Lincoln Power Mig 255 power problem

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This is my first time to the forums...seems like a lot of good information here. I just bought a Lincoln Power Mig 255 from a friend of a friend.  It had sat in his shop for a year or so, since he had some newer welders available.  I plugged it into the wall, turned it on and the digital voltage and wire speed displays lit up...so far so good. I then connected the ground to a piece of steel and tried to weld.  As soon as the first spark hit the steel the on/off switch on front of the unit tripped like a breaker on a breaker panel.  I turned the unit off and then back on and tried again...same thing.  So I am wondering if maybe the On/Off switch needs to be replaced?  or if there is something else.As a side note, my fuse panel in my workshop does not trip, just the on/off switch on the front of the welder. Also I was just testing the unit out so there was no gas attached and I didn't have a roll of wire on the unit, there was just enough wire from the gun to about 1 foot past the wire feeder where he snipped the wire to put the roll in another welder.Mikewww.kingsransomracing.com
Reply:Have you checked the "Troubleshooting" section of the Manual?If you didn't get a manual, download on here:http://www.mylincolnelectric.com/Cat...ualsearch.aspxRex
Reply:yep...nothing about that kind of problemMikewww.kingsransomracing.com
Reply:It may just be a dodgy switch (if ya lucky) Do you have a meter to check it with power off and plug out of wall ?
Reply:I'd check to make sure it's set up for the correct power input as well. All 3 of my powermig 255's can be set for 575 or 230 volt input, not sure what you have in the US, but you may be running on a different voltage then what your friend was.
Reply:I looked at the switch...it does look questionable.  so I am going to try putting a new switch on it first. Also  mine can either be put at 208 or 230.  My house is 230 (115X2)  so that is where it is set.Mikewww.kingsransomracing.com
Reply:When you say questionable, was there any burnt wires or switch connections burnt?
Reply:Where the switch makes contact its pitted and looks like it doesn't make very good contact at all on one leg.  With the lines below the switch "sandwiches" the contact and the contact pin is the one pitted and it looks like it doesn't barely touch the sandwich part.     | | |Mikewww.kingsransomracing.com
Reply:ok...replaced the switch and it worked great.  Now its on to cleaning it up and repainting and installing new stickers  When I am done I will post some picturesMikewww.kingsransomracing.com