Portable Welder Electrical Repairs

[@wg1889]

Been watching your channel for years. You are one of the most knowledgeable people on youtube. Congratulations on nearing 100k subscribers!

[@JohnnyRizon]

This is a fact-- what other mechanic you know breaks out oscilloscopes!!! Like I've been saying forever- I wish there was a Patreon page for Wes, PBS survives and is able to make their content better due to "Viewers Like You". I'm dying contribute to ensure more and more high quality content and support the channel that Wes offers us, Netflix gets $10 month for garbage.. This is a direct benefit to all of us DIY shade-tree mechanics, His honorable nature doesn't let him make this available, but I sure wish he would

[@JohnnyRizon]

Oh yeah, and I want WWW stickers and T-Shirts, Gildan Ultra Cotton option please, a quality shirt to match the quality guy

[@anthonydefreitas6006]

And congratulation on his Dirt Perfect Win !

[@WatchWesWork]

Thank you so much 😀

[@richg.8092]

Came over from dirt perfect. Congrts on the win.

[@littlewingpsc27]

As an Electrical Engineer, I can say your debugging skills are right on track. Great job. Electrolytic caps have known aging issues, and do need to be replaced from time to time in older equipment. Given the welder is 25 years old, it is getting to that age where some of the caps will start to go bad. You definitely NEVER want to hook up an electrolytic capacitor backwards as they tend to pop quite loudly and fling metal foil everywhere like a party popper / chaff canister. Scary if you don't know they do that.

[@philjafo2]

Fixing something that was deemed unfixable by someone else is one of the best things in the world, and that probably got you at least one dedicated customer that’s going to sing your praises to everyone.

[@ldr9146]

Wes i'm an electrician and was with you throughout this video. It was very interesting and you did a great job.

[@WatchWesWork]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@fredjones3135]

M1911 anything like that going to keep flaking out like that or if something else has a manual what do you what do you think Anderson GM at gmail.com phone number is

[@jmac1099]

Well there you go.. Don't trust the last guy, because they couldn't fix it.. Even if its you. So many times, people are told what the problem is, or what the last guy has tried, and they get blinded and don't check and verify if they diagnosis was right, so they never find the problem.. So bravo to you, and your ability to step back to square one, and to ignore what the "expert" said.. cause if you didn't, it be in the spare parts pile. Also, congrats on (almost) 100K You deserve it!

[@WatchWesWork]

Right.

[@lustfulvengance]

EricO just recently had that happen with a washer pump you should watch that video it's hilarious!!

[@WhiskeyGulf71]

This boils down to an old saying, "don't be confused by the facts"

[@docpalazola491]

Wes, just wanted you to know that Max did a wonderful job of interpreting all the electrical schematics. Such a good pup, gotta love him.

[@BM-jy6cb]

A very modest summary at the end. Speaking as an electronics engineer, I think you did a great job of logically tracking down the fault and I'm sure it'll be 100%. Says a lot about the "authorised service centre". As for the Lincoln control panel, that's just ridiculous - not only the fiddly controls, but an lcd screen in a welding environment isn't going to survive long (as demonstrated by the big scratch already). Probably driven by a promise of cost savings on separate switches.

[@kevinjefferson3957]

Nice fix Wes. When I had an electronics repair shop people would bring me some crazy stuff to see if I could repair it because of an overstated reputation for being able to fix almost anything and I was their last resort. You obviously have that reputation in your community, not to mention KZbin. Your skills are amazing. I did my best.

[@WatchWesWork]

I run into electronic stuff I can't repair all the time. Especially at the board level. There are never any schematics so it's just a guessing game. As things get smaller and go to all surface mount I'm basically unable to even try.

[@kevinjefferson3957]

@@WatchWesWork I feel your pain about surface mount technology as it pretty much ended that business. Almost never had schematics and used a lot of different equipment to troubleshoot but the Huntron tracker was my go to for quick diagnosis and even better if you had a known good board to compare with. Most everything is replace the entire board now unless it's a component that isn't surface mount or a cold solder connection.

[@jtthill5475]

Your best diagnostic talent is that you don't quit. There is a problem, keep looking until you find the cause. Great job eliminating potentials until the culprit is found. Thanks for sharing.

