Syncrowave 250 problem

[Ed Jones]

Hey all,
i have a troubleshooting question for my newly acquired Syncrowave 250(used) yesterday i went to strike an arc and i felt what i can only describe as a tick in the torch handle and i lost current flow from the electrode, i still have gas flow, any idea's? thanks for any help that can be offered

[Nunya]

1-water cooled torch?
2-torch hooked up according to schematic?
3-will it restrike or is it completely dead?
4-by "tick in the torch handle", did it shock you?
5-according to what you wrote, it established an arc, you felt the tick, then the arc extinguished?
6-did you reset the *default* and try again?

None of this answered your question, but it may give someone who can help a clue.

[Ed Jones]

1- yes
2- yes
3- no, it's dead
4- no
5- yes
6- Actually i went to strike an arc in an awkward position and the Tungsten stuck to the work piece, i felt the tick and then it extinguished. The tick was very faint, it may have been a byproduct of the Tungsten hitting the work piece, i'm not 100% sure. The Volt Meter still registers voltage when i engage the remote if that helps. up to this point everything was working great.
9- what do you mean reset default?

Let me add that i am an experienced O/A, stick and MIG welder
this is my first TIG and i am not up yet on all the associated lingo

[SundownIII]

erj63,

You really haven't given us a lot of info to help you much. I have a Sync 250 (for about 15 years) so I'll try to help.

What were you trying to weld? Steel, alum,etc. Thickness.

Amp setting?

Size and type of tungsten?

Torch model (you stated it was water cooled--are you sure you have coolant flow?)

If steel, were you set up for DCEN (Direct current, electrode negative)?

What type of remote controller (foot pedal, fingertip, on/off, etc) are you using?

Shielding gas?

Have you tried disconnecting the tig torch and hooking up the stick leads to see if you have output at the connection?

Have you reground your tungsten?

You mentioned that you were in an awkward position and stuck the tungsten when the "tick" occured. I would recommend practice, in a comfortable position, until you get proficient with tig. The O/A background will help greatly, but tig is still an art in itself.

Get us the info and we'll try to talk you through this.

[justinp61]

Have you checked the voltage across the torch and ground clamp?

[Ed Jones]

Sundown,
I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my post, but i don't really understand what difference it makes what material or gas i'm using
and as far as taking the time to practice i have practiced for several hours and i am doing well as far as my technique goes, my ability to lay down beads is the least of my problems, i'm a get things done kind of guy and i'm working on a project, when i have time i'll practice more under controlled conditions, but for now things need to get done. I understand that it's an art. If it matters of course i'm keeping my Tungsten clean. i'm using 100% Argon and i'm welding 4130 tubing. The problem here is one minute i'm welding like a champ and the next i'm unable to weld at all because my equipment won't work, i figured the best place to post a Miller related question would be the Miller board itself, do these boards ever get visited by Miller Techs?

[SundownIII]

erj63,

You're right, I do ask too many "dumb" questions and I'm sure you know more about the Sync 250 than I do but mine works.

Go to the top of the page and contact Miller Technical Support (see contact us) and I'm sure they can diagnose the "tick" in a heartbeat (with little info).

Sorry I replied at all to a guy who already has all the answers. Won't happen again.

Have a great day!

[Ed Jones]

I'm sorry if i upset you Sundown, i don't think they are dumb questions at all if my problem was with weld quality and i never claimed to have all the answers. I ran the problem by the sales guy at my local welding supply and he was able to point me in the right direction to fix the problem with less info than i've provided here

Like i said i really appreciate you taking the time to respond to my post

Have a good day...

[6010]

To Ed

Can you tell us what the problem was ?? I have a syncro 200 and I may have that problem down the line, especially if it is a set up problem. I was a little scared when I first got mine and saw all the parameters you could change, and I am an electronics guy It is much easier when you only have the on/off switch and the amps knob.

[Ed Jones]

It was a torch problem, i'm not sure exactly what part of the assembly failed. Maybe a broken wire in the hose? anyway, a new torch and it works great. Thanks all

[safetydave]

snycrowave 250

Hey Ed, I thought I would get in on this post.
I have a 250 as well and had the same prob with it and after looking at the repair manuals then went threw everything machine,torch leads, power source, the hole nine yards to find out it was the modual were the contact points go was fryed and the points also. On mine it would some what still weld but you had to touch the tungsten to the part to get it to strick an arc then you could weld for a while then it finally not working at all, so just for the futrue keep this in mind if your prob gets worse or happens agian. Also it helps to learn your own equipment as much as possibale for repairs and to get it fix when no body is around.

[Ed Jones]

If you are talking about the spark gaps i checked those and everything was ok, i figured it had something to do with the torch because of the tick i felt, i'm thinking i had a damaged wire in the tube and the tick was caused from the wire popping when i put it under load. When i get time i'm planning on stripping the tube on the bad torch to see if i can find a wire problem. Since this problem i've been reading as much as i can about the machine, for a while i was afraid it might be something expensive, i'm very happy to find it was only a $100 repair, the old one was in pretty shabby condition anyway. Thanks for the response and the tips