A Simple Fix To An Abused Welding Machine. Model: Zika
Zika welding machines are considered the top of the line when it comes to welding yet I get them in the shop for repair simply they were abused by the technicians. Take a look.
The front plastic is gone, the body is really dirty and started to get rusty and a power cable was added to it on the wrong side of the machine.
The power cable is exposed and could endanger the life of the welding technician.
The machine is totally dead and the customer wanted it repaired as soon as possible.
If you look the right side of the photo, you would see the added power cable that is connected directly to the main power board and that is not good at all.
I started to check voltages reading at the main board but before that, I connected a new power cable through the power switch to the main board and of course connected through my current limiter device and powered on the device. The machine did not come on but I was glad it was not shorted out.
If you look to the photo, you would see a bad soldering job on the main power board. Someone has been in this machine and of course made it worse.
Here is a closer look of what has been done here to one of the main capacitors located on the main power board.
I found a lot of cold soldering joints on the main power board and some that has crack in the solder. I re soldered all these joints on board and hoped for the best.
I found a lot of cold soldering joints on the main board and that is very close to the main brain of the machine. In other words, if the main brain did not get the right voltages here it will not send a command signal to the relay to click to make the machine come on. So I added fresh solder to almost every joint there and checked component on that board and made sure there was nothing faulty there.
The machine came on (sorry I forgot to take a photo of that). I added a new power cable to the machine which made it safe to operate.
The customer came and looked at his machine and he loved what he saw. I do not like this kind of repairs since it was not a challenge but simply cosmetics repair and paying attentions to safety and tiny details but the customer liked it and that what counts.
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 Dead Security Camera Was Brought Back To Life
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Parasuraman S
April 15, 2023 at 8:07 am
Dear friend, hat's off! I would never even imagine handling such a dirty-looking, almost spoiled machine! Your patience and passion to set it right is amazing!
Waleed Rishmawi
April 15, 2023 at 3:37 pm
Parasuraman: thanks man. I appreciate you nice comment. I get these a lot now a days and it is a job to do and excell at. have a blessed day
Albert van Bemmelen
April 15, 2023 at 2:24 pm
You not only saved an abused device but likely also a life of a customer!
Waleed Rishmawi
April 17, 2023 at 10:19 pm
albert: yes his life was spared because of this kind of repair. have a blessed day
Tito Kanshulu
April 15, 2023 at 3:05 pm
Great job Waleed. Though dirt but the job you did shows how dedicated you are to the calling
Waleed Rishmawi
April 17, 2023 at 10:19 pm
Tito: thanks an. I thank you for the nice comments. have a blessed day
Okelloto Emmanuel
April 18, 2023 at 10:15 pm
To God be the glory, thank be to you for the dirty work returning a smile, I don't understand why some technical workers are interested indeed in money than maintenance!!
Waleed Rishmawi
April 19, 2023 at 5:19 pm
Okelloto: Yes indeed to God be the glory. sad to say people usually interested in getting income not spending money not knowing that by doing maintenance you are actually saving money spent on the repair but they do not think this way. my brother has three welding machines and every one month or two depending on the use brings them to my shop for maintenance and so far they are up and running with any issues. have a blessed day
Imran
April 15, 2023 at 5:23 pm
This unit was certainly a safety hazard and should have been tagged out.. Good on you for making the effort..
Waleed Rishmawi
April 17, 2023 at 10:21 pm
Imran: yes it was very dangerour to use but not it is safe and sound. and by the way who would put a dislike on your comment? have a blessed day
Erik Blankers
April 15, 2023 at 11:14 pm
hELLO wALEED,
Oh dear what a mess.
It is strange, many people dont care how to use carefully those Welding machines. Dit you also working on the damaged house/case?
Nice job.
Waleed Rishmawi
April 17, 2023 at 10:23 pm
Erik: hi. yes it was a big mess. cusomter do not care about how the machine look like or is it safe to use or not they jus worry about making money without caring about spending money on maintenace. and by the way who put a dislike on your comments. any way, have a blessed day
LLOYD BOND
April 15, 2023 at 11:48 pm
a job well done
Waleed Rishmawi
April 17, 2023 at 10:24 pm
LLOYD: thanks man. have a blessed day
Gregory Madison Brettell
April 21, 2023 at 4:01 am
Anything can be repaired ... and you proved that! I hope it was worth your time (monetarily), I'm sure it was definitely worth the satisfaction of bringing it back to life.
Good work! Thanks for sharing.