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MG Midget and Sprite General - MIG problem

Posted the below on C Carters thread, sorry for hi-jacking, it will probably get noticed better on its own thread!

thanks all...

"I have been having problems with my MIG recently too. It will start welding like crap, all spattery and stop/starty. If I take off the shroud and tip and clean it up it then works fine again for 5 mins then gets worse. I think its the wire feed sticking coming out the gun but I'm not sure...

Bought some new tips and shroud, any other ideas?"

Whilst I can happily weld away when things are working fine, I don't have enough experience to troubleshoot these things when things go wrong.

Malcolm
Malcolm Le Chevalier

The problem with MIG welders is nearly always with wire feed.

The clutch mechanism is the first culprit followed by wire that has been on the spool too long.

Final element is the hose?

First adjust the clutch and then try a different wire drum.
Bob Turbo Midget England

Malcolm,

What welder is it. I have heard that some of the low end ones can do as you describe when they get hot and may be helped by additional cooling. Does the problem go away if you leave it for awhile or does it always require fiddling to help sort it.
David Billington

Its the wee cheapo clarke. pro 90 I think it was.

Heat might be the problem... the time it takes me to dismantle things might give it time to cool down sufficiently for it to work again. Therefore I think the dismantling is sorting the problem when it isn't really.

Wire is pretty new, haven't fiddled with clutch or hose, got fed up and went home!

Malcolm
Malcolm Le Chevalier

Ive got the geneic knock off version of your clark 90...haha, i know, is that even possiable.... Thank you china

What i have found that works great is to strech the hose out as straight as you can with no kinks or bends then set the welder at a slower speed and a lower temp. setting and keep the little cooper tip as clean as you can or replace with new ones

To be honest ive found using the lower setting for both speed and temp. makes a much nicer weld... Kind of the reverse thinking of a hotter faster weld... But it forces you to slow down and focas on the weld at hand

Anyway that solved my start / stop issues...With the wire feed


Prop
Prop

Malcolm,
How good is your earthing cable and attachment point. I got lazy, just clamping it onto any convenient bit of bodywork. But the earth cable was ragged and the cheap clamp spring was tired so it was heating up and the resistance increasing - upsetting the weld current. I bought a new clamp, replaced the multi-strand earth cable and things are back to normal. I also took advice here and changed from 8 down to 6 wire, but still use the 8 gauge tips. It seems to like it better that way.
Guy

Thanks guys, bought some new tips, using .6 mm wire already (it's what it came with) with .6mm tips.

I am quite lazy with where I clamp the earth, I will consider that as well. Time to waste some time browsing earth clamps on ebay...

That said, I think I am near giving up on the welding for the year, the winter is closing in!

Malcolm
Malcolm Le Chevalier

You aren't running out of gas are you? That gives horrible spattery welds.
Mike Howlett

Some of the regulators that are included in the cheap kits are rubbish. Once you are sure you are getting steady wire feed, you might check out the regulator.
Trevor Jessie

To get good welds you must have correct wire speed, correct current and correct gas flow and of course a good earth. Get any one of those wrong and you will get crap welds. If you're not experienced it can be difficult to determine which element is wrong and why it is wrong. It may be worth taking the welder to someone who knows how to diagnose problems. IIRC you said on the other thread that the screw which would enable you to fit a new liner was stuck. Might be a good place to start.

Bernie.
b higginson

Plenty of gas (fairly new bottle). It wasn't me with the liner screw issue, it was someone else (can't remember! sorry). Have new tips and will see how things run this weekend.

Just got my new outer sill :-)

thanks for your help guys,
Malcolm
Malcolm Le Chevalier


hi, had a lot of problem with mig and got can of
spray from suppliers which helped a lot but poor
wire feed was the biggest head ach.argon gas was also
recomended regards pete k
P C Knightley

Malcolm. Sorry about mixing you up with the other guy. A lot of wire speed problems stem from the lining being worn or gunged up with the coating on the wire and yes, Argon/CO2 mix does give better welds than straight CO2, but you may have to use a bit more current as the mix gas cools the weld more than CO2.

Bernie.
b higginson

This thread was discussed between 12/10/2011 and 14/10/2011

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