clark 100e mk2 low power

[mac53]

Hi found the site very interesting but cant find any problem like mine,
I have had the welder for several years had no problems till this week, welding thin gauge pipe just stopped welding!,can any one help?
what i have done so far,the wire feed works until you the arc strikes and the wire burns to the tip
checked gass ok
checked relay cleaned contacts ok
checked rectifier ok
24v from tip to earth
loaded tip to earth 10amp have nothing bigger no problem
long shot but it looks like the wire is heating up in liner?pos?

 

[mike 109444]

Welcome mac53 If you think the wire is heating up in the liner then I can only think that the power that should be going upto the tip is being diverted at the wire feed/roller area and is going up through the wire. Do ou have a metal liner fitted? could be that's broken down? With the wire pulled out of the gun and hose (re wraped back on spool, careful you dont let the end go!) now meter (resistance setting on meter) between the tip and the power being fed into the tourch You should see a very low resistance if the connection is good, try flexing hose to see if it breaks down under movement. It could be that there are missing insulating washers or shorting connection round this "power into tourch" area.

 

[mac53]

test

Hi Mike thanks for your quick reply
Checked the earth and the torch both mesure 0.2ohm
I think the next test will be the main transformer and the choke but dont know what resistance i should be getting
throwing caution to the wind i did try tip to earth max power and pulling the trigger no big sparks rec got hot earth lead same and unit humed as expected but minimal burn

 

[mac53]

dry joint

Success found a dry or loose joint on spade connector from transformer
soldered wire now sparking well, you will probably see more of me now I have found this site thanks!

 

[Robotstar5]

Nice to hear you sorted it