Troubleshooting
30Symptoms & remedies
| Symptom | Cause | Remedy |
|---|---|---|
| Rough wire feeding or wire not feeding but drive rolls turning | Gun cable kinked and/or twisted | Inspect gun cable and replace if necessary |
| Rough wire feeding or wire not feeding but drive rolls turning | Wire jammed in gun and cable | Remove wire from gun and cable - feed in new wire. Note any obstructions in gun and cable. Replace gun and cable if necessary |
| Rough wire feeding or wire not feeding but drive rolls turning | Incorrectly fitted drive roll | See Wire Drive Roll Section in this manual for proper installation of drive roll |
| Rough wire feeding or wire not feeding but drive rolls turning | Drive roll loose | Remove, clean, install and tighten |
| Rough wire feeding or wire not feeding but drive rolls turning | Gun cable dirty | Clean cable or replace liner |
| Rough wire feeding or wire not feeding but drive rolls turning | Worn drive roll | Replace |
| Rough wire feeding or wire not feeding but drive rolls turning | Electrode rusty and/or dirty | Replace |
| Rough wire feeding or wire not feeding but drive rolls turning | Worn nozzle or cable liner | Replace |
| Rough wire feeding or wire not feeding but drive rolls turning | Partially flashed or melted contact tip | Replace contact tip |
| Rough wire feeding or wire not feeding but drive rolls turning | Incorrect idle roll pressure | Set idle roll pressure |
| Variable or “hunting” arc | Wrong size, worn and/or melted contact tip | Replace tip - remove any spatter on end of tip |
| Variable or “hunting” arc | Worn work cable or poor work connection | Inspect - repair or replace as necessary |
| Variable or “hunting” arc | Loose electrode connections | Be sure electrode lead is tight, gun cable tight in wire feeder contact block, gun nozzle and gun tip tight. All work lead connections must be tight |
| Variable or “hunting” arc | Wrong polarity | Check connection at output studs for polarity required by welding process |
| Poor arc striking with sticking or “blast offs”, weld porosity, narrow and ropey looking bead, or electrode stubbing into plate while welding | Improper procedures or techniques | See “Gas Metal Arc Welding Guide”(GS100) |
| Poor arc striking with sticking or “blast offs”, weld porosity, narrow and ropey looking bead, or electrode stubbing into plate while welding | Improper gas shielding | Clean gas nozzle. Make certain that gas diffuser is not restricted. Make certain that gas cylinder is not empty or turned off. Make certain gas solenoid valve is operating and gas flow rate is correct |
| Tip seizes in diffuser | Tip overheating due to prolonged or excessive high current and/or duty cycle welding | Remove gun liner and check rubber seal for any sign of deterioration or damage. Be sure set screw in brass connector is in place and tightened against the liner bushing. Do not exceed current and duty cycle rating of gun. A light application of high temperature antiseize lubricant may be applied to tip threads |
| No wire feed, although arc voltage is present | Defective wire feed motor or wire drive control PC board | Measure the voltage between Red motor lead (54) and the Green motor lead (53) when the wire inch push button is depressed. If this voltage is over 10V DC, replace the wire feed motor. If no voltage is registered, replace the wire drive PCB. (Refer PCB replacement procedure at end of Troubleshooting Guide) |
| No control of wire feed | Defective wire drive control PC board | Replace PCB. (Refer PCB replacement procedure at end of Troubleshooting Guide) |
| No wire feed and no arc voltage. Pilot light indicates input power to machine | Control cable not connected.* | Connect cable to welding power source |
| No wire feed and no arc voltage. Pilot light indicates input power to machine | Overtemperature protection circuit actuated due to overload or short. Overtemperature light should be illuminated | Allow machine to cool down and reduce on time and/or wire feed speed |
| No wire feed and no arc voltage. Pilot light indicates input power to machine | Faulty gun trigger switch or damaged control cable connected to gun trigger | Repair |
| No wire feed and no arc voltage. Pilot light indicates input power to machine | Defective control PC board | Refer Procedure for Replacing PC Boards at end of Trouble Shooting Guide, if no fault is detected in trigger-thermostat circuit |
| No wire feed and no arc voltage. Pilot light indicates input power to machine | Defective contactor | Replace defective contactor |
| Poor welding characteristics and/or cannot obtain full rated output as per nameplate | Improper settings for wire feed speed and volts | Set controls correctly |
| Poor welding characteristics and/or cannot obtain full rated output as per nameplate | Faulty rotary switch either coarse control (on/off) or fine control | Replace rotary switch |
| Poor welding characteristics and/or cannot obtain full rated output as per nameplate | Faulty pilot transformer | Replace |
| Poor welding characteristics and/or cannot obtain full rated output as per nameplate | Faulty main transformer | Replace |
| Poor welding characteristics and/or cannot obtain full rated output as per nameplate | Faulty rectifier | Replace |
| Poor welding characteristics and/or cannot obtain full rated output as per nameplate | Faulty choke | Replace |
Fault codes and symptom→remedy steps extracted from this unit’s service/owner documentation; verify against the official manual before servicing.
Available documents
Parts manual
About
Lincoln Electric MAXIDRIVE 2R — welder. Specifications and parts compiled from manufacturer documents.