Foot Pedal issue. PowerTig 200DX analog

[Challenger]

I have a 200 DX I believe it is the model that was around just before the digitals came around. Well anyways I recently fired it up and the foot pedal doesnt seem to be working. Its just acting like a switch basically with no amperage control. The work piece is grounded I know because I can strike an arc without the pedal hooked up(amperage control on the machine works when not using the pedal.) I've fiddled with amps on the machine, and the pedal control knob. Ive also tried turning all the other various knobs from 0 to full(AC Freq, and bal.) Also If I turn the pulse on the machine will weld to whatever I set the high, low, and frequency to(but the foot pedal still wont have control; just acts like a switch like say on the torch that came with the machine.)
Ive tried it with both the stock torch and a CK torch.

I looked around a bit and couldnt find any threads with issues like this.

Any ideas? Thank you

-Jim

[Rambozo]

You might want to open up the pedal. There is a belt that does the amperage adjustment, and maybe yours broke or slipped off the pulley. There are a few threads around here about testing the pedals and the pinouts for them.

[Challenger]

You might want to open up the pedal. There is a belt that does the amperage adjustment, and maybe yours broke or slipped off the pulley. There are a few threads around here about testing the pedals and the pinouts for them.

Well I can see through the port where the rubber track comes out of that it is still on the "gear". I dont really feel like opening it up until i get some kind of an approval that it wont void the warranty.

[Blaster]

Opening the pedal isn't ever going to void anything,,,, In Fact, it's such a poor device you'll be needing to "go in" often

They ended-up using a mis-match gear & belt (one is like 6T/in the other 5). It works, but only barely... Added to that the belt material belongs on a vacuum cleaner drive roller so it's WAY Too thick when it doesn't have to be for the load of a potentiometer. This means it' isn't as flexible as is should be.

I've drawn lines on the gear & belt to quickly determine when it's jumper again (I'm seriously considering putting a plastic window in the bottom of the pedal so I can check it each time I start welding).

There are posts about rounding the teeth on both the drive & belt, I done this and it's an improvement but no fix.

We should ALL be sent the proper belt and put an end to all this bother. It's Not our mistake!

[performance]

Foot pedals have a 6 month warranty. We have a new style out and also have the US built SSC controls pedal available. You might want to consider one of those.

[Blaster]

Nice attitude....

To save the cost of a supplying the proper $3.00 belt, Everlasts official position is "You've had your 6 months, you should consider buying a new one" - really????

Somewhere I know there exists the proper belt for the pedal. Maybe, with their vast resources, Everlast could point us in the right direction at least...

[Challenger]

Foot pedals have a 6 month warranty. We have a new style out and also have the US built SSC controls pedal available. You might want to consider one of those.

So Im given no advice from Everlast besides buying another product from ya'll. This thread was completely derailed from my original point which was simply asking for advice on trouble shooting it(btw no I couldnt fix it with any of the suggestions.)

The only advice I received was from a member not everlast staff or moderators. And then in the back ground there is discussion of the quality of customer service...haha

[bmeyer6472]

As to the original thread: I just got a new 200DX yesterday, and I'm having a similar problem. The first few beads I ran were on steel, and the pedal worked as it should. When I switched over to AC, the pedal acted like an on/off switch. I dunno what would cause that, and I have not tried welding on DC since so I don't know if the pedal still works on DC. But bottom line is that on AC the pedal does not control the amperage. I have an email in to technical support about the issue, and will report on what I hear back, probably next week, as I don't think they answer emails on weekends. BTW the pedal came with the machine, but I don't know if it's a deluxe pedal or not - for sure it's not the one made in USA.

Stay tuned - I'll try to remember to post what I hear.

Bob

I just read what Mark said about testing the pedal between pins 3 and 4 and then 4 and 5. My pedal goes from 0-47K ohms between 3 and 4, but stays at zero between 4 and 5, so I guess the pedal is bad. I'll see what tech support has to say. I'm beginning to think that buying a quality pedal might be a good idea. :-)

[Datsun1973]

Get the SSC pedal. Well worth the money. I have tried mine on AC and DC and it's just as good as Miller or lincoln units

[bmeyer6472]

Get the SSC pedal. Well worth the money. I have tried mine on AC and DC and it's just as good as Miller or lincoln units

The latest from tech support is that I definitely have a bad pedal - :-( BTW, customer support on this has been excellent. Very quick response and helpful attitude. FWIW, this experience is a huge contrast to the customer support I received from Longevity, which was basically zero. Just in case anyone is interested.

Mark tells me that the latest Chinese pedal is similar in design and function to the SSC pedal and while there are differences, they've had very good luck with the new design. So I'm wondering if spending the extra money for the SSC is worth it for a hobby welder like me. I like good tools, but I'm not made of money - anyone out there that has used both pedals and can tell me the advantage if any, of the SSC pedal over the latest Chinese design?

[bmeyer6472]

The latest from tech support is that I definitely have a bad pedal - :-( BTW, customer support on this has been excellent. Very quick response and helpful attitude. FWIW, this experience is a huge contrast to the customer support I received from Longevity, which was basically zero. Just in case anyone is interested.

Mark tells me that the latest Chinese pedal is similar in design and function to the SSC pedal and while there are differences, they've had very good luck with the new design. So I'm wondering if spending the extra money for the SSC is worth it for a hobby welder like me. I like good tools, but I'm not made of money - anyone out there that has used both pedals and can tell me the advantage if any, of the SSC pedal over the latest Chinese design?

OK, I admit it, I totally goofed. It's a long boring story, but the pedal is fine, it's the operator that malfunctioned. Just the same, the tech support I received here was excellent. I'll use this pedal for the time being and see how well I like it, but so far so good.