no power on lincwelder 225 DC

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Hi all. I am hoping for some help to get my lincwelder 225 DC up and welding. It is exactly the same as the first pic in the thread:   http://www.weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=13394I got this for free but it wasn't running at the time. After a total tear down and rebuild, I was able to get the motor started and running. Problem now is that I have absolutely no power from the welder side. This model is from '62 so any guides for troubleshooting are out the window and any service techs that I have talked to don't want to touch it, too old for them I guess. I am so new to the maintenence side of all this but I do know some of the terms of the components, just need to figure out what term goes with what piece on the machine when I get some advice on where to start checking things. Hopefully you guys can talk me through this, thanks!
Reply:Those old machines came as electric or rope start.  If yours is a rope start, you may just need to flash it before it will generate any power.  If you have been starting the machine using electric start, loss of residual magnetism is unlikely and there may be something else wrong.Let us know if you have been rope starting, and I'll see if I can find a flashing procedure.Good luck,Bob
Reply:I cant figure out why so many people think flashing a generator is a magical cure-all....  The only time i ever seen a flash work is when a guy had all the wiring sooo screwed up the current went backwards through the generator or something like that. I have seen generators that sat for over 30yrs hold their magnetism..
Reply:Thanks for the reply Bob, This particular machine has the plate on the front for the rope start and it is started I guess through the windings from the battery power (no outside starter motor on this one). I have been using the electric start to get it going which I would assume charge up the fields each time. I was looking at the lincoln website for info on flashing the exciter and found a procedure for a different model but obviously should still work the same. (If anyone needs the info., they said to have the machine off, armature cover removed and touch the positive 12v battery terminal to the positive side of the connection where the brushes are and the negative battery terminal to the negative brushes connection. I would assume that touching them together means a couple of seconds?) Anyways, I'm going to try that and see if it makes any difference, but if anyone knows the next place to look, please put in your two cents!
Reply:Flashing a generator is certainly not a magical cure, but it's easy to do and costs nothing.  It's one if the first things I suggest if a DC generator machine has been sitting idle for a long time.  Since this machine is battery start through the windings, there is no need for external flashing.  I'm reasonably certain the fields get magnetized every time the start system is used.I thought I had a crude troubleshooting guide for this machine, I'll have to check.Cheers,Bob
Reply:nayenezgene,I found a troubleshooting guide and wiring diagrams for the machine I was working on.  If you leave me a private message with an email address, I'll send them to you.If you prefer, you could contact Lincoln and have them send you information on your machine.  The wiring diagrams for your machine may be slightly different from the ones I have.Cheers,Bob