? SA 200 trouble shoot help ??

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My first question is does anyone know of any repair or troubleshootng literature aside from weldmarts cd or what little info lincoln ever provided on the generator end.          My SA 200 has no auxillary output and has only sometimes has only the faintest tiny spark when you attempt to srike an arc.     Visually all the obvious wires, connections look alright.  Following weldmarts steps,  I unbolted the two spliced wires under the commentator to take some ohm readings between them and the positive exciter brush and outer rheostat wire, in hopes of dianosing exciter field coils.     The positve brush to solid wire from right hand gave a consistant 180 ohms.    The stranded wire w/ eyelet on end to outer wire on rheostat gives a 180 ohm reading also , but it doesnt stay at 180, it jumps down to to much lower ranges and stays in lower ranges most of the time.     I then went to another SA 200, which welds just fine.   Ran the same tests and got the exact results which I described above.      180 on the positive side and the low jumping around readings on the neg. side.     I went back to the troubled SA 200 and flashed the coils, no luck there.     Its got a 0-64 ohm rheostat, checked it, it reads from about 25-89, still a difference of 64 ohm though.   I dont know what to do next, I believe I have reason not to trust weldmarts procedures all the way.  I don't mean to down talk or bash them.     Even if there is a problem deeper down in the generator, it seems I should be able to get the exciter to work and get auxillery output.          Anyone have any experince w/ this or know of any methods of testing differnt components in the welder?
Reply:Have you cleaned the exciter (aka seating the brushes)? I used sa200s for years and that's all I ever had to do to one. Oldtimer is on vacation so we can't ask him. If you haven't come up with an answer by about the 20th or so I will get ahold of him and see if he has any ideas.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.
Reply:Yes Mr. Roger,  I have, I got one of those white porous like stones meant for that.     I shined it up.    Good thought though.      Sure, I'd appreciate your effort in talking to the old man.      I saw an arc when I flashed it so I know brushes are making good contact.
Reply:I used to own a 74 model sa200 and it had the exact thing you are describing.  On mine it turned out to be the shunts.  I had plenty of aux. power but nothing at the weld outputs.
Reply:Originally Posted by 123weld...Even if there is a problem deeper down in the generator, it seems I should be able to get the exciter to work and get auxillery output....
Reply:That sounds like a good idea Denrep.       I'll try to find out where to connect the wires to do as you desribed.      I'll try to play around w/ that this weekend.     thanks
Reply:You cleaned both the exciter commutator and main commutator? Also make sure all of the brushes move freely. The main commutator is under a smooth steel band at the exciter end of the main generator. On mine the big brush holders were rusted badly and I had to disassemble them and clean them up to get it to weld.Edit: I didn't read your post very well - mine had good aux power even when the main was inoperable. Anyhow, here is a link to the old Lincoln operators manuals. There are a few SA200 manuals in the list as I recall.http://content.lincolnelectric.com/p...S/obsomenu.pdfLast edited by Brad Blazer; 07-17-2008 at 11:36 PM.Reason: my errorLincoln SA200, HH135, Lencospot, HF80 Inverter, Rockwell 11x35 lathe, HF drill mill, Kama 554 tractor w/ FEL & BH, Belarus 250AS, lot's of Chinese tools
Reply:Have you tried billswelder repair a woman named kaye is very heplful
Reply:Thanks Brad.      Where is Bills welder repair, or way to contact them?       I got some help from someone over the phone.     He led me through some tests and got  results much like I described at the start of this thread, however the points of connection for testing were different.       I think the problem may be w/ the exciter armature itself.    I was told to disconnect the white flexible leads off each brush holder wich one comes from each exciter winding, along w/ the black wire on the positve side that leads into the generator ( the only three wires left on were the solid wire to neg. brush and brush leads themselves).       Start machine and run it at high RPM, take a voltage reading on a 12 volt car battery before it's hooked up, then hook pos post to pos. brush stud and neg. batt. post to neg. brush stud.     Then take voltage reading at brush studs.     If armature is working, voltage reading should be a couple volts higher than batterys reading.  If voltage is same or lower, its armature problems.       The results were it read 1 volt lower ( also noticed small arcing between pos. brush and commutator ).         I pulled armature off.     I think I  got lucky, the tapered collar wasn't froze on shaft like it could have been.       There really isn't anything to grab onto to pull outward on.     Anyone ever had one froze or rusted on there?     What would you do then?      Anyway, I can't see any visual defects on armature or commutator.        I haven't been able to get a hold of the guy on the phone who helped me w/ this yet.       I've read that  armatures are tested on a growler.       Anyone know of anyways to test it w/ a meter of any kind?       I really don't like handing it over to a shop or let it out of my eyesight.       Anyone know anything in particular that makes these armatures go bad or what commonly goes bad in armature?      Also, anyone see any error or concerns in way I described test.
Reply:sounds like the exciter bushes need to be adjusted.
Reply:Really the wiring is the same as a Classic 1, ecept yours probably doesn't have the electric idler, Thats the ONLY difference, and no the exciter rotor can't freeze on to the shaft as it has a fiberglass or cardboard outer tube jacket. and it is your likely culprit. It's a $280 Canadian part. Visually looking at the unit won't tell you much, testing the comutator or slip rings to the steel core might though.If you are going to pull or replace it, use an impact, not a wrench as you'll bend the shaft that it sits on. and it's a delight to recenter it.Last edited by Cruizer; 08-02-2008 at 06:25 PM.