Hf 110a mig (220v)

admin

I have one of the 110A 230V Harbor Freight MIG welders and it has a strange problem with the wire feeder.  The welder has 2 switches, Min/Max and Hi/Lo and then the wire feed speed control.  When I have the welder on Max 2 (full power) the wire feeds fine.  If I drop to any other setting, the wire will feed fine if I'm not welding, but it gets really jerky when I try to weld.  It's like the arc striking takes power away from the wire feed motor so the wire stops feeding long enough for the arc to stop, then it starts feeding again.  The result is sort of a pulsing arc that won't weld well at all.Has anybody else ever had this problem, and is there an easy way to fix it?
Reply:Do you have good power to the welder.Extension cords will make them do strange things.
Reply:Inspect all the connections, something may be loose, don’t overlook a possible bad switch contact.
Reply:Turn the wire feed speed down and see if it still does it.Lincoln precision TIG 275Millermatic 140 MIG
Reply:Power to the welder is good.  No extension cords.  It's on a dedicated 30A breaker that is part of the 60A feed to my small backyard workshop.Changing the wire speed has no effect.If I'm in any range other than full power the wire stops feeding as long as the arc is established.  I thought it might be a tension issue, but I can push a 6-inch section of 2x4 across my workbench with the wire regardless of what range I'm in.
Reply:The voltage for the motor comes straight from the bridge diode.You should take the side cover off and make sure the connections are tight on the bridge diode.There is a photo here.:http://weldingweb.com/showpost.php?p=278398&postcount=1
Reply:This happens to all mig welders,but this welder has only 4 settings (2 to the power of 2,wire speed likely just a trimmer pot that does little), and when you go to a lower settings the wire spikes into the work,stalling because their is no burnback.On good 220 welders if you have say 9 taps for speed for example and 9 taps for heat you have a variation of 81 differing settings to adjust for conditions, some speed controls have infinate speed variations.The only thing to try is changing wire diameter and type, perhaps flux core(which you may be using) or pulling the torch back a bit and changing the torch angle of attack.
Reply:We’re making some broad assumptions. Has this HF mig ever worked correctly in all settings or is this a recent problem?
Reply:I haven't used the welder much.  The welder had the problem out of the box. As far as I can see the wire is not spiking into the work and stalling, what I see with my auto darkening helmet is the arc starting, the wire feed stopping and the wire melting back nearly to the tip.  The arc stops and the wire starts feeding again causing the arc to re-start.If I turn the wire speed way up and get the tip almost touching the workpiece when welding with the lower power settings I can see that the arc strike, then the wire feed stops and the wire starts melting.  When it melts back far enough I the wire feed kicks back in and the arc re-starts.  I can actually see little melted drops falling off the wire like wax off a candle.  It happens slow enough for me to count the drops and the arc never stays on long enough to make a good puddle.Granted I'm not an experienced welder so I might be doing something wrong.  They tried to teach me stick back in High School, but with the terrible helmets we had with lenses as dark as they could be and no lighting in the old ag shop I kept either sticking rods or welding my workpieces to the table because I couldn't see anything.  I bought this MIG and an auto darkening helmet and decided to try to teach myself to make minor repairs on stuff around the house.  First time I've even tried to weld in over 10 years.  I made a new alternator bracket for my Geo Tracker out of 1/4" plate with the welder on full power and it did great, but tended to burn through in some places.  Trying to use the lower settings is how I found the problem I'm describing.  I've since done quite a bit of practicing on scrap trying to figure out if my technique was causing the problem, but it doesn't appear to be.
Reply:An out of the box problem, that makes me more suspicious of something being lose. If that doesn’t fix it, we need a wiring diagram to see how the power supply is set up.
Reply:The diagram is here,:http://www.harborfreight.com/manuals...4999/94164.pdf :the control board seems to be the same as the 151.It would be one of the SCR type with no trimmers on the board.If it turns out to be the control board, they are about $14.00 and 5 or 6 for shipping.
Reply:Looking at the wiring diagram, I see that the maximum setting is MAX+2, with the next step lower is MAX+1. MAX+2, the wire feed works and MAX+1 the wire feed does not work, this would lead me to believe that the controlling SCR on the control board works correctly because it must pass the maximum current, which is reflected on the transformer output being able to supply power to both the wire arc and the wire feed motor.Going one-step down, MAX+1, the max-min switch stays in the same position and the 1-2 switch moves to the 1 position switching the coil D-C into the circuit. In the second condition, the secondary output can’t supply power to both the wire arc and the wire feed motor. Has any of the power switches, MAX-MIN and 1-2 ever been moved while welding? Doing so would damage the switches by causing them to arc, or the connections at these switches are lose.
