No power on my Handler 175

[stellenbrav]

I have a Hobart Handler 175 that I bought new about 3 years ago. I went out tonite to weld a broken piece and I have nothing (power wise), no fan, wire feed or anything. The welder is practically new, not even one spool of wire has been through it, however, it is a "lc" prefix serial number which means it doesn't have the 5/3/1 warranty and is out of warranty. I checked the breaker and I have power on both sides of it. I have power on both sides of the switch. Does anyone have any ideas or experienced similar failures? Thanks

[84ZMike]

One thing to look at is the plug.... try cleaning it with a wire brush and see how / if that helps.... you said you have power on both sides of the "switch" are you talking about the on / off switch.... also check the breaker on the back of the machine.
Mike

[hankj]

I have a Hobart Handler 175 that I bought new about 3 years ago. I went out tonite to weld a broken piece and I have nothing (power wise), no fan, wire feed or anything. The welder is practically new, not even one spool of wire has been through it, however, it is a "lc" prefix serial number which means it doesn't have the 5/3/1 warranty and is out of warranty. I checked the breaker and I have power on both sides of it. I have power on both sides of the switch. Does anyone have any ideas or experienced similar failures? Thanks

Very strange. The fan motor runs right off the line. Turning on the switch should at least run the fan.

Are you looking across the switch contacts on the load side to get your voltage check? If so, try checking fom the hot leg to a good ground and see what's up.

I just can't imagine the fan motor not running if the voltage is good on the load side of the on-off switch.

Hank

[stellenbrav]

Very strange. The fan motor runs right off the line. Turning on the switch should at least run the fan.

Are you looking across the switch contacts on the load side to get your voltage check? If so, try checking fom the hot leg to a good ground and see what's up.

I just can't imagine the fan motor not running if the voltage is good on the load side of the on-off switch.

Hank

I checked the voltage at the on/off switch using the frame ground, checking each of the four post individually. With the power switch on they each showed 120 volts. I also checked the breaker and had 120 volt before and after the breaker.

[84ZMike]

Did you make an ext. cord for this?.... this has happened on here befor,but the fan would still come on if only getting 120V..... if you are getting 220V at the cord end of the machine and only 120V after the CB on the unit then you have a volteg drop....check the connections / wires coming into the CB if they are good the CB may need to be replaced.
Mike

[stellenbrav]

Did you make an ext. cord for this?.... this has happened on here befor,but the fan would still come on if only getting 120V..... if you are getting 220V at the cord end of the machine and only 120V after the CB on the unit then you have a volteg drop....check the connections / wires coming into the CB if they are good the CB may need to be replaced.
Mike

OK, I don't have an extension cord; plugged straight to the wall, by the way, my stick welder works perfect from the same outlet so its not a electrical issue with the house. The circuit breaker is fed by one wire from the outlet, the other goes to the printed board and ground to the welder frame. so if my understanding of how a 220 system works is correct, I should have 120 to and from the CB and 120 to the printed circuit board (where the other wire from the outlet goes). I'm not an electrician so if I'm missing something or confused please let me know. The on/off switch has four terminals, would it be possible one side has went bad but the other reads good on the meter?

[hankj]

The circuit breaker is fed by one wire from the outlet, the other goes to the printed board...... ?

That's how it should be. Only one leg needs interrupting to make the rig quit working.

I'm symied. Looks like time for a Hobart Expert intervention!

Hank

[1998harleyrider]

I also have a 175 handler. I've never had any problems with it. There is a reset button in the back beside the power cord you might check. If you haven't run it since new it could be tripped from the factory. Are you using the orginal pig tail that came on the machine?

[6010]

Stellenbrav,

Do both the wires from cord go through the switch before they go to the circuit breaker and circuit board ? I am thinking the switch should break both sides of the line before it goes anywhere else in the welder. This is a safety feature. If both wires go to the switch then you should have 220 on one side of the switch and then 220 on the other side when you turn the switch on. If you don't then the switch is bad. If there is a wiring diagram on the internet let me know how to access it and I will walk you through it. If you haven't seen any smoke or sparks then it probably isn't too serious yet.

Actually, the fact that nothing works is actually a better sign than some things are working and some things aren't.

Did the welder ever work plugged in where you have it plugged in now ?

[6010]

Stellenbrav,
I found the owners manual on the 175. One side of the line goes through the circuit breaker then to the control board and comes out on another terminal on the control board to the switch. The other side of the line ( ribbed black wire ) goes straight to the circuit board and then out on another terminal to the switch.

The switch breaks both sides of the line. I am thinking at this point that either the breaker is not reset or one side of the double pole switch is bad.
That is if we don't have a loose wire on the circuit board.

If resetting the breaker does not fix it the let me know and I can tell you how to locate the problem with continuity checks ( much safer than live voltage checks ). We can go through this without plugging in the welder which makes me feel better when I am trying to help someone with an electrical problem over the internet. I am asuming that you are using a multi meter.

[stellenbrav]

Stellenbrav,
I found the owners manual on the 175. One side of the line goes through the circuit breaker then to the control board and comes out on another terminal on the control board to the switch. The other side of the line ( ribbed black wire ) goes straight to the circuit board and then out on another terminal to the switch.

The switch breaks both sides of the line. I am thinking at this point that either the breaker is not reset or one side of the double pole switch is bad.
That is if we don't have a loose wire on the circuit board.

If resetting the breaker does not fix it the let me know and I can tell you how to locate the problem with continuity checks ( much safer than live voltage checks ). We can go through this without plugging in the welder which makes me feel better when I am trying to help someone with an electrical problem over the internet. I am asuming that you are using a multi meter.

The breaker does not reset so I'm assuming its good and not thrown. I get the same voltage out from it as into it.
I do have a multi meter and that would be great if you could guide me through a continuity check (I've already had a bad electrical experience)

[smyrna5]

This is a real brain teaser. I have looked at the schematic too and there appears to be no good explanation. I can only conclude that the welding Gods have put a curse on this machine, since you committed the unpardonable sin of buying a new welder and practically not using it for 3 years.

I agree that you are probably going to have to trace the continuity and integrity of the major wires and components with the schematic, but you already knew that, or perhaps use Hobart intervention.

[6010]

I know what you mean about a bad electrical experience - I have had a few in my career also. I once had a guy ask me " how can you work with that electricity, aren't you scared of it?" I told him your are $%*#@ right I am. If I wasn't, I would have been dead a long time ago.

I am sending you a private message with some suggestions on it. It is a little lengthy so I sent it be PM. I taught electricity/electronics at a local technical college part time while I was still working my day job. If you can't understand the instructions I sent you, then I must not have been a very good teacher

[6010]

I forgot to tell you. You may want to go to service and support and print out a diagram of your welder if you haven't already done so. I may help you if you can follow along on the diagram with what I am sending you.

I hope where the wires plug into the board the connectors are bare so you can check resistance easier if we have too. I noticed while looking at the Hobart 187 and the Miller 180 that they both use center tapped transformers for the full wave rectifier DC power supply( Lincoln uses a full wave bridge in theirs - no center tap but more diodes) I would be about willing to bet it is the same transformer and filter components - would sure solve some inventory problems, and quantity is about the only power a buyer has over a supplier

[stellenbrav]

Hey guys, I wanted to update you and thank you for all your help. I tried all the suggestions and everything checked good so I decided to take a $5 gamble and just replace the power switch anyway. So I ordered the switch and replaced it today and it started right up and began singing it's song again. I don't really understand how or why , the old switch tested good ( or so I thought) but anyway its working now. Thanks again for your input.