125 mig acting up

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seems im having a streak of bad luck with anything i weld with lately! anyway, a friend of mine had a sp 125 mig that he traded me. so i bring it home, plug it in and clamp my ground to my weld bench and.....nothing. it turns on, the fan comes on, and the motor wants to send the wire but nothing happens. it wont arc even if i squeeze the trigger and touch it to the work bench. it will feed a little if i change the heat while the triggers in but i hate doing that. what in the heck would cause this? its got flux cored wire in it and all the normal checks for problems check out. i think im just gonna give up on welding all together!!  Semper Fi. Kill 'em all
Reply:Can your friend help you with it?Gordie -- "I believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."
Reply:i actually found the problem. on the heat selector its labeled a,b,c,d. when you change to each setting it has a copper tab that touches on the back of the dial. that copper tab should be tight against each heat selection and for some reason it has an 1/8th inch gap. this thing is like brand spanking new. im not sure why it would have done this already. no i gotta figure out how to get in there and get that tab to touch again. as soon as i pushed the tab with my finger and made it contact, the wheel started pulling wire through.  Semper Fi. Kill 'em all
Reply:Sounds like your friend did some "spring cleaning" and spring the switch.Let the machine sit for about 1/2 hr to make sure any capacitors have discharged before taking the lid off.  Helps keep you from wetting your pants Gordie -- "I believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."
Reply:I have a lincoln 125 too, and my power button doesn't work sometimes!I have to flip it on and off a couple times!The machine runs flawlessly though!Very happy with it, other than the power button problem....I"ll check it out sooner or later.Lincoln 125HD, yep I'm a big spender.
Reply:weldpak-125 I assume. not a sp-125. Try a few drops of oil on the center shaft..The detent and wiper may be hanging up. Or has over heated and melted the plastic.Not difficult to change if you have a large soldering iron or small torch.Just do not cut the wires. you cut the tab on the switch terminal and then desolder.number the wires first. You might be able to make the switch work. If not if will have to be replaced. A service shop will charge you an hour plus the switch. But you have to tell them up front that the switch is bad and you want it changed. So they do not charge you trouble shooting time.