Engine Driven Welder Won't Strike an Ark

[Placek05]

Afternoon All,

I have an AEAD200LE Engine Driven welder and was doing some tinkering this weekend when I noticed that my ark was jumping around a little. I figured it was because of the magnetism of the drill stem I was welding. Shut it down for a bit while I setup for my next weld. Fired it back up... no problems. Went to strike an arc and nothing... Figured my leads were loose or not making any contact.. but nothing changed. No arc. I shut it down and took a peek inside the panels. Couldn't find anything obviously damaged but it was late in the day and I was running out of light. Anyone have any suggestions of what it might be. I am in the middle of a pipe fence job and this is my primary and only welder...

Thanks for any help you can provide.

[lanceman73]

No Arc

Did you check with a multimeter if there was voltage out of the terminals? I'd start there and then work my way back. Try switch between DC- and DC+ to see if the switch is making good contact. One time, I had the same problem because I didn't have the switch all the way over even though it looked like I did.

Lance

[Placek05]

I will definately look at it and see what progress I can make on it tonight. Hopefully it is nothing major. I am just hoping that it is a loose wire or one that needs replacing...

Thanks,

[Placek05]

I took a good look at it and started to trace the wires from the terminals as well as from the front receptical. I couldn't find any power. I kept following the lines back to the circuit board and then lost it there. I did check for power at the terminals where the brushes make contact, and found power there so it must be somewhere between there. This might be a longer search then I originally expected.