[@gregdawson1909]

Good troubleshoot and repair Wes! Couple thoughts on the capacitor: If you don't have a meter that tests for capacitance, you can test a cap with an Ohmmeter, good indication when testing caps is your resistance will go up as you test, (be sure to observe polarity on dc marked caps) the voltage from your meter actually charges the capacitor, a fully discharged cap will read near short, and as it nears equilibrium to your meters test voltage, it will go to open. Near short or high resistance in a cap is not necessarily bad, as long as you can see the change as the cap charges up. If you want to recreate, short out the cap and repeat, it will start low and go high resistance again. The old analog Simpson type meters were really nice for this, you would have the needle sweep near short and then sweep back towards open. Second thought is any kind of physical deformation or discoloration usually means dead cap, Ive never seen one with multiple dents like that, swollen, leaking, cracked, charred, sure, but that one almost looked like someone hit it with a ball peen hammer.

[@WatchWesWork]

I have an ESR meter that works well for testing caps. It's definitely a dead short.

[@patricksullivan9951]

Hi Wes, hey pal, don't kid yourself. You are getting a good handle on the electric side of things just fine. I've been at this for 50 yrs, I'm still learning. The only screaming at the screen happened at .1 Ω ...it's DEAD, bereft of farads, just a short across the raw DC! Replace it immediately!! Otherwise, thoughtful approach & nicely done!

[@va7da]

Best gas welder video repair I’ve seen, my Lincoln Weldanpower 150AC now gets its excitation from two D cell batteries because the exciter coil behind the flywheel is dead and not available. Must have diode between rotor brushes and batteries because back EMF from the once activated rotor could explode the D cells.

[@eduardofernandez4123]

I grew up in a logging company and your video brings me back to does days with my dad and does big machines.. kudos from the Philippines!

[@45AMT]

Had a 35A 12v power supply that kept dropping voltage under load. popped the cover. Checked the capacitors 2 48,000 uF caps. One was just like that one. Dead. Read nothing on the meter. Other was fine. Replaced working good as new. Electrolytes go bad a lot when they get age on them. The electrolyte dries out over time. Great job!

[@christopherrasmussen8718]

Awesome work fixing the unfixable. I worked for Radio Shack (a few times) they get stuff back from repair, unpreparable. I got permission to take some home. I fix them 9 out of 10 times. My boss got the GM and the GM got the president and asked why a 21 year old kid could do that. They never got an answer but for a while I was fixing things locally in house.

[@blairjackson5070]

Nice deductive powers. 🕵 on identifying the bad electrolytic capacitor. Wes of all trades.

[@nathansmith3135]

Amazing tech support from a big company. Shout out to Miller.

[@Robalo-2660]

Wes , You just saved that guy a butt load of money ! I grew up in Illinois, Granddad owned Guaranteed Gear Service into the fifties . You have the same "I can fix it " attitude that he instilled In me . My father had a TV and radio repair shop ,he taught me a lot about reading schematics. What you just did, quantified your abilities. No more hiding behind your Clark Kent persona . When you hit your 100K subs , I'm going to expose you for the real Superman you are . Much love my brother. You keep it real !

[@dpeagles]

If we had a nation of people like this guy, we would be unstoppable.

[@mauricekeithjohnson2598]

Just watched this. As a retired Marine Electrician, I I AM impressed ! Great troubleshooting !

[@RobertKohut]

Wonderful to watch Wes work on welders on Wednesday.... :-)

[@phooesnax]

Wwwwwwwwwwhat!

[@kstricl]

Welder Wednesday With Watch Wes Work?

[@RobertKohut]

@@kstricl Wonderful.... :-)

[@mattmanyam]

Weirdos...

[@konohh]

Successfully going to the edge and beyond your own knowledge always feels very good and strengthens your self-confidence. But what really bothers me, and that seems to me to be a symptom of our time, is the inability or deliberate refusal of the specialist workshop to correctly localize and fix the fault. It is all the more good to know that there are still gifted technicians, mechanics and craftsmen out there to stand up to this symptom. The difficulty of our time is to find these people. I think one of these people has impressively manifested himself here. This is my first comment on one of your videos. YT noticed me to your channel just a few days ago and I've started devouring the uploaded videos from the past few years. Nice greetings from Germany.

