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How to Troubleshoot Wire Welders

A wire welder constructed to be a simple, reliable metalworking tool. When the trigger is pulled on the stinger of a wire welder, a roller inside the machine is activated, and wire is fed into this roller. When the wheel rolls, wire is pushed out of the welding tip at a constant rate. As easy a concept as this sounds, however, the use of wire welders does sometimes necessitate troubleshooting issues such as leaking seals or an overheating welder.

Things You'll Need

Compressed air gun

Instructions

- 1
  Allow a unit to cool down and then weld at a lower duty cycle if a welder suddenly cuts out. A thermostat on a welder trips when it's overheated, and using a lower duty cycle remedies the issue.
- 2
  Check for leaking seals when a welder has a low gas flow or no gas flow at all. These are most likely found where the gun connects to the machine and will take the form of a gradual, translucent flow of fluid around that area. Have any faulty seals replaced immediately.
- 3
  Look for clogs in the contact tip if there is no wire feed when you pull the trigger despite the fact that gas appears to be flowing. Small bits of debris or other blockages should be easy to spot inside the tip. Blockages should be removed using a concentrated blast of compressed air, which will blow away the blockage without water-logging the machine or any other dangers associated with other methods of cleaning.
- 4
  Look for any cracks or breaks on the weld gun. These are often present when you have an unstable weld arc ̵2; or worse, no weld arc at all. In this case the part may have to be replaced.

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