Anyone here know how to fix a MIG welder?

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

I have an older Craftsman MIG welder (Model #934.20111) and it has an issue wherein it will strike an arc but the wire feed stops as soon as it sparks and it just burns back to the tip. This happens no matter what wire feed speed you choose, nor is it sensitive to output power settings either. I am thinking it is the speed controller (My neighbor looked at it and said it is probably the problem), but it is $138 from Sears and I don't want to spend that kind of money if it is not the problem. I need to fix it so that I can finish the floor on my Cutlass. I broke my neighbors old welder that I was borrowing ( A Clarke Weld 100E Mk2) and if we get it working again, I do not wish to borrow it again because I am a hack and don't like breaking other people's stuff. I'd rather break my own stuff than inconvenience someone else by breaking theirs-especially since I can't afford to fix it right away! Besides, It would be cool to own a welder that actually works for once...

 

[Wolf001]

did you change your tip?? is your whip strangle?? Did you change your liner ?? In the mig where the wire goes, did you look if everthing it's tight???

 

[pontiacgp]

here's a mig welding forum....you might find the info you're looking for..

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/

 

[tiek101]

...you might check the pressure on the drive roller. You could also try wrapping the roller with electrical tape and see if that helps. Often times if the grove in the roller is worn it will not feed properly. There are some neoprene rollers available for some welders. ...hope this helps.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

It grips the wire just fine. It will even feed the wire just fine--so long as you are not trying to strike an arc. As soon as you strike an arc, the motor shuts down for the wire feed and it just burns up the wire back to the tip. I had my neighbor, who is a much better welder than I, try to get it to work and he said it was likely the circuit board for the feed control. It is a 10 year old welder, but has never really been used since it has had issues since day one. I should have taken it back when it was under warranty, but my own procrastination led to my downfall with the welder. I will try the electrical tape idea though-- it may help the problem.

 

[megaladon6]

your neighbor is right. when you strike the arc the power is getting shunted away from the feed. that's a electrical flow problem. you could go over the wiring for a bad ground/connection, but if that's not it it's solid state.