SA 200 Drops arc

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Hey Guys I just signed up for this forum. I need ya'lls expert advice regarding an SA 200 I recently bought. I got this machine a few weeks ago. I took the machine to a welder repair shop in san antonio. The old timer told me the machine had some money sunk into it. Motor runs like a champ, he thinks its been overhauled, has the updated idle board that revs the machine up when u use the 110 outlet. He made some adjustments to the carb/ solenoid linkage. I replaced all the bad wires and I recently replaced the rheostat. Here's my problem: When I weld with the machine it seems to put out the amps to burn the rod, but it drops the arc frequently. I have to strike again to keep welding; it goes 2 or 3 secs and drops the arc again. Also I have to have the rheostat turned almost all the way up. I really have trouble burning 5p 6010 1/8". 7018 not so bad but it still struggles. I hooked up a grinder and I have power to the outlet.I looked at the brushes on the main generator. I took each brush out and noticed the copper wires in the brushes themselves were loose in the brushes. When i handled them the wire would fall out of the brush or vise versa. It looks to me as if they solder melted out. Is this my problem? I ordered a replacement set from bills repair. Any thing i should do to the commutator before I install the new ones? And would this explain why I need to have the rheostat turned up to weld?
Reply:Check out thread " lincweld 225 idler wires" post # 14. There is a link there that will help in seating the new brushes and cleaning the commutator and slip rings.The rheostat was picking up the slack of the worn out brushes. It's used to fine tune your welds and should only need to be set @ 10 if you are using power from the outlet(s). There are much smarter people on here that will be glad to give you more help. Welcome to the sight my friend.Well like they say in the Nut House --- I'M OFF
Reply:My new brushes came in today I installed them and I used and followed the guide on the cleaning stone. The commutator cleaned up nice, fired it up and I still have the same problem. It burns the rod for a few secs and drops the arc. Any other suggestions? I havnt done anything to the exciter. I ran a 7 inch grinder off of it and it worked fine. The welder reved up and the grinder had power.
Reply:Thanks for the welcome man.
Reply:This wiring diagram shows correct wiring for your rheostat. If it is too small to read here, hold Ctrl and push the + until you can read it. Hope it helps. Attached ImagesOnly when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.                                         -Cree Indian ProverbSA 200 LincolnVictor Torches
Reply:I replaced the rheostat and I replaced everything just the way it was. But if it was wired wrong originally, than it wouldnt make a difference. Thanks for the diagram. Let see what it do.
Reply:Look at this thread too.http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php...+brushes+waterOnly when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.                                         -Cree Indian ProverbSA 200 LincolnVictor Torches
Reply:On the rheostat. The red wire from the plug goes to the center lug on the rheostat. Now the blue wire, or in the case of my machine:Black wire, goes on which which lug hole on the rheostat? The High side lug or the low side lug? Originally when I replaced it the "blue wire" was on the high side lug.
Reply:I followed the guide gizzardgutz showed me for cleaning the commutator and seating the brushes. I welded with the machine and I noticed it was welding alot better. I was burning 6010 1/8 in the 190-120 range, but I still needed to have the rheostat turned up to 100. Im thinking maybe one of the wires on the rheostat is switched.
Reply:Switch the rheostat wire to the low side lug. If that isn't better you can always switch it back. Your old brushes got too hot at some time. Maybe because of a bad rheostat, or maybe the one that burned up was wired wrong? I don't know. But, and I could be mistaken, the high or low lug has come up before and I'm remembering to go with the low one. Good luck.Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.                                         -Cree Indian ProverbSA 200 LincolnVictor Torches
Reply:Thanks for the input. I switched the wires, but I still needed to turn the dial all the way to the lug the wire was connected to. In this case I had to turn it all the way down to burn the rod. Overall the machine is welding better. I hate to say it but Im beginning to think that maybe the shunt field coils are going bad. Or its something related to em. Im a newbie with this welder so Im on a learning curve. Any more input would be greatly appreciated.
Reply:Go to this forum http://www.aws.org/cgi-bin/mwf/forum_show.pl and join. It's free. Scroll down in the forum to "Gear 200". Open it and tell your story. These are the true experts for SA 200s. Kaye Sellon will get to your question in time, maybe tomorrow maybe not, but she will weigh in. There are people here too that are members of this forum, but they haven't seen your problem yet. Have some patience, you will get more answers than you bargained for. Some of these guys are pretty caustic at times, so just try to go with the flow.Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.                                         -Cree Indian ProverbSA 200 LincolnVictor Torches
Reply:Thanks I will give them a try. Im trying to learn how to fix this welder on my own. No one here in the south texas area wants to work on these machines.
