New member w/problems

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Hello everyone. I am a new member here and have a problem with my welder. It is a Snap on YA219 (120v) that has no spark. It powers up fine and the wire feed works great, but no weld. I have double checked the ground and that seems to be fine. What is the usal cause for this? A friend told me that it is common for the rectifier to good bad. I looked for a blown fuse with no luck. I know it is getting power because I forgot to unplug it and was feeling around for a loose wire and got zapped  . Please excuse my ignorance with this, as I am just getting started with doing my own welding.SteveLast edited by Nolowrider; 07-27-2005 at 06:44 PM.
Reply:Anyone?Steve New Orleans
Reply:I'm not familiar with that welder but if it's a simple switch tapped transformer with rectifiers, etc. you should be able to walk thru it from the AC power input out to the DC output with a voltmeter.  That would tell you where you're dropping the voltage.  It probably has a contactor/relay of some type to turn on the welding current when you hit the switch.  Is that clicking in OK?  Since the wire feed works that indicates you're getting basic power OK, gun trigger is OK, etc.If it's got some kind of electronic control of the welding current (circuit board inside?) it's going to be a bit more involved diagnosis.Can you provide more detail on the unit or maybe a few pics of the inside/outside?My neighbor used to sell for Snap On and he had a couple of battery chargers that he wanted to fix.  He said we could just call Snap On and they would help us isolate the bad part.  Never got around to looking at them so I don't know how well that works or if it's just a phone service for dealers.  I could ask him about it if you can't find other help.TinkerCentury 135GS, ThermalArc 250GTS
Reply:Thank you, Tinker for the reply. I will take your advice and drag out the multimeter and see what I get. I get no clicking or anything when I hit the trigger. I have called Snap On, and I just get the run around. Apparently, Century made the welders for them, who was bought out by Lincoln, who then sold out to.........you see where I am going. I would like to find a owners manual for it.Steve New Orleans
Reply:If your friend suspects a bad rectifier you can put your dvm on diode and check across the diode in both directions. One way you will have continuity one way and no continuity the other way.