Reply:Originally Posted by transitLooking at the wiring diagram, I see that the maximum setting is MAX+2, with the next step lower is MAX+1. MAX+2, the wire feed works and MAX+1 the wire feed does not work, this would lead me to believe that the controlling SCR on the control board works correctly because it must pass the maximum current, which is reflected on the transformer output being able to supply power to both the wire arc and the wire feed motor.Going one-step down, MAX+1, the max-min switch stays in the same position and the 1-2 switch moves to the 1 position switching the coil D-C into the circuit. In the second condition, the secondary output can’t supply power to both the wire arc and the wire feed motor. Has any of the power switches, MAX-MIN and 1-2 ever been moved while welding? Doing so would damage the switches by causing them to arc, or the connections at these switches are lose.
Reply:No, what I’m thinking is, at the Max +2 setting the power output of the transformer secondary will supply the short-circuit current to melt the wire and run the wire feed motor at the same time. Max +1 and all the combinations should do the same. However, something in the transformer primary circuit is limiting the input power. The Max +2 position works correctly, that means the wire feed motor works correctly, the SCR switch works correctly, and yet there is not enough power to melt the wire. So what is different? The switch settings. If the switch contacts are in bad condition or something is lose, the primary is not getting full power and so the secondary is underperforming.This would have to be done very, very carefully, with the switch in the Max +1 position, jumper the switch to duplicate the internal connection. If the unit works correctly then the switch is defective. Looking closely at the wiring diagram, the max and 1-2 switches only control the transformers primary circuit, nothing to do with the control board.Last edited by transit; 12-09-2009 at 06:14 PM.
Reply:I know this doesn't help and I'm not trying to be a smart azz but with 2 questions in a row about HF stuff you bought I hope you are learning a lesson I learned early in my tool buying, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!!  I have some things from harbor freight but they are things I don't use often so didn't want to spend top dollar to sit on the shelf or they are things I don't care if I use them once and they break.  A welder and O/A torch are some things that I would not buy from HF, in fact I don't think I would buy any thing with electronics in it from HF.  I know some times the prices seem good but I would rather pay for quality and fewer headaches on some tools.  If I had to guess I would say it is never going to weld good(I could be very wrong), but there is a reason they are 1/4 of the price of a miller or lincoln.  Hopefully you will get it figured out and get to weld with it until you can find a quality used machine.  Goodluck
Reply:Originally Posted by ponch37300I know this doesn't help and I'm not trying to be a smart azz but with 2 questions in a row about HF stuff you bought I hope you are learning a lesson I learned early in my tool buying, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!!  I have some things from harbor freight but they are things I don't use often so didn't want to spend top dollar to sit on the shelf or they are things I don't care if I use them once and they break.  A welder and O/A torch are some things that I would not buy from HF, in fact I don't think I would buy any thing with electronics in it from HF.  I know some times the prices seem good but I would rather pay for quality and fewer headaches on some tools.  If I had to guess I would say it is never going to weld good(I could be very wrong), but there is a reason they are 1/4 of the price of a miller or lincoln.  Hopefully you will get it figured out and get to weld with it until you can find a quality used machine.  Goodluck
Reply:Originally Posted by transitNo, what I’m thinking is, at the Max +2 setting the power output of the transformer secondary will supply the short-circuit current to melt the wire and run the wire feed motor at the same time. Max +1 and all the combinations should do the same. However, something in the transformer primary circuit is limiting the input power. The Max +2 position works correctly, that means the wire feed motor works correctly, the SCR switch works correctly, and yet there is not enough power to melt the wire. So what is different? The switch settings. If the switch contacts are in bad condition or something is lose, the primary is not getting full power and so the secondary is underperforming.This would have to be done very, very carefully, with the switch in the Max +1 position, jumper the switch to duplicate the internal connection. If the unit works correctly then the switch is defective. Looking closely at the wiring diagram, the max and 1-2 switches only control the transformers primary circuit, nothing to do with the control board.
Reply:There a quite a few harbor Freight welders around here.The control boards seem to be reliable.All of them I have seen so far,whatever the amperage, are almost identical.If you need the schematic to the control board, I can sketch it out and email it to you.
Reply:Can’t see how a switch can screw thing up? Ideally, a close switch should never have any voltage drop across the contacts. Now if there is a voltage drop across the contacts, that would represent a resistance and in that case, the input power to the transformer would be limited, not enough current to melt the wire but enough to run the feed motor. Keep checking all possibilities.