sip migmate 120... advice pls?

[baldy]

HI All, does anyone have any experience of a migmate 120?
its the one with the wire in the top of the cabinet as opposed to a side loader, and you can fold away all thee hoses in to the top part when you put it away.
its was all welding beautifully when all of sudden it started to make welds like birds poop, the gas is coming out and so is the wire, it doesnt matter what setting you use the results are the same.before absolutely beautiful welds , now poop, is their any common faults with these units?
many thanks Paul.

 

[malcolm]

Might be worth a photo of the bad welds. It's odd that it happened suddenly. Have you tried a new contact tip and checked the wire feed for excessive stiffness? Try releasing the clamp on the feed rollers and pulling wire through by hand. Should come through easily.

Does it feel like wire speed is suddenly too high or low, or that current is a lot different from where it was? A check inside the machine for frayed or corroded connections and a good blow out with an air gun might be worth a shot.

 

[Jake SS]

Also check the gun, the internal copper cable may have come adrift, normally at the machine end
Also look at the rectifier, the square ally thing with diodes in it, they have "tails" on them one or two might have open circuited, the "tails" act like a fuse and will "fuse" off if something happens, overload, short etc.

Cheers
Jake

 

[baldy]

wahey, thanks lads

I have had a read on here and used the curtain wire trick, all sorted, welds beautifully again,look at the pic, wadya think eh?wasnt bad considering i was on the garage floor and its the first time ive used it in 3 years, im a bit rusty..
many thanks lads.
Is there a guide on here on how to tig and what kit you need?
This is such a good forum, i want to learn to tig!!