welder prob

Date 05-24-2007 15:10

Crittr,
This might be a simple question, but do you have the ground lead connected securely to the work piece that you are trying to weld on.

Sometimes the obvious is overlooked.

By Crittr63 Date 05-24-2007 15:19

yes, I've checked all the wires, i get the same small spark even contacting my ground clamp

Thanks
Crittr

By tompit9 (***)

Date 05-24-2007 17:56

did you check the brushes?

By Robert C (*)

Date 05-25-2007 00:25

I had the same problem today with my sa 200. I had just put it back together and the ocv reading was 2v. I called the mechanic and he told me to run the machine at welding rpm while connecting a battery to the leads for a few seconds. I did that and the ocv was restored. But he only told me this after he made sure I did not have any other problems. Being that your machine has been sitting it probably has lost it's residule voltage.

By Cole Welding (**)

Date 05-25-2007 01:18

I have the same problem last year with my dads machine. I took it in and it ended up being the PC board thats behind the face plate of the machine. that board was $75.00

By Crittr63 Date 05-25-2007 13:17

Could you tell me what the ocv is?

Thanks
Crittr

By Crittr63 Date 05-25-2007 13:20

all the brushes look good not worn to much

Thanks
Crittr

By billvanderhoof (****)

Date 05-25-2007 04:05

If you set the fast idle to fast does it weld then?
Bill

By Crittr63 Date 05-25-2007 13:18

no , still get the min spark

Thanks
Crittr

By aevald

Date 05-25-2007 14:03

Hello Crittr63, I had a similar problem on a Miller Big 40 some years ago. Not quite sure if the Lincoln has similar circuitry, but it might be worth some investigation. In my case I removed the engine sheet metal covers and took a good look around to see if there were any broken wires or obvious burn-out points. I noticed that there was an electrical component that I would describe as an adjustable resistor, it was a wound coil that had a band attached to a wire that could be positioned at different points on the coil to adjust resistance. This band had rusted to the point that it had broken and no longer was making contact as it was designed to do. I replaced this component and low and behold the machine worked great. As I said this may not be the same in the Lincoln, yet it might be worth taking a look at things to see if this is possibly a common type of circuitry for the SA200. Good luck and regard, aevald

By 357max

Date 05-25-2007 18:35

The Miller is an alternator design with rotating magnetic field and a rectifier. The SA200 is a generator design with the magnetic field stationary and the commutator. Check that all brush wear surfaces are shiny and bright. Us a stone to polish the surfaces as the Lincoln Procedure Handbook of Arc Welding describes.

By JTMcC

Date 05-25-2007 15:46

What you describe is exactly what happens when you try to weld with a remote rheostat thats come unplugged or was never plugged in so the first step I'd take would be to check the rheostat wiring.

JTMcC.

By Sparkee (*)

Date 05-25-2007 20:59

Crittr, I had the same problem with my machine several months ago. It turned out to be the read switch. It is located on the back of the panel, possibly behind and just above the amperage selector. I have also seen them mounted just under the fine adjustment rheostat. The read switch looks like a large cigarette filter wrapped by a copper strap and will usually have red wire coming out of it and going to the PC board.
Hope this helps,