mig welder clicks but nothing happens

jonathanD · Poncho Master!

mig welder clicks but nothing happens

50torpedo · Guru

were you welding with it for more than a couple of minutes, depending on model and voltage, will have a high temp auto shutdown if its ran longer than its duty cycle, once it cools down it will run, just watch how long you are trying to run it

bill in red deer

jonathanD · Poncho Master!

nope i was not welding at all just plugged it in before i take it to my grandmothers ive never used it before.....???

50torpedo · Guru

who did you buy it from johnathan or is it borrowed, what make and model, check it on the internet for a manual, then look at troubleshoofing section, the other thing that happened to mine, the drive cable got knocked loose did not notice it when it did not run I checked it pushed it back in and it orked

bill in red deer

jonathanD · Poncho Master!

i bought the welder from carl a year ago or sooo it must be stuck or somthing just from not being used

jonathanD · Poncho Master!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QixmqF-CQ4c&feature=youtu.be

kelico · Poncho Master!

a couple things COULD be happening.
- plugged liner or contact tip... thus giving the "click" but no feed, but will be "birds nesting" in the welder if you keep trying and it IS a tip or liner.
- if your duty cycle is exceeded the system usually wont allow you to feed wire at all.. so you I dont think you'd hear the contactor "clicking".. but.
- a "birds nest", or crossed wire on the spool within the welder wont allow the wire to feed.. thus giving the "click" but no feed
- potenially a tension issue with the drive rolls... if the liner is dirty, or tip is in poor shape, or a tight coil in the "whip" offers any extra tension in the system and your drive rolls are too loose.. the machine will "slip", thus giving the "click" but no feed

Depending on brand of machine.. you may be able to see some troubleshooting tips online.

Duty cycle is based on a 10 minute cycle.. so a 20% duty cycle is good for your machine to be at full capacity for 2 minutes out of 10.. theres a formula for figuring out time lines as you decrease output.

hope it helps.. and I hope I'm not full of Sh!!.. LOL..
I think I remember this stuff correctly..

50torpedo · Guru

OK , remove the tip , cut the wire at the drive wheel, pull wire through gun, refeed wire to the drive and try again, is the tension properly set to pull the wire through, do the drive wheels turn...and why are you not in bed asleep its 1.15 am ontario time, dont you have school tomorrow

bill in red deer

kelico · Poncho Master!

gee.. I spent too much time typing.. I come back and there's more answers already there..
Gosh I love this site.. good people with good ideas..

jonathanD · Poncho Master!

i never sleep if i do i wake up in cold sweats thinking why am i not fixing my car LOL ill try that but frankly ive welded at school but never worked on one sooooo this will be fun LOL

50torpedo · Guru

drop carl a pm ask him if he experienced the same problem ,

bill in red deer
ps I am going to bed , will check future messages in the morning pss I am old and need my rest

jonathanD · Poncho Master!

i cut the wire but still no feed... i can't even pull it through.. it's stuck complety

jonathanD · Poncho Master!

got the wire feeding but it's like all jumpy if you guys know what i mean it's jerky?

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

Is the wire old? Surface rust on the wire can cause what you describe.

rarechev · Guru

what size wire did you put in it, also check what size of tip is on it , the size is printed on the side of the tip.

427carl · A Poncho Legend!

It has a new roll of .24 or .25 Its probably stuck in the nozzle

For its 50.00 price I would take it to dump..

50torpedo · Guru

probably wrong wire size, check wire size on rollers

bill in red deer

427carl · A Poncho Legend!

If you Google the brand

you can download the owners manual

It has the correct wire in it

rabbit64cs · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

427carl wrote:
It has a new roll of .24 or .25 Its probably stuck in the nozzle
For its 50.00 price I would take it to dump..

tsk..tsk...tsk....

rarechev · Guru

try undoing the wire tensioner then trigger it and watch to see if the drive roller turns.

jonathanD · Poncho Master!

the wire reel does not seem to move bt the feed wheel is moving if you know what im saying it seems like it's not gripping the wire i did cut the wire and pull it through once sooo i know it's not stuck and when i adjust the tension it does not change the wire feeding issue!!!!!!!! i can grab a video if you guys want

50torpedo · Guru

DID YOU CHECK THE WIRE SIZE AGAINST THE WHEELS IF IT IS TOO SMALL IT WILL SIT IN THE GROOVE UNDER THE DRIVE WHEEL

bill in red deer

rarechev · Guru

take the small drive wheel off and check the size that is marked on it to make sure it is the same size as the wire ,if it is check to see if the wire pulls freely through the wand and also check to make sure the screw on tip is also the correct size.

kelico · Poncho Master!

if it has has markings on the wheels that is.. if it's a "no name" brand, it may just have a spring loaded flat wheel against a hard rubber wheel.

got a photo of the machine? the guts? (drive wheels)
the gun?

that may help us see what your describing.

jonathanD · Poncho Master!

kk cool if i can't get it running by tomorrow illbring it to school and get my welding teacher to fix it and explain to me how it works