I have a nearly new Vulcan Protig 165 welder that quit coming on at all after getting dropped from about 3ft. It hit an obstruction and rolled on its side. Unit won't come on at all now. I've opened it up and I have power at the output side of the power switch but I'm not sure what to check next. Any advice on how to repair this myself would be greatly appreciated. Obviously I didn't get the warranty, I will next time. I do process pipe, scratch start tig on stainless all day and this machine runs great, keeps up with schedule and structural. Just hoping I can fix the little guy to have a spare...
Reply:Sadly like every other thing at Horror Fright, there are no parts for them unless you just happen to find a universal part that fits. In your case it may just be a $0.50 resistor. Some pics of the inside may help someone help you.
Reply:when did you buy it? Up until pretty recently, those came with a 1 year money back guarantee that you didn't have to pay for.Miller Multimatic 255
Reply:I bought it a couple months ago, put a good amount of use on it but its still like new. I didn't get the warranty because I was being dumb. I can post up some pics of the guts as soon as I get a chance. I'm not afraid of tearing into the thing and getting it back together just not sure how to diagnose this.
Reply:Originally Posted by liftarcI bought it a couple months ago, put a good amount of use on it but its still like new. I didn't get the warranty because I was being dumb. I can post up some pics of the guts as soon as I get a chance. I'm not afraid of tearing into the thing and getting it back together just not sure how to diagnose this.
Reply:If may have something to do with Lincoln lawsuitDave Originally Posted by liftarcI have a nearly new Vulcan Protig 165 welder that quit coming on at all after getting dropped from about 3ft. It hit an obstruction and rolled on its side. Unit won't come on at all now. I've opened it up and I have power at the output side of the power switch but I'm not sure what to check next. Any advice on how to repair this myself would be greatly appreciated. Obviously I didn't get the warranty, I will next time. I do process pipe, scratch start tig on stainless all day and this machine runs great, keeps up with schedule and structural. Just hoping I can fix the little guy to have a spare...
Reply:Originally Posted by smithdoorIf may have something to do with Lincoln lawsuitDave
Reply:Originally Posted by metalman21I thought that was about the Vulcan 200 AC/DC that they took off the market. They never stopped offering the 165.
Reply:I wondered why the AC/DC was gone. Was unaware of any lawsuit. Store guys say that it was due to no sales.?Thermal Arc 320SP ( Lorch )Cobra PythonsThermal Arc 300 AC/DC ( Sanrex )ESAB 301i AC/DC ( Lorch )Thermal Arc 161STL ( WTL )Thermal Arc 190S ( Sanrex )Cut Master 82, 42. Cut45 ( WTL )Victor Gas Apps.Boxes and boxes of welding crap.
Reply:Originally Posted by smithdoorI only said MAY. We have no why.But the 165 is still on there site https://www.harborfreight.com/search?q=Vulcan%20165Dave
Reply:Originally Posted by shovelonSlow down man. How much damage on the outside of the unit? Anyway you have 3 months warranty and a one year satisfaction guaranty. Take it back without delay. Even if you lost your receipt, there is a credit card record to back up the purchase.
Reply:I took some pics of the insides but idk how to put them up here, I don't see an upload option
Reply:There is an "insert image" icon you have to click just above where you type to reply.
Reply:tool bar 3rd icon from the right is the insert image, then select FROM COMPUTER and then BROWSE
Reply:I find it best for myself to "REPLY"> "GO ADVANCED" > "MANAGE ATTACHMENTS" to upload pictures or use a picture hosting site that supplies link for pictures.Last edited by danielplace; 01-22-2020 at 11:22 PM.
Reply:I'll try emailing them to myself then I can maybe upload from my laptop. My phone says full site isn't available.
Reply:Originally Posted by liftarcI'll try emailing them to myself then I can maybe upload from my laptop. My phone says full site isn't available.
Reply:Originally Posted by shovelonSlow down man. How much damage on the outside of the unit? Anyway you have 3 months warranty and a one year satisfaction guaranty. Take it back without delay. Even if you lost your receipt, there is a credit card record to back up the purchase.
Reply:the 1 year discontinuance has been discussed a while back but the welding machine boxes still say 1 year satisfaction.
Reply:Originally Posted by filetobeefthe 1 year discontinuance has been discussed a while back but the welding machine boxes still say 1 year satisfaction.
Reply:Originally Posted by shovelonSlow down man. How much damage on the outside of the unit? Anyway you have 3 months warranty and a one year satisfaction guaranty. Take it back without delay. Even if you lost your receipt, there is a credit card record to back up the purchase.
Reply:Originally Posted by WeldordieCurious... as to any warranty that covers, "...dropped unit..." Why should HF be expected to warranty any electronic device that is dropped? A welder should withstand a drop of how many feet, and still remain operable? One foot? Two feet? Three feet? X feet? I'm still considering how to warranty my battery-powered hand-held tig rod feeder, which I would expect to break, if dropped. Why should a manufacturer or retailer be held responsible for any malady that befalls a product that is abused?
