Super 200PI Help Needed

[FFMedic]

Greetings,

I borrowed an older yellow Super 200PI 4-in-1 from a friend who had never used it. After putting a plug on the end, assembling the air filter/reg, and firing her up, I have no current on the display. Power light is on. I tired some MMA, and cutting all per the manual, but no matter how much I dial up the current knob the display still reads "000". I was able to get a very small amount of current through the stick, but nothing close to what is needed to weld. I also was able to get a few short spurts from the cutter, till I got the red light. Shut everything down and tried again, but no luck.

Is she DOA? Any help appreciated! Thanks.

[zoama]

Is this an Everlast machine ?.. If no, please state the brand.

[FFMedic]

Yes, it is an Everlast Super 200PI

[DaveO]

Based on the control knobs, that's an AC / DC TIG machine, stick welder, and plasma cutter. Pretty cool find.

FFMedic, welcome to the forums!

We may need to back up a step to start troubleshooting. What kind of plug did you put on the machine, and what are you plugging into?

[FFMedic]

Thanks for your help.
I have a 4 prong 30A 250V Nema 14-30 (no neutral) plugged into a 30a outlet on a 6500w genset. The label on the back of the unit says 28A max.

[performance]

That looks like one of our early IGBT models from 08...before the official launch of the PowerTIG.PowerPro models...and the "super" series name was dropped.

If you are using a 4 pronged plug, then it should have a neutral...and likely there is the issue.

What wire colors do you have?

It's likely that there are a couple of things wrong here. One is that you are matching wire colors...which will create a 110V circuit instead of a 220V. White and black on our units are hot wires (though this unit could have used blue/brown and a green/yellow wire. The blue and brown/reddish wire would then be hot. Green/yellow, or green is always ground. There is a total of only three wires on any 220V welder.
You need to identify which wires are actually hot coming from your outlet. (Usually red and black).

The other issue, is that you probably aren't using a clean power generator....which even Lincoln won't tolerate a dirty or square sine wave. If your sine wave isn't a true sine wave output, the units won't work.

If you miswired it, or are running it on a generator that isn't clean power, you could have fried it. At best you caused an overcurrent and engaged the protection on the unit...which will continue to happen if you persist until the issue is corrected or until the unit is toasted internally.

There are two possibilities with the display on that older unit. 1) The unit won't display amperage until the unit is welding. 2) The foot pedal is plugged in.

[FFMedic]

Mark,

Thanks for the suggestions. While I am using a 4 pronged plug (as the manual shows), I am NOT using the neutral leg. The 3 wires are wired to the ground and two hot legs of the plug, so I can't see how I can't be getting 220V. The wire colors are grn/yel, blue, tan. I have the grn/yel to ground, and the blue and tan to each hot leg. The plug prong marked "W" is for a neutral wire, and is empty.

As to the display only showing current when welding, that would seem a pretty tricky task to have to watch your weld and at the same time try and glance at the display to make sure it is set right.

As far as the foot pedal, I thought that only needed to be plugged in for TIG? Again that was not mentioned in the manual as being required for MMA or cutting.
I hope this helps, and thanks for your time!
Matt

[DaveO]

Geez, hopefully not fried.

FFMedic, as a work-around for the generator you might plug into the 220v dryer outlet in the house (if you're at the house). Good luck with it!

{Edit} A thought just struck me- is the generator giving 220v ouput?

[FFMedic]

The generator (Honda 6500) has a 30A 240V outlet. I could make a pigtail to adapt to my 220V 50A outlet, but can't see that that would be much of a difference. I will check the output of the genny, but it's brand new.

[DaveO]

I thought the generator might be faulty, but a new one *should* be ok, of course. The critical factor is whether the generator delivers clean power, defined as less than 5% total harmonic distortion. A Honda generator should be clean.

[FFMedic]

Mark had mentioned that the display may not show any values until actually welding. Is this correct? How would one be able to even set a current level?
Also he mentioned that the foot pedal needs to be plugged in. Is this true for all functions? I thought it was just for TIG.

[FFMedic]

I just confirmed that the generator is putting out 240V on the outlet and my plug is wired to both hot legs, so I am giving the welder 240V, not 120V.
How does the foot pedal get plugged in at the same time the torch control is in? This whole idea of needing the foot pedal to be able to see the current on the display does not make any sense when using the plasma torch. If this thing fried on the first try, I am a bit surprised.

Other thoughts?

[performance]

Re read my posts. I didn't say it had to be plugged in, but IF it were plugged in, it could cause the issue you are seeing.

[FFMedic]

Ah, yes... Thanks for clarifying. Well since it wasn't plugged in, I guess I have different problems.
What would you look at next? Again, no amps display, and no good arc with the MMA.
Is the plasma a pilot start or scratch start?

Thanks for your time Mark!

[DaveO]

Your unit may be covered here- judging by the filename it's a good guess:
http://www.everlastgenerators.com/do...pmaster1.2.pdf

[performance]

Your unit may be covered here- judging by the filename it's a good guess:
http://www.everlastgenerators.com/do...pmaster1.2.pdf

Not same unit.

The unit is likely HF with a pilot arc. Is there another wire on the lower panel that says pilot arc?

[FFMedic]

Mark,
No there isn't, but there is a ground bolt/nut on the back.

[performance]

If it doesn't have a wire for pilot arc, then it's scratch start. You likely have SG 55 torch with a pink cup. If not, and it's a small white one, it's likely a PT30 torch.

The low output sounds like a wiring issue still. My thought would to be to try to trace the power into the machine at the main switch and confirm you are getting 220V across the switch terminals.

This will require removing the cover (after you have kept it unplugged for 15 minutes or so). You can also check for anything loose, broken, or burnt inside.

[FFMedic]

Yes, it has a pink cup. Bummed to hear it's not a pilot start. I have about 60' of 12g steel to cut. I am modifying a shipping container and cutting out the center wall between two units. This may be beyond the abilities of this unit anyway. Not sure I want to hunt around inside to trace a power issue. I may have to return it to my friend with bad news

Thanks anyway for your help!
Matt

[performance]

It's really not that hard, and it may simply be a loose connector or something. Takes about 5 minutes. You probably owe your friend that much. Right? It's 6 years old. Hard to believe he never tried it out. Electronics that sit, unused are like other things that are created for use, and not used, they deteriorate. I would also double check the tightness of the wires inside the plug. This is a common problem..even if you think it is tight, sometimes they aren't.