Syncrowave 250 problems with remote and gas flow

[Stevebeard16]

Hello Fellas,

I picked up a Syncrowave 250 with a cooler mate serial number is KH498728 and I am having some issues with the remote and gas flow.

-With remote plugged in and both the contact and amperage in remote setting I cannot strike an arc with HF in start and off mode.

-I can start an arc when switched to local

-Gas flow is intermittant and sometimes when in remote the gas will constantly run even though the the pedal is not depressed or if it isn't even plugged in. Also sometimes when In remote the gas not run at all even when pedal is depressed.

-I have limited TIG expierence and have only used a air cooled torch in the past. When using a water cooled torch does the cooler have to always be running when using the torch or ca you use it with the cooler off?

[ryanjones2150]

Not a good idea to use a water cooled torch with the cooler turned off.

[Stevebeard16]

Thanks Ryan I assumed as much.

Since I powered up this machine last week I have only touched it while wearing gloves. Tonight I went out and turned it on the meter was only showing 11 volts no matter what amperage the dial was set at. I was not wearing gloves and when I touched any metal part of the machine be it a toggle switch or the running gear I got zapped. It was not intense and when held onto for a few seconds I could feel it pulsing.

The machine is hooked to a 220 outlet with a dedicated 50amp breakerusing an extension cord. I doubt this is normal

[ryanjones2150]

If you're touching the machine and getting zapped, unplug that mammer jammer. Check your input first of all and see if it's not chooched. If that's good, eliminate the extension cord and see what happens. Before you do that, make dadgum sure you have the input squared away.

[Stevebeard16]

My neighbor who is an electrician checked out everything up to and not including the male plug on the cord coming out of the welder. The welder was previously used at a welding shop that had an estate sale. it was run off of 480v so I switched the jumpers in the machine to use 220v and changed the male plug on the cord coming out of the welder from a 480v 50amp twist lock to a nema 6.5 220v 50amp male....

you will still get zapped even if the machine is off the only time you won't is if it is unplugged or the breaker is off

[Aeronca41]

In addition to whatever else might be amiss, there is something wrong with your grounding if you are getting zapped as long as the machine is plugged in. Even if there is a short to the chassis, the round ground pin on your 6-50 plug should be grounding it out, and causing the breaker to trip if the current is high enough. Are you sure you put the new plug on correctly? If so, there must be a bad ground connection inside the welder. I'd have the electrician friend look at the plug and welder, too. Obviously, this is likely dangerous and has to be fixed before you go any further.

[Stevebeard16]

Aeronca41 hit it on the head the plug had the ground and a hot wire swapped...rewired the plug and it's working like a top....no issues at all


thanks fellas

[Aeronca41]

Great! Easy fix.

[ccawgc]

Things in the welder didn't work because you only had 115 volts to the control circuits.

[ryanjones2150]

Good thing you made dadgum sure the input power was squared away.

[Aeronca41]

Best news here is no one got hurt, and I'm glad it was only one leg of 230 instead of 460 v. I remember years ago when my dad worked in a union shop where a welder got 460 to the outside case - it was a very poorly managed place, and the guys complained for a week about it but nothing was done. A guy with wet feet almost got electrocuted, and they still wouldn't fix it. Union ended up having to stop work. Everyone just sat down and stopped until the co. finally took it out of service.