[@stevenstanford9475]

Thank you wes I am truly serious you are the master of the diagnostics of welders or cars if I lived anywhere close you be the only mechanic I would ever use thank you for the videos and God bless you and your family can't wait til next and when merch comes back I would be proud to wear it

Wes, I really enjoy your honest videos and explanations. Keep up the great work. All the best from Calgary.

[@WatchWesWork]

Thanks 👍

[@jcondon1]

Good save. Nice to be able to save something that was pronounced dead by the company that made it.

[@dr.skipkazarian5556]

This multiple find and fix project is a good example of what we call a priori reasoning based upon (already) known skills. Me....I have no clue regarding electricity, rectifiers, or any of that stuff...but I do appreciate the combined talent set. Best wishes and stay healthy...give the pup a hug for me.

[@t1259sw]

Hey lady there's your problem, your flux capacitor isn't flexing. Great job Wes, the fundamentals is always the right way.

[@ddanielmiester]

For a guy who doesn't know much about electronics and such, you sure know a lot :) I'm impressed you were able to diagnose that bad cap! Just a note: many handheld meters have an upper limit of their ability to measure capacitance, so just because it reads OL, doesn't mean the cap is bad, you just may be exceeding its measuring capacity. In this case, your meter tops out at 1000µF, and that cap's rated 1200 +50% -20% (960-1800), so there's a 95% chance that even if the cap was good it would have read OL. That said, good on you for following up with a resistance check. A good cap should start out with a low resistance than trend upwards as it charges. Keep up the great videos, I really enjoy them, and always look forwards to your next videos.

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

Nice find on the Bad Electrolitic Filter Capasitor for the Miller welder not supplying the control board Enough Power @Watch Wes Work

[@KristaMae]

I have started helping save 80s & 90s equipment at an industrial printer & your method is spot on. Filter caps should always be suspects once equipment is past 20 years. I saved a huge printing press by replacing $12 of capacitors.

[@jth1699]

Hi guy - 30 year generator guy here. A very easy way to test for shorted windings in main power windings is to check for what is called residual voltage. All generators, as you know, work by controlling the strength of the magnetic field for whatever stator your working with - the interesting thing about a welder is you have a couple of generators and two separate fields in the same machine. So you have two separate systems for voltage regulation - also there is what is called the field flashing circuit. That is the circuit that feeds battery voltage directly from the battery to the winding that needs to be flashed to get the generator magnetism built up so it can be self powering. Now the reason they have these field flashing circuits is that on a welder they might sit for a year or more between uses - in that period of time the "residual magnetism" might dissipate to a point that the electrical voltage created by the residual magnetism might not be enough to allow the cascade effect [the ability for the generator to start building its voltage from it's own power] to get the generator to reach its required voltage. Now for the easy test - if there are no shorts in the power side of the generator with all the regulation inputs removed [just pull the brushes on a welder] bring the machine to rated speed and check for residual voltage - on a 240 volt system the residual will be much less than the 240 but it must be equal on each leg to ground - on a welder like you had just check the residual at the input to the 3 phase rectifier - be sure a disconnect the welder from the rectifier so that you can isolate the generator from any failed components in the rectifier... if all the residual voltages are balanced then your problem is not with any of the main components of the generator. The residual voltage has no real power so if something is shorted the residual will be pulled down or not balanced- kind of like the 5 volt reference on a car. If you find a problem here this is where you break out the megger .. now I can tell you a megger can let lots of smoke out of the controls of a welder - the multimeter will apply 9 volts to the coil and look for shorts - if you put a megger on a generator to test it you better make sure you disconnect every sensing wire of every kind that leads to any electronics board - that board is not gonna like the voltage from the megger - 250 volts is the lowest voltage I know of that u can buy - I have one that is 250 - 500 and 1000 volts - the only thing you should be testing with a megger is insulation leakage. Just be very careful with one... most power generator systems are simple and consist of 3 main systems - regulation - power and retification in the case of a welder - so split the systems and see what dont work. For fast diagnosis just get one of those small recitifers an hook up the ac side of it to a veriack and the DC side to whatever excitation coil system u want to check - fire the generator up and raise the voltage on the veriack till you get either the weld voltage or ac voltage [whichever system ur checking]. If you get good response from this test go straight to the regulation system. So guy you did good fixing those welders. I like your videos ... I'm 70 years old now and just piddle with different mechanical things and a few welders.. they keep me from making a fool out of myself chasing women... keep up the fun videos.