Reply:Shanghyd is on this forum and lives in San Antonio. www.sa200.org is his website. Give me your serial numbers and I'll give you some more info.Last edited by gizzardgutz; 06-22-2011 at 08:42 PM.Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.                                         -Cree Indian ProverbSA 200 LincolnVictor Torches
Reply:Yeah I've been emailing him back and forth. I may buy the most recent machine he has for sale. Here's something I want to throw at you. I checked my exciter coils and they hold a solid 130 ohms. They even look at though the have been replaced. But here's what caught my attention. The brushes and brush holders look original on the machine. If the exciter brushes are shot, would that explain why I have power to the aux outlet, but have to turn my rheostat up to 100 to weld? I checked the wiring with a continuity tester and nothing is grounding out.
Reply:Have you checked the volts at the receptacle? How about the RPMs of the machine at high idle-low idle?If you have power at the receptacle the brushes on the exciter are doing their job. New brushes will make a better field for sure. I'm thinking the RPMs are too low? Expert I'm not, that's why I sent you to Kaye.Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.                                         -Cree Indian ProverbSA 200 LincolnVictor Torches
Reply:I just did what kaye asked me. At the receptacle I read 50 dcv at low idle and 100 dcv at high idle.
Reply:Get the high idle up to 130 and your rheostat will be right.Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.                                         -Cree Indian ProverbSA 200 LincolnVictor Torches
Reply:Jesse, if you are still having trouble, there is a man by the name Jay Korus over in pleasanton he is top notch. Been working on them for years.I dont have his number here at the house but can get it tomorrow.1990 SA 200Miller 225  Rip Miller302Miller 135Lincoln 200 MigHypertherm 600 PlasmaPlasma Cam Cutting TableMikita Cold SawJL Welding Tx . com
Reply:hey jesse a couple months ago i bought a 77 blackface that did the same thing and i bought it from a supply store here in abilene when i took it to them and explained the problem they couldnt figure it out a week later they called an outside guy to come look at it and found out that the rack in the gen had rolled to the wrong side making the output really low which he said is common for the sa they repositioned it and my machines runnin great now hope this helps
Reply:I appreciate the help guys I really do. I didn't there was a guy in pleasanton that worked on welders. What is the best way to check the rpms on this machine?
Reply:Set the RPM's with a volt meter at the receptacle. Low idle 70 volts DC and high idle 125vdc. Adjust the low idle at the carb and the high idle at the governor.Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.                                         -Cree Indian ProverbSA 200 LincolnVictor Torches
Reply:I will try that. I took the machine to get the linkage and idle adjusted. But this guy used some kind of wire thing that worked off the vibration of the machine. Ill readjust it either way. Hopefully this is it.1982 Lincoln SA 2001980 Lincoln SA 2501996 Lincoln SA 2501994 Lincoln Ranger 82005 Lincoln Eagle 10,000Millermatic 211 MIG
Reply:That was the problem> I volunteered my dad to read the volts while I adjusted the idle. She welds like a champ now.1982 Lincoln SA 2001980 Lincoln SA 2501996 Lincoln SA 2501994 Lincoln Ranger 82005 Lincoln Eagle 10,000Millermatic 211 MIG
Reply:By any chance has anyone had success welding a steel pipe to the exhaust manifold of this type of welder? The previous owner stripped out the threads and cracked it. Not too serious but it is cracked.1982 Lincoln SA 2001980 Lincoln SA 2501996 Lincoln SA 2501994 Lincoln Ranger 82005 Lincoln Eagle 10,000Millermatic 211 MIGIt's great that got it to welding, sometimes it is the little things, sometimes it ain't. After running the welder for an hour or so (preheat) try brazing it. It can be welded , the crack, with cast stick. I've even seen 7018 used. But your best bet is to buy an after market manifold from Kaye, Weldmart or Hybriweld.Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.                                         -Cree Indian ProverbSA 200 LincolnVictor Torches
Reply:Originally Posted by jesse302bossBy any chance has anyone had success welding a steel pipe to the exhaust manifold of this type of welder? The previous owner stripped out the threads and cracked it. Not too serious but it is cracked.
Reply:Well I got see if it works first. This probably needs needs to be in a new thread but. Would a continental F163 bolt up to a machine that has a F162? I ran into a man that wants to sell me his 1962 Redface. He sunk $1200 into the generator but as for the motor: the gear at the end of the camshaft broke off. So odds are it needs a motor.1982 Lincoln SA 2001980 Lincoln SA 2501996 Lincoln SA 2501994 Lincoln Ranger 82005 Lincoln Eagle 10,000Millermatic 211 MIG
Reply:The answer to your question is "probably." The majority of the SAs have identical flywheels, etc. But occasionally Lincoln throws in a surprise. Only way to find out is to try.Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.                                         -Cree Indian ProverbSA 200 LincolnVictor Torches
Reply:Ok. He's asking $1000 for the whole thing. I have a overhauled F163 sitting on a shelf here in my shop.1982 Lincoln SA 2001980 Lincoln SA 2501996 Lincoln SA 2501994 Lincoln Ranger 82005 Lincoln Eagle 10,000Millermatic 211 MIG