hobart handler welders help needed

[gotmud77]

Anybody work on these things? I have one and it has stopped working and I was thinking the gun is bad but it seems to check out. No broken wires or anything like that. Does anybody know how to trouble shoot the other componets? I can send it into the Hobart tech but thats $45 an hour. I can get a new welder for around $400 so I dont want to just start putting money into an older machine. But if its just the gun or some other cheaper part I will fix it.

The fans are running but nothing else is working. No gas, no wire drive motor. I cant even get it to spark at the end of the gun. The gun is totally dead.

Any help would be great thanks, Jim

 

[sweetk30]

mine had a loose contact on the triger switch in the gun. pulled it apart and crimped the slideon contacts a bit and it seemed to fix it no problems so far.

 

[botboy]

I don't have a hobart, I have a lincoln weld-pak 100, mine stopped working one day - would "click" when the trigger was pulled but no power at the end of the gun and no wire feed. On mine the problem was the aluminum plates that serve as heatsinks and base plates for the rectifying diodes, where one of the wires off the transformer bolted on the bolt had come loose, and proceeded to eat the aluminum away around it, so it was no longer making a good connection (or connecting at all). Solved this by re-crimping a new connector on the end of the transformer wire, drilled a new hole in the aluminum plate and used a fresh 1/4" bolt with a dab of grease and a lock washer to make sure it wouldn't happen again.

 

[gotmud77]

I checked the gun out. There are no broken wires or anything. I will try and clean those aluminum plates and see if this helps any. I was thinking its the drive motor buy if those plates are not making a good conection maybe they would not let any of it work. Also have not gas coming out of the gun.

Just want to see if I can fix it before I send it to the hobart tech. Also dont wont to wrap up to much $$ in it. Knowing I can get a new machine for 4 to 500 bucks..

Thanks for the ideas,

 

[chopped&bobbed77burb]

I don't have a hobart either but I do have a linoln weldpac 100 that I've had since 97 and it finally pooped on me . It will weld but only at 25% strength . you can weld chevy sheet metal on it's highest setting . welding on the lower settings looks like little mice turds . Normally it would blow right through it . I talked to a tech guy and he said to check the diodes as that sounded like the problem to him . I tested them and They are good . I'm guessing maybe the 2 stage transformer . I tried a new gun off my friends lincoln 175 and that didn't make a difference . I don't want to dump a bunch of cash into a old machine when I could buy a new one at homedepot for $325 ?