TIGWave 250 Troubleshooting

admin

Hey all,Long story short, I have two Hobart TIGWave 250 welders and one is broken (got it that way).  The good machine welds beautifully and has no issues.  The second machine trips the circuit breaker instantly when you flip the power switch regardless of the range setting on the front.  I pulled the wrapper, vacuumed the cobwebs out, verified the jumper links are in the proper orientation, etc and then looked it over pretty carefully.  Nothing stands out in an obvious way.It's nice cosmetically and all the boards look good, so at the very least it would be a good parts donor, but if it can be made to run that would be even better.  I'm not out anything if it can't be repaired, but figured it was worth a shot.Any idea what to look at???  I'm reasonably handy with a multimeter, and thought having a working unit would help, but I don't feel like spending $50 or so for a manual now that ESAB seems to have removed them from their website...so I'm sort of flying blind.Check out my bench vise website:  http://mivise.comMiller Syncrowave 250DXMillermatic 350P with XR AlumaProMiller Regency 200 with 22A feeder and Spoolmatic 3Hobart Champion EliteEverlast PowerTig 210EXT
Reply:Call hobart or go to their web site and put in a request for a manual. email is free, hard copy is 15 dollars.When Hobart was split ITW Hobart got all the manuals and they had them scanned. To start trouble shooting. You need to check and see if any of the weld diodes are shorted. For first tests nothing needs to be disconnected. First test use multi meter is diode test mode. Read diodes both ways. One should be OL or very high. the other 0.200 to 0.700  SCRs should read OL both ways. If nothing stands out as a problem. try finding the transformer leads to the diodes and disconnect them. Then try powering up the welder. if breaker still trips transformer is bad. If power stays on then problem is in diodes / SCRs Or something between the diodes and the weld terminals.
Reply:

Originally Posted by ccawgc

Call hobart or go to their web site and put in a request for a manual. email is free, hard copy is 15 dollars.When Hobart was split ITW Hobart got all the manuals and they had them scanned. To start trouble shooting. You need to check and see if any of the weld diodes are shorted. For first tests nothing needs to be disconnected. First test use multi meter is diode test mode. Read diodes both ways. One should be OL or very high. the other 0.200 to 0.700  SCRs should read OL both ways. If nothing stands out as a problem. try finding the transformer leads to the diodes and disconnect them. Then try powering up the welder. if breaker still trips transformer is bad. If power stays on then problem is in diodes / SCRs Or something between the diodes and the weld terminals.
Reply:Have him check the wiring to the polarity switch. Look for a diode that is switched in when the switch is in positive.Or there may be a wire in the wrong place that causes a short.
Reply:

Originally Posted by ccawgc

Have him check the wiring to the polarity switch. Look for a diode that is switched in when the switch is in positive.Or there may be a wire in the wrong place that causes a short.