A Brand New Welding Machine Stops Working After Powering It Up On A Power Generator Repaired
A friend of mine bought a brand new welding machine and took it to his property where no power lines are present and the only option was to use it on power generator. It lasted only half an hour then a big bang was heard and the machine stopped working.
This is a very good machine with reasonable price, very light yet very reliable machine when it comes to strong welding and I recommend it to many welding technicians.
Today, this machine was powered up using the wrong line of power which caused some damage to which I hope will be able to get up and running.
I did not see any obvious damage to this welding machine so it was time to do some component testing on board and find out what is wrong.
It has two boards on top of each other and if I want to test the components I have to take the top board off to check the lower one.
Very clear design on board, easy to follow and find out what is wrong. As you can see, it is brand new welding machine.
It showed short on every component on that board yet when I took the component off board; the part tested fine which lead me to change my investigation on how to find the bad part.
After a while I came to this part which was blown and that is the varistor which I should have checked long time ago and that would have saved me a lot of testing time.
The moment I de soldered that off board, the short was gone and everything was reading normally.
This part has saved the welding machine from a lot of damage and I am glad that machine was protected.
The part number was not clear to read so I just added another varistor (S20 K300) which what I use in welding machines all the time and works like a charm.
The machine came on when I powered up through a current limiter and everything seems to be testing fine.
The welding technician came for pick up and he wanted to test it himself. It tested fine and he was very happy his machine is up and running again.
Mission Accomplished.
This article was prepared for you by Waleed Rishmawi, one of our ‘Master Authors’ and currently working in the Bethlehem area of Palestine repairing electrical and electronic equipment.
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Note: You can check his previous article on A Bridge Rectifier Replaced In This Welding Machine Restored It Back To Life
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Tayo
August 27, 2022 at 8:44 am
Good save Waleed! Okay so is the issue with using a generator is that it puts out simulated or modified sine waveform vs pure waveforms? I hear this is a concern when running motors and sensitive electronics on UPS battery backups but i never considered generators having this issue as well. Someone pls correct me if im wrong.
Waleed Rishmawi
August 27, 2022 at 4:02 pm
Tayo: thanks man. yes, that is correct and also the load voltage is not steady to keep the welding machine running the way it should be. have a blessed day
Parasuraman S
August 27, 2022 at 9:29 am
You are keeping the welding work going smoothly in your country! Great!
Waleed Rishmawi
August 27, 2022 at 4:03 pm
Parasuraman: I am trying to do that but a lot of technicians not willing to listen when I tell them not to do it. LOL have a blessed day
Albert van Bemmelen
August 27, 2022 at 2:01 pm
Good to know that the varistor type S20 K300 is frequently used to repair and replace bad varistors! Only question now that remains is what is wrong with his power generator that caused this?
Waleed Rishmawi
August 27, 2022 at 5:13 pm
Albert: yes it does. there is nothing wrong with the power generator, the problem is these welding machine can not be used on these generators and it is says that in the user manual but people do not read the mauals no listen for advice when someone tells them not to do that. have a blessed day
RAHEEM WAKHEEL OLAWUYI
August 27, 2022 at 10:43 pm
Great job
Waleed Rishmawi
August 29, 2022 at 2:43 pm
RAHEEM: thanks man. have a blessed day
Yogesh Panchal
September 8, 2022 at 5:57 pm
Excellent! Waleed