I MIG 205 warranty service questions

[Jeremy]

I have had my MIG Welder now for about 18 months and it has done an awesome job for me until last night. It was turned on and idle and I was getting ready to start using it and the display just went dark in the thing shut down. I open the case and I found what looks to be a power supply board near the on and off switch had a resistor that was blown open. Does Everlast ship out a replacement circuit boards so that Consumers can repair their own machines, or do I need to send the machine back someplace to have it repaired? I depend on this machine for daily use and I am contemplating buying a blue or red machine as a back up if I have to be without it very long. How long does it take to have a unit repaired and sent back?

[mts211si]

Take a picture and send it to the company. They should be able to ship you a new board as long as it's under warranty.

[Jeremy]

This is the board that I believe has failed. In the lower left corner you can see A resistor that has blown apart

[christian]

Jeremy,

Have you called Everlast yet?

But, since you've located that resistor problem so easily, personally, I'd just take the board to RadioShack and ask them if they have some matching ones. And with the Everlast board being a hole-through design, I would feel comfortable to solder in a new resistor, even though I'm no solder tech.

I mean, that would be a super-fast solution, if that's all it is.

Otherwise, I'm guessing that Everlast service/support personnel will assist you in any sensible manner when you do contact them directly.

And please let us all hear what ultimately does solve your problem, and the method you took to make it happen.

[Rambozo]

Jeremy,

Have you called Everlast yet?

But, since you've located that resistor problem so easily, personally, I'd just take the board to RadioShack and ask them if they have some matching ones. And with the Everlast board being a hole-through design, I would feel comfortable to solder in a new resistor, even though I'm no solder tech.

I mean, that would be a super-fast solution, if that's all it is.

Otherwise, I'm guessing that Everlast service/support personnel will assist you in any sensible manner when you do contact them directly.

And please let us all hear what ultimately does solve your problem, and the method you took to make it happen.

A resistor rarely fails on it's own. More than likely something else caused it to be over current and that will need to be fixed, first.

[zoama]

A resistor rarely fails on it's own. More than likely something else caused it to be over current and that will need to be fixed, first.

I agree. The normal low current passing through a resistor can't do that damage.

[performance]

Yes. Actually call ext 202 and tell the the issue. Let them send you to the right person regarding that. Should be able to replace the board itself pretty easily.

[christian]

Yeah,

You're probably right.

But I hope this poster does give us the follow up story, if there is one, when it gets resolved.

A resistor rarely fails on it's own. More than likely something else caused it to be over current and that will need to be fixed, first.

[Jeremy]

THANK YOU EVERLAST FOR THE FAST WARRANTY SERVICE!!

I sent photos and an explanation of the problem to Ray and a week later They had sent me a new power supply board from mainland china via express shipping. There was also a fan included with the power supply, so I'm not sure if there is an issue with bad fans killing off these boards or not. I an thinking about putting a fuse inline with the fan. In any case I installed the new board that was 3 reversions down the road from my original board and all is well. From what I can tell there was a power semiconductor that failed on the input side of the board and that lead to the resistor going up is smoke. I am thankful that the board is designed in such a way that it's failure doesn't damage any other components on the connected boards. Although the inside of this welder was very clean there is little if any con-formal coating on the printed circuit boards, so it pays to open your machines once in a while and gently blow out the metallic dust that is so pervasive in a welding shop. My plasma cutter was so dirty inside I was embarrassed. as a note of caution don't over speed any of the fans or blow compressed air onto any ESD sensitive parts although you are at much more risk of damaging stuff by using the wrong vacuum. If you can a low pressure air ionizer on your blow gun is best at the very least ground yourself, the machine and your air blower and make sure to unplug every thing.

Overall this is how all company should handle warranty service!!

[Doc Pete]

I have a new 205 and 2 140e's. Mark has been helpful to me, too. Glad they're still doing a good job.
Pete