Starfire 2e

[Rhall]

I recently bought s Starfire 2e and there seemed to be no power. The motor is fine but when I picked it up there was power and he struck an arc. Upon further inspection I notice that a wire from capacitor was not connected. I connected it to where I thought it should go but still no output.

[Aeronca41]

There is a fuse in the exciter circuit you should check. If you don't have the manual you can get one here:

https://www.millerwelds.com/support/manuals-and-parts

please post your serial number.

[Rhall]

Could not find an actual s/n. I do see it was stamped 5-15-84 on the welder part. Not sure if this was serial number A-O83735-C. Haven't had Tim to check fuse yet.

[Aeronca41]

Based on that date, your ser no should start with JE, and should be on the welding generator, not on the engine. I'm guessing this is the correct manual.

https://www.millerwelds.com/files/ow.../O464C_MIL.pdf

[Rhall]

that is the manual i've had downloaded. I can see the wiring scheme and have tried to follow but I think I need a picture of the rectifier to see how wires are connected,

[Aeronca41]

Maybe some who has a Starfire will join in and post a pic. Can't see much from the manual other than the location of the parts. Are there any markings on the rectifier? Can you post a pic?

[D Auger]

It only shows wire 22 going to rectifier seems there would be 2 or 3 coming off the generator To the rectfier to turn the current from ac -dc to charge the battery

[D Auger]

Also make sure the slip rings are clean and brushes are not chipped or cracked ,clean slip rings with 320 grit paper brushes can't be less then 1/4 inch also make sure the engine is at the proper rpm at weld speed.And clean the contacts were they connect to the back of the switches on the panel .

[Medicr224]

Rhall when I get home from work tomorrow morning I will try to get some pictures of my starfire2e and hopefully it will help

[Medicr224]

Rhall if there is something else you need a pic of let me know. I will leave the cover off til later tonight.

[Rhall]

Finally home and thanks to everyone that has responded. The fuse was good, now trying to decipher wiring scheme. So far from the brushes are wires #25 & #26. They go to the rectifier which in turn goes to the capacitor. There is a fuse wire #28 going to rectifier. Then there is 2 wires coming off rectifier one is the #8 and it goes into generator bundle and the other is #27. When I got the welder #27 was taped closed. There are also a #9 & #10 wire un-connected which by the wiring scheme either should be connected depending on excitation. When I first took cover off when I got it home the capacitor wire 26 was dangling but I couldn't tell where it connected to

[Rhall]

[Aeronca41]

Not sure if it's something weird with my iPad, but part of your post reads..."So far from the brushes are wires #25 & #26. .....". What should that line say? Not sure where the &amp came from. Same thing shows up other places in your post.

You say #25 and 26 go to the rectifier and cap. That is correct per the diagram. 25 should go to the plus side and 26 to the minus. I don't understand the note about excitation on the diagram--I know what buck and boost mean, and can infer a meaning here, but not sure if it's correct. Maybe someone can enlighten us. #27 and 28 should be hooked to the "AC" terminals on the diode bridge. Assuming "normal" excitation, wire 27 should be tied to wires 8 and 10. Wire 9 should not be connected. Not sure where the wire 27 connection to the others is physically located. You'll just have to search. Try these connections and see if it works.

[D Auger]

So is there 3 ways to wire this machine for excitation according to the diagram ?interesting

[Aeronca41]

So is there 3 ways to wire this machine for excitation according to the diagram ?interesting

Yes-interesting for sure. I've never seen that before (but then, there a lot of things I haven't seen). Apparently "normal" uses only the left stator winding, and then you can put the second coil in the circuit with the windings opposing each other (buck) or aiding (boost). Since it's changing the strength of the excitation field, it would increase or decrease weld and utility voltage levels, I assume. No way to tell how much because we don't know how many turns are on those windings. If there was a comment on it in the manual, I missed it.