Help Millermatic 185

[CelticRam]

My Millermatic 185 Mig welder is about 4 years old and I will admit it has not been used hard at all. It is only about halfway through its first large spool of wire.
For the last month I have been having a vary hard time getting good welds. This past weekend I looked at what was happening and found the feed is not at all smooth. It is actually starting and stopping and this is causing the bead to blow out. I can find no problem with the feed mechanism. Everything is free and moving but am unsure how to fix this problem.

Thanks

[ASKANDY]

Is the wire stopping and the drive roll still moving or does the drive motor stall out too??

That machine doesn't like the real big spools of wire. if you had it that long, I'm sure there is a bit of rust or contamination on the wire that clogs up the gun liner making it harder to push the wire through. You may try loosining the spool nut that holds tension on the spool. You could also try going to a knurled drive roll to help pull that spool. I would really stay with the smaller spools in the 185

Andy

[CelticRam]

The drive motor is also stoping or at least the drive wheel is stopping.

[PISTOL8]

feeding

YOU SAID THE UNITS 4 YEARS OLD? IS THAT LARGE ROLL OF WIRE 4 YEARS OLD? ITS CHEAP TO PUT IN A NEW SMALL SPOOL TO CHECK IT OUT. MY FRIEND TONY'S FIRST WELDER WAS A 185 HE USED IT ALOT AND PROBABLY ON THINGS HE NEEDED A BIGGER MACHINE FOR BUT HIS HATED BIG SPOOLS. ANDY WHY IS THIS,IT LOOKS LIKE THE SAME SETUP AS THE 175 AND THEY DON'T SEEM TO CARE WHATS IN THEM. GOOD LUCK PISTOL8

[ASKANDY]

The drive motor should not stop. Unless you have a power supply problem like the unit is getting only half voltage or if a relay is making poor connection.
Sounds like you may have to bring it in to get checked. Usually the drive motor won't snub out if you have the wire speed up past 25-30%

a-

[Weld_the_World]

I have a millermatic 185 also. I experienced the problem you were a couple times with it flaming out and it seemed the wire feed would stop and start. After reading the troubleshooting section of the manual, they suggested loosening the hub nut. This is because as the spool shrinks, it becomes more of a one-to-one ratio with the drive wheel, making it harder to turn the spool. Once I did that, things have worked fine. This applies only of course if the drive wheel is working.

[Weld_the_World]

I have a millermatic 185 also. I experienced the problem you were a couple times with it flaming out and it seemed the wire feed would stop and start. After reading the troubleshooting section of the manual, they suggested loosening the hub nut. This is because as the spool shrinks, it becomes more of a one-to-one ratio with the drive wheel, making it harder to turn the spool. Once I did that, things have worked fine. This applies only of course if the drive wheel is working.

[CelticRam]

Thanks Guys
I have been without power for the last few days. One thing that I had not said is the trouble shooting I have done. I loosned the hub to the point that there is almost no tension and the retainer cannot be backed off any more. That did not seem to help. I next tried unspooling some of the wire and that works great. No stopping and no loss of arc. It seems that the drive cannot pull the wire from the role. I will take pistol8's advice and try a small role.

[bplaxton]

reviving this very old thread. I had the same issue, stop/start (slipping of drive wheel on wire) with my old MM185. My welding skills are not sufficient to withstand this issue!! After doing some searching on-line, I removed the pressure lever and bearing wheel that rides atop the wire. I cleaned everything and flipped the bearing wheel to face the other way, as it was a little worn on the one side. I also rotated the wire inlet guide to make sure it wasn't causing any obstruction. These efforts seemed to fix the problem (for .030 wire) completely - no slipping even with the adjustment knob at minimal compression. I still need to confirm it's ok with 0.023" wire.

I had previously blown out the (new looking) gun liner and removed and cleaned the drive wheel. I've ordered a new drive wheel as a backup, not sure if that will make a difference. I also ordered a new bearing wheel but now see no need to replace it.

[aametalmaster]

The best machine Miller ever made. Bob

[bplaxton]

Tonight I tried switching spools from .030 to .023 and I realized I have the same issue again, frustrating.

[Bushytails]

Bad liner, liner pulled out of gun, strain relief at welder end (or rarely gun end) allowing liner to bend too sharply, worn drive roller, wrong drive roller (U when you should be using V, for example), insufficient clamping force, worn guides on either side of the roller, excessive drag on wire reel (due to over-tight adjustment or something sticking), wire reel not centered properly, bending the gun too sharply to reach an awkward weld, umm... usually one of those fixes it! Some machines just like you to keep the gun nice and straight...

[aametalmaster]

The MM185 only has a one groove drive roller

[bplaxton]

Bad liner, liner pulled out of gun, strain relief at welder end (or rarely gun end) allowing liner to bend too sharply, worn drive roller, wrong drive roller (U when you should be using V, for example), insufficient clamping force, worn guides on either side of the roller, excessive drag on wire reel (due to over-tight adjustment or something sticking), wire reel not centered properly, bending the gun too sharply to reach an awkward weld, umm... usually one of those fixes it! Some machines just like you to keep the gun nice and straight...

Keeping in mind that the wire feed has been working flawlessly with 0.030" wire, where should I start for trouble-shooting? I have cleaned the drive roller and back-up bearing wheel again. I've tried entire range of clamping force adjustment on the knob. Both wire spools are new. I've straightened out the gun/wand. The liner appears to be new or like new. I have a new drive roller I can try replacing, and also the plastic wire inlet guide, I have a new one. The wire reel tension nut is loosened right off; different tensions don't seem to help. Thanks in advance

[Meltedmetal]

When you changed the roll of wire did it by any chance unravel some which you then re-spooled and crossed the wire over itself so that it is binding?

---Meltedmetal