[@railroadearth666]

I owned a Lincoln MPX 330 and had a similar issue with the fuel pump. I had to keep the fuel tank full for it to run. The fix ultimately was a board replacement from lincoln. They seemed aware of the issue when I spoke with them. It was fixed under warranty and worked fine after. It was actually a pretty nice welding machine otherwise.

[@Nudnik1]

Have a few of these Miller ,Hobart and Lincoln. One Lincoln no output it was dirty contacts on output rheostat and amperage dial dirty. ****Also many units you must turn fine adjustment dial all the way up for full AC 115/230 out put***. Excellent content thanks That was a bridge rectifier that broke on Miller.

[@ronaldheit196]

I can't even begin to count how many times I've went to repair an electronic device and the very first thing I do is reset every connector on the machine I'm repairing and sure enough it began working. Especially anything made to be portable. I always spray, drip or wipe all connectors with an anti corrosion product Deoxit. They have a low and high temp version that comes in spray, wipes and drip bottle. It's expensive but worth every penny in saved service calls. I've used it on boats, arcade and pinball games, jukeboxes, cars and motorcycles since I first had it recommended to me by a friend who repairs computers back when I lived in the Florida Keys and was the Service Manager for the local Amusement Vending company down there. It saved me a whole lotta service calls.

[@HardwayRanch]

My next job is to attempt to diagnose & repair a PTO generator and this video has given me a confidence boost - thanks.

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

Great work ON the repairs for the Miller WITH the bad capacitor she welds good now @Watch Wes Work

[@jasonrowland1594]

Nice, a Watch Wes Work video during the middle of the week! More of these would be very much appreciated, but I understand you only have so much time. Also a shoutout to all of the veterans on Veteran's Day. Thank you for all you do!

[@CPAULKLEIN]

I'm inspired to push my limits on understanding circuitry due to your videos. Thanks for putting this content out there.

[@2011joser]

In my very limited schooling in electronics I was never told about the limited life of electrolytic capacitors. It cost a few bucks to learn that lesson as I got into vintage car and home audio. Needless to say, recapping my second amplifier cured me of that hobby.

[@bnorris4368]

Impressive. Saved your customer at least $1k in the price of a new welder (I don't know what those welders cost) and added to your already impressive knowledge base. You're right, it is very satisfying to analyze and fix something that someone else has deemed beyond repair.

[@WatchWesWork]

I think they are more like $5k.

[@pipefitter1728]

1. I think that your neighbors are really lucky to have someone with your talents and skills! I’m always amazed at the wide variety of mechanical/electrical/electronic things that you can diagnose and fix. 2. It also amazes me that engineers can manage to install computers in virtually anything and everything! The result is that most things are overly complicated with no real benefit.

[@glencaple3888]

With all the electrical/tech gadgets that are being placed on (almost) all engines/vehicles today, anyone interested in any mechanic work at all must take a good electronics class. I took one at a community college many years ago and am really glad I did. If anyone is going to get seriously involved in any sort of plumbing/heating HVAC, you are going to need it there also. Great video!

[@jamesbrewer3020]

Nice job Wes.....You got it working when everyone at miller would have junked it. I love taking someone's broken beyond repair equipment and fixing it and using it for 3 to 5 more years.

[@phooesnax]

100k is well deserved. See you at 250k

[@olgriz485]

Nice work and your commitment to fixing it is terrific. I've had shops give up and tell me something cannot be repaired or replaced. By tinkering around and talking with older mechanics and truck drivers, I repaired the problem.