Reply:Originally Posted by shovelonLet Harbor Freight make that determination. Could be a wire was not secured fully and fell off somewhere inside.
Reply:Yeah, c'mon guys. I would think this thread would be evidence enough that I didn't cry to HF that they failed me...lol... I'm on this job as a fitter and my welder who was using my rig for field work and his for bench work didn't realise after moving it that the strap had moved off the bottle car handle so it was left hanging by the electrical tape I "secured" it with. Over break the tape gave up and the unit dropped. We walked back into the plant and found it dead on arrival. I take full responsibility for failing to buy the replacement warranty and he has taken full responsibility for failing to notice the strap was hanging from the tape when we went to break. Nobody is trying to cry about this, I just want to try to repair the machine.Last edited by liftarc; 01-24-2020 at 06:36 PM.
Reply:I think what Terry was trying to say is be honest with them and let them decide if they want to give you a new unit. They very well may do that. Terry worked with them on beta testing those units and he has a lot of insight into how that company thinks and runs. There's a chance that they will just suck it up themselves to keep a happy customer.Miller Multimatic 255
Reply:Idk why some of the pics flipped upside down, but here they are. I can get more, too. Full site wouldn't load on my phone so I had to do this from the laptop but at least I got them uploaded, hope this proves helpful.I should restate, I have power at output side of main switch, so power supply cord, plug on unit and power switch all check out ok.I got this thing because as much as I love the Maxstar 150, the 161 is a disappointment. They burn out unpredictably, require a much more deliberate arc strike, don't seem to bring the heat as well when we are forced to run on way too much extension cord, and constantly trip GFCI receptacles. I looked at an Esab MiniArc on Cyberweld but chose to go with the Vulcan 165 for availability's sake. I was happy with the unit's performance, especially after banging out schedule welds with it day after day. I don't think I've ever seen a Maxstar dropped like this Vulcan was, just an accident and they happen, but I'd like to see a Maxstar 161 live through the same fall....Last edited by liftarc; 01-24-2020 at 07:15 PM.
Reply
ooking at the last picture. the large pcb in the back is the power pcb. the two blocks on the left with 4 pins each are the input diodes.control pcb setting flat on the heat sink. pcb down front appears to be the HF control pcb. Line power should go to line switch first then depending on design.It will either go to the input diodes or the power pcb then loop out to the diodes and back. The red and black wires on the diodes should be the DC buss.With line switch on there should be DC voltage there Line voltage times 1.414. If no voltage check for AC voltage at the other two terminals then work your way back to the line switch. Along the top edge of the power pcb is a blue disk, two green disks and a black box. This is the soft start circuit for the DC buss Capacitors.Blue disk is a MOV Transient voltage protector. Green disks are thermisters. This type start at a high resistance and go low as they heat up. The black box is the bypass relay. 1 to 2 seconds after power is applied the relay bypasses the thermisters so full current is available to the DC buss.Look care fully at the pcb and you should be able to follow the in coming line power through these circuits. One other test. with unit unplugged. measure with ohmmeter from line plug power pins to the diodes one side at a time. one should be near a dead short and the other 40 to 200 ohms. If open some thing failed. Right under the gas valve wires is a line input reactor. green doughnut with wires wrapped around it. Make sure it did not break loose from the pcb. should have four connections to pcb.line voltage on each pair. Design is very similar to other china made welders.
Reply:In addition to ccawgc's post above Have you tried pushing the reset button on the back of the unit? Looking at HF owners manual online it does say it has one. I guess it is possible that a good physical shock ( dropping the unit) could cause the reset circuit breaker to trip. With the reset tripped you will not get a power indicator light. Page 26 also has a very basic (block) circuit diagramhttps://manuals.harborfreight.com/ma...3999/63618.pdfBe careful if you need to keep testing... there can be over 350 Volts DC available across the pair of bridge rectifiers mentioned above when powered up.Last edited by 455dan; 01-25-2020 at 02:42 AM.1962 Idealarc Tig 300 300 1974 Idealarc Tig 300 300 ( till owner needs it back) 1988 Power Mig 150 (.112 f cap mod) 2015 Lotos Ltpdc2000d plasma/arc/tig Victor 100 torch, 200- 210 Oxy/Acet gauges
Reply:Relays can deform (unlikelyusually just smash). Heavy things like capacitors and transformers tend to break away or crack their connectors.Look for cracks in printed circuit boards that break a copper trace. You can just bypass those with a wire--usually best from end to end of the trace rather than trying to solder to some midpoint on the trace. Also look under the capacitors and transformer carefully with a big magnifier to see if they cracked their solder joints. If so, just reheat each cracked joint until it flows, and it'll probably heal.
