MIllermatic 211 drive motor troubleshooting help

[weldsling]

Hey folks. My wire feed stopped working while welding last week. At first I suspected the wire was just stuck, but while checking that I noticed the drive roller wasn't moving at all. When triggered, the gas solenoid opens and weld power is available because I started to weld with the bit of stick out before I realized the wire wasn't feeding.
Troubleshooting so far:
Naturally I suspected the spool gun switch, but no. I had a multimeter handy, so I disconnected the spool gun switch and double checked it opened and closed. It was fine. I disconnected the motor and checked voltage to it when the welder is triggered on and is seems to not be powered at all.
I duplicated the motor supply power check in auto-set and various wire speeds as well as with 115v and 230v power sources.
I tapped on some relays on the circuit board and checked for obvious burnt components or disconnected wires.
Still no power to the drive motor. Any other ideas before I take this thing to a shop?
It's an early transformer version of the 211. A little more than 7 years old. But it's just in a home garage. So no more than 50 hours on the thing.

[Aeronca41]

You may be ahead of the game to just call Miller tech support and have them talk you through any additional troubleshooting. Most likely will find the board is bad, and you can probably change the board for less than taking it to the shop. Not likely you'll be able to repair the board unless you have PC board repair experience and the right equipment. Very hard without a schematic. Check Miller and Miller4less.com for the board; the latter is usually lower cost.

[weldsling]

Thanks for the leads. Found a board there for one third of what I found just doing a web search for the part number. Still pricey if it comes to that, but not "I need a drink" pricey or "maybe I should just replace the whole machine" pricey anymore.

[Aeronca41]

I would definitely talk with Miller before buying a board.

[weldsling]

Thanks again. Took a while before I could call and be around the machine at the same time, but once I did, they were extremely helpful. The tech was very thorough and provided me we a few more tests to narrow down the culprit. Unfortunately, it appears to be the board.

[Aeronca41]

Good. Would be GREAT if the tech led you to a loose connection or some other free fix, but at least you can spend the bucks on the board with some confidence now.

[tackit]

I pull the wall disconnect switch every time I'm through welding. We are the last property on the line which I was told can be a problem when lightening strikes occur.

[Aeronca41]

Agree. My welders are never plugged in unless I'm using them. Too many storms around here in the summer time, and if someone hits a pole and knocks the high voltage lines down onto the service lines, you're going to lose some eqpt. I know of a guy who had every light and appliance in his house come on in the middle of the night -for about a second- when a truck hit a pole-thankfully the fire was limited to his breaker box. He did have to rewire his house.