[@davedunn2124]

I love when you walk through schematics with us. I'm an electrician by trade and honestly still learn things along the way. Especially on cars and can bus. Thank you and please keep it up.

[@robertspear9134]

Occasionally I have to repair sensitive electrical connections where I cannot use heat. I use a conductive two part epoxy. Works great and a little dab will do ya. I never tire of seeing someone save a good piece of equipment from the scrap pile. Great episode.

[@austinshores3324]

I'm surprised Wes didn't say "Focus You F***" when the camera would not focus🤣. Always something to learn thanks Wes

[@gungadinn]

That would be something that AvE say.

[@neilmurphy845]

The best thing to do is just turn off AF if you have the phone or camera on a stand

[@stevencox75]

yeah no rectum fryer

[@tomtheplummer7322]

Different channel.

[@dans_Learning_Curve]

AVE is not subscribed to because of junk like that! I don't want to have my 12 year old daughter hear that! Hear too much from work!

[@LiveeviL6969]

Don't you love when someone else has "found the problem" only to find out they were wrong and you found the actual problem? Great job!

[@bigb7157]

Bought a new welder last year. I searched out the ones that didn’t have lcd displays. I like knobs for durability and quick adjustments. The downside to the new multiprocess units are the electronics and displays that they use. I ended up buying a separate mig and tig unit.

[@WatchWesWork]

Good call. They still don't make a true all in one MIG and TIG unit with high frequency.

[@danbartolini27]

Don't you just love it when someone brings you something to fix and it gets healed just by your touch? I have a bit of a reputation for doing it, I have "fixed" stoves, dishwashers, furnaces, VCRs, laptops.... Just by laying hands on. Or as I call just turning them on. Don't know why or how but it has happened a lot to me

[@Daves_adventures4315]

Thanks PJ for hooking my favorite channel guy up!

[@pmae9010]

I love your process, and I admire your tenacity, there aren't many 'younger' mechanics out there that do what you do. Congrats man.

[@samsonian]

Anyone else fascinated with and/or interested in more information about refurbishing broken equipment of many different types might enjoy a channel I stumbled on a while ago; he’s pretty informative to watch just like Wes but with a small consumer and industrial equipment/old tools/fabbing with electronics vibe (Post Apocalyptic Inventor) from Germany. Neat channel. I mean, he’s no Wes…but still cool. May also induce rage episodes involving the quality of finds in German junk/scrap yards. Can’t say I didn’t warn ya.

[@trep53]

That big filter cap was puffed up like a ball park frank! I’d say it got very hot. Good fix.

[@rodfrey]

Love this, thanks for making it. I subscribed to your channel when you were buying and fixing CNC machines - I loved the diversity and watching you reverse engineer 1000 year old circuit boards. I totally get it that the mechanic work gets a bit more traction than that did (and I enjoy watching for your approach and personality despite not caring too much about mechanics), but it's nice to see you flex your other skills on video again.

[@billywird]

Yes sir when I worked on business machines back in the early seventies we had one sold to an electrical contractor to do their payroll. Well this system had an intermittent problem that was so aggravating that the owner of the company was going to sue our company. Our technician out of Atlanta performed and equipment swap (the system was a lease purchase) and this got that solved. Three years later a tech support fellow was here on an unrelated problem and fiddling around with this piece he found an intermittent wiring connection on a 27 wire input board. There was a bad solder connection on one of the pins, and this came from the factory that way. Talk about irritation, but eventually the root cause of the problem was solved.

[@johnmoore8599]

That was a nice gift from PJ. Nice tribute to him as well.

[@CookieMonster_1969]

Your assessment of Lincoln's use of a computer to control a mobile welder is spot on. The weakness is the screen, those connections on the edge of those screens relies on a super tight fit inside the case it is in and it does not like vibrations at all. Anything that is portable, subject to temperature extremes, subject to vibrations, or any other rugged conditions, is a very bad application for those little screens. I don't know why engineers continue to put stuff like that on things that really do not need it, and it isn't unique to welders.

[@WatchWesWork]

I don't get it.

[@yako0000]

good job saving a perfectly usable machine Wes. there's nothing i like better than to see an older machine put back into service with a few parts and repairs.

[@ericcorse]

Well done Wes, watching this it makes me glad we always had electronic guys at work to fix instrumentation. It is nice you actually talk to a person at Miller about the problem. Too often their response that is obsolete and buy a new one.

[@WatchWesWork]

Yes. It's great that they will help someone fix a 25 years old machine. And they were really nice about it.

[@jrondyer1049]

@@WatchWesWork it speaks well of their customer service department

[@wes3428]

For a "hermit" I'd say your doing pretty well. I find your videos very methodical and interesting to watch. Appreciate it! (and not just because of the name ;)

[@NoWr2Run]

Congratulations Wes for getting very close too 100,000 subs. " YOU & YOUR WIFE DESERVE IT ". You will be there in no time for sure. " YOU'RE A CELEBRITY BRO ".

[@WatchWesWork]

Thanks 👍

[@chrisbolton4900]

It is almost a given that if the case on one of those electrolytic caps is distorted in any way, it is bad. I’m surprised that shorted cap didn’t blow a fuse somewhere. Good job on the troubleshooting.

[@GrizztheForkliftMechanic]

Awesome work Wes, I had a Lincoln Ranger 9 that wouldn’t ever rev up when loaded and I fooled with it for more time than I should have it needed a pc board that was no longer available and I ended up selling it off, I’m a lift truck mechanic by trade and watching you work makes me proud to know there’s still some true diagnosticians out there. I completely understand that feeling of accomplishment that comes with completing a repair that is at the edge of your abilities or just beyond, in a weird way that’s what keep me going sometimes

[@notsoserious0944]

You’ve invented an iron oxide/reducer-welder. Kudos!

[@greggb3079]

Alright...! A by God mid-week video from "Wes", awesome...! Great story about the auction contact with "PJ". I had a similar interaction at an action with an older gentleman. It was a small implement, didn't get it given to me, but I got it for what he paid, and bought lunch. Great video, Thank you sir.

[@TexasHunter59]

You're a capable mechanic and technician. If you were here in Houston I'd have you working on my CNC machines and fixing my vehicles. And I know dozens of other's that would welcome a good capable man into their operations. Keep up the good work!!

[@davelas8465]

Great work Wes! I appreciate the troubleshooting logic. "What doesn't work, how's it supposed to work, what went wrong, and where can I get the replacement part. ." My motto is that if it doesn't work now, attempting to fix it won't make it any worse. Good to see you have the curiosity and drive to delve into anything. Electronics work with the magic smoke. Just look to where the smoke leaked out and you'll find the problem. Thanks for the videos.

[@davidhamilton8041]

This makes me happy i used to help my granddad work on welding machines when i was a kid my job was usually just taking out burnt board's and removing inclosers

[@ralfgottfridhansson3127]

👀 Mechanics skill logic thinking and confidence is the magic key that fix "most" problem if that wont work use the welder (posted 3 days ago about the OLIVER ) NICE FIX: have to change it to now you can use the welder Take care of the Lady and son stay healthy 😷 Congratulations on 100k.🏆

[@evil1656]

The tip off towards the cap in the AVR circuit to me was the 85ishVAC on the U ground plugs. Had a pretty much exact scenario on a 25KVa portable light tower a couple weeks ago. You can divide a welder/generator into two parts. The weldy bit and the genset bit. The welding side will act all kinds of odd if the AC side is misbehaving. And pretty much 98% of the time it won't be a winding that fails, it will be something on either the control/excitation side or the regulation side (the AVR). That is the fun part about this stuff. To learn new things, you have to ease out of the comfort zone and just do it!

[@WatchWesWork]

Right!

[@AiMR]

Just the fact that you told us Miller provides free documentation has sold me on them.

[@SeanFix]

I know exactly the feeling you are talking about and that is precisely why I did industrial HVAC. Its almost always something different and its usually a challenge so you feel really good when you get it working.

[@butchbailey965]

I have a Miller 250 and I bought it just before electronic display for amps.I love MILLER.

[@jeffconnor8469]

Thank god you have common sense and patience Wes enjoyed watching you work this out well done mate 👍👍👍

[@richg.8092]

Good job on the welders. Caps deteriorate from use and age. If there are more problems check the other caps that are accessible. The control board may be repaired by an industrial pc board repair company. I used to work at an elecfric motor repair shop and we also repaired welders and generators and we had a few boards repaired. Search for industrial pc board repair if you need to find a reoair company.

[@dg1294]

Good things come to good people, so great to see that PJ gave you the taps! Thanks Wes, for another interesting and well explained video. Regards from the UK.

[@73DiamondReo]

awesome job on the welder. Its always feels good to fix something that someone else said wasn't repairable. A friend had an issue with a Unit 1020 pull shovel that was stuck in swing and travel at the same time and was told the casting was cracked on it causing it to stick in both functions. I looked all over and all i found were some casting lines from when it was made and no cracks. It just needed a little adjustment and freeing up some stiff splines on the sliding jaw clutches from moisture. He was ecstatic it was fixed and i felt good it wasn't too complicated.

[@gerrybvr]

I would think a welder has got to be the most electrically hostile environment there is. The last place I'd want to put electronics. Also agree about using those controls with welding gloves on. Obviously designed by the marketing dept rather than someone who actually uses one.

[@Z-Ack]

Yea for sure, like giving a blind guy an ipad so they can use the map to find their way around town.. give the guy with thick ass leather gloves and a pair of the darkest sunglasses they make a little tiny knob and dim delicate display to work the functions on a high amperage metal melter that runs on gasoline, cursewords and sweat.. like hollering at your wife "hey sugartits, put your expensive slut facepaint on, get your high heels tied and miniskirt zipped up were going dirtbike riding out in the wet...

[@Michael-my1dl]

@@Z-Ack h

[@samsonian]

Yeah, you’d think a company that’s been around so long would have a handle on that kind of thing better…I liken it to the current (hopefully short-lived) auto industry practice of making every non-driving control in the car controlled by touch-screen. I think they should outlaw it, haptic feedback of having buttons that allow you to keep your eyes on the road shouldn’t need to be legislated in but it’s dangerous in practice as trying to text or use apps on a smartphone while driving.

[@gerrybvr]

@@samsonian couldn't agree more about cars. I HATE touchscreens in cars.

[@samsonian]

@@gerrybvr you just don’t realize how long your attention span is distracted from the one thing you are supposed to be doing. People forget they are at the controls of a multi-ton killing machine and treat it too lightly. I’m not even a fan of complex multi-zone HVAC controls, because we got along fine with a few buttons, levers and toggles for a long time since we got used to where they were located in relation to driver position. Touchscreens take away muscle memory and unless the computer is talking to you it’s not safe communication btw car & driver.

[@woopimagpie]

Wow, that was real nice of P.J. Seems like you good fellas find each other even when you're not trying.

[@phillipdean9879]

You didn’t say if Mrs Wes was fussing over you like a mother hen cause you had a cold.. Love watching you diagnose wiring stuff!

[@turboslag]

Well done, nice work!! Fortunately my formal training was in electronics so this stuff is relatively easy for me, my mechanical skills are all self taught though but I manage pretty well with that, my nemesis is transmissions though, especially auto's, they are the devils work!! For future reference, caps are the most troublesome and unreliable electronic component, especially electrolytics and especially those made in the last 20-30 years. That being due to imports and cost cutting. When fault finding suspect them on sight and check routinely. When spec'ing replacements, go for the highest temp rating as these are made to a much better spec and will last longer, a higher voltage rating is also wise. Go for quality brands with a good reputation. Good luck!

[@milantrcka121]

I second that! Been there, done that.

[@gungadinn]

Electrolytic capacitors are the bane of the photographic industry for studio electronic flash units. I've got 6-8 Speedotron Blackline units that don't receive weekly or monthly use, but when I need them I have them. As such, the electrolytic capacitors require reconditioning (forming) prior to use. If this welder sat unused for over 6 months, then brought back into service, the capacitors are suspect. The place I found for replacement capacitors was the Canadian company that made them for Speedotron. It's old school and everyone wants hi-tech. Watch grabbing a capacitor of that size as they pack quite a punch with stored energy.

