Syncrowave 180 problem

[CoreyS]

I have a Sycrowave 180 SD that is giving me some trouble. I'm hoping someone can steer me in the right direction to repair it. It is used for TIG only and I'm not getting full power out of it. If turned up all the way to 180 the display only shows about 60 while welding and I'm getting about 1/3 the heat I should. I have tried another known good foot pedal, taken it apart and cleaned all of the connections but it is still doing the same thing. Any suggestions ?

[cruizer]

I have a Sycrowave 180 SD that is giving me some trouble. I'm hoping someone can steer me in the right direction to repair it. It is used for TIG only and I'm not getting full power out of it. If turned up all the way to 180 the display only shows about 60 while welding and I'm getting about 1/3 the heat I should. I have tried another known good foot pedal, taken it apart and cleaned all of the connections but it is still doing the same thing. Any suggestions ?

Well, need more info, like size of tungsten, for instance if your using 1/16, you'll never hit 180, nor 80. Being that a welder is a resistance machine, and looking at the output resistance to determine the max weld amperage.

[MinnesotaDave]

I have a Sycrowave 180 SD that is giving me some trouble. I'm hoping someone can steer me in the right direction to repair it. It is used for TIG only and I'm not getting full power out of it. If turned up all the way to 180 the display only shows about 60 while welding and I'm getting about 1/3 the heat I should. I have tried another known good foot pedal, taken it apart and cleaned all of the connections but it is still doing the same thing. Any suggestions ?

Have you tested the welder in stick mode to make sure it's still welding fine?

I would start there - if it welds fine then I'd put a meter on your foot control and check the potentiometer for correct operation.

edit: just noticed you tried another pedal - I'd still check the machine on stick before anything else.

Side note: 1/16" tungsten is generally rated for 150 amps DC.

[M J Mauer]

Welcome to the forum Corey.

[CoreyS]

I was away so sorry for the delay responding. The tungsten we are using is 3/32". We have another identical machine and swapped everything external (ground cable, foot pedal, torch and cable) with that one. This one still had an issue and the other is fine so it is definitely an internal machine problem. We didn't try stick welding with it since we don't have the cable for that. Hopefully this info helps...

[cruizer]

Well, just another guess then and say that the Hall, (current sensor) may be frazzled. Usually with a blown hall, the output goes into the maximum range, but yours may be stuggling. Otherwise your torch conduit may be comming apart. That, you can try another torch