do get real warm (which I thought was a bit odd). I took the cover off and did a cursory look while I was blowing it out with air, but didn't see anything unsusual. r
i know you said you just put new wire on BUT, borrow a buddies spool or pick up another one...... a friend of mine was ready to buy a new welder, he does body work so he doesn't use as much wire as someone welding thicker metal, anyway, he came down and made a few p***es with mine and said, "man, mine welds like **** compared to this one....." he was telling his dad about how the welder was acting and his dad told him to put a new spool in it because the other one was fairly old ....worked like a new one again.....must of had some small surface rust built up on it.... don't know if this is your problem......sounds like you tried everyting else......
I didn't find my loose connection until I looked while someone struck an arc. (or tried to) It was a loose crimped connector (the crimp was loose on the heavy wire not the terminal screw) that appeared normal until we saw it arc trying to weld. Often, with use, the cable connection at the ground clamp becomes frayed. Sometimes unseen inside the insulation. If it's getting hotter than it used to, shorten the cable an inch or two and reconnect. If the handle gets warm, take it apart and clean it real well. The sparks can build up and cause an arcing inside the handle. The loose connections can be ***ulative, A little in the handle and a little at the ground clamp and all of a sudden there is nothing left at the tip. If the wire is feeding and the gas relay is working it sounds like loose connections that don't require a shop manual to correct. If you find a hot spot anywhere except the tip...that's a trouble spot.
Is this a 110 or 220 volt machine? If 220 check both breakers at the box. Dont know if this is possable maybe its only working with 110 V! Just a thought!
I was having the same kind of trouble last weekend. The welder would kinda weld then go to just getting the wire hot enought to kinda turn it red and pile it up into a birds nest. Farted around with feeding spools, and liner, but the real fix was cutting 3-4 inches off the ground at the clamp and putting a new connector on it. Looked ok on the end but was rotten inside once I tore into it.
Hi R- I went thru this last week....It was a new 135 weldpak HD Lincoln....I am now on my second machine[warranty replace] and its working great now....But I did learn some stuff. I have always used the Hobarts -thought Id try a Lincoln... Id say check the connection at the ground clamp too.... Next see fi the lead to the ground clamp is indeed NEGATIVE......my first welder was wired up *** backwards [there just above the wire driver wheel] Then Id suspect the "CONTACTOR" ------IT is a square black bakelite style device inside the unit with several wires .......it has a set of contact point that connects the wire feed and weld coils and gas solenoid simultaneously...it eventually burns out and is usually a good place to start if you are the "replace till fixed " type technition! sounds like they act when they are bad...any Lincoln welder dealer will have em and also can be cross referenced at about any electric shop as they are kinda generic and used on other types equiptment....[amperage must be compatible]
It appears that most of the suggestions I get would be possible with a machine that is older, but this thing is about six months old!? It's a 110vt machine and I checked the breaker on the backsdie serveral times. I guess that I'm going to have to spend some 'quality time' with this thing Sunday afternoon. I'm busy until then... Just when I was on a roll. r
Ours was a simple fix, just hard to find. The ground clamp has thick jaws (copper?) and when all else failed I filed them clean, good to go. I think they just got a coating on them from the humidity here.
I'm going through the same problem right now,put a new liner in it and different tip,still same problem.I have done everything listed here so far.I am having troubles with the relay,I do have a relay on order for it so hopefully thats the problem.I have century welder,it's 12 years old I've owned it three.Maybe it's on it's last leg.
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