[@davecc0000]

The cap didn’t fail because it wasn’t reformed. It was hammered by something which resulted in an internal short circuit. It looks like an abused anvil. Wes, what was the cause of the hammer marks on the cap? Did you discover?

[@gungadinn]

@@davecc0000 You're correct on the dents, but as you saw, there are two spring brackets that hold the capacitor in place. There are no rotating parts that can access it to make it look like hail storm damaged part.

[@graemezimmer604]

@@davecc0000 Those are not hammer marks. That style of Electro is manufactured with dimples in the sides. If you look carefully the dimples are regularly and symmetrically placed. The thing I noticed was the white powder which suggests that it was leaking.

[@aaronschoessow9567]

Hi Wes! Great vidga. Logger wade reference! I followed your wire diagram explanation, I'm not a electrician. I am however a RV service tech of 29 years, I know enough to get by. My dad owns a metal manufacturing company, Ag industry we have welders from Miller that are OLD. Like 39 years old. Have had the miller company try to buy them back from us. We tell them NO Not Happening. They still work and we will run them into the ground 😂. Less moving parts less wear and tear. They're always trying to sell us new machines and we don't want them. Ps how did your wife find such a smart guy? Does she know how lucky she is? Lol keep up the great Vidgas.

[@martincollis3567]

Wes, I love your persistence in trying to figure out the problem. I myself would have given up but because you are who you are the client should be extremely satisfied. You are a blessed man having that kind of drive. Love the videos. I'll be watching.

[@chrisbarber3658]

I learn so much from your channel, thanks for making these videos.

[@WatchWesWork]

Glad you like them!

[@stjohnschurchcolumbus]

Excellent job Wes! A cheap load bank is to short out the leads. Look at the rating of the welder and the duty cycle and choose amperage and time appropiately. Welders are used to thaw out frozen water lines all the time. Gery

[@johnfry9010]

NIce job Wes , congratulations on the 100 K , I'm sure the owner of that welder is a new lifetime customer .

[@rodneypidcock6903]

Awesome job on the Miller, Wes. Like so many other dealer service facilities, I suspect they figured the customer would just buy a new one with a diagnosis of a catastrophic failure. And I'm with ya on that Lincoln welder. It's just like modern appliances, controlled by a computer that has no business being there. Heat and vibration destroy electronics faster than anything else. Some things just don't need to be computerized.

[@davidstreeter9426]

In my previous life as an electronics tech I often got headed down the wrong road and wasted a lot of time. Most problems have a simple cause rathe than a complicated one and benefit from taking a break to redirect the thought process. Also, early in the evolution of computer technology I realized that computer types easily became enamored with all the wonderful things which could be done regardless of the amount of unnecessary complications which they created.

[@RustyRogers]

A considerable testament about Miller vs. Lincoln.

[@brettphillips8650]

Very little difference between them, truthfully.

[@DaftOldMan]

Over the years I have found that it is always a good idea to look for signs of damaged capacitors. Congratulations on almost 100K subs. I am still hoping for 100 one day.

[@WatchWesWork]

You'll get there!

[@ragfour9303]

Just subbed :) 57 now. I like the pocket balance resto you did.

[@DaftOldMan]

@@ragfour9303 thank you. You are very kind

[@daveayerstdavies]

Take care when measuring electrolytic capacitors for static resistance. Setting aside the obvious precautions when working with capacitors, the reading you get will initially show a short circuit then will slowly charge the capacitor at a rate proportional to the capacitor value and the source impedance of the meter. Keep the probes on the component terminals a few extra seconds rather than just seeing a 'short' and immediately removing the meter.

[@poolmotorrepairguyFL]

The Florida pool pump motor repair guy approved ! Wes that was good info

[@hgj2019]

Great thing about stretching the limit of your abilities is that NOW you have a new, expanded limit.🤠

[@metubewot]

Once again Wes', you go getting into stuff that would frighten me. I admit that I fixed stuff that was out of my comfort zone, but not as much as you do. Loved the video.

[@WatchWesWork]

It's good to push things sometimes. I get a little carried away.

[@rbyledbal]

Congratulations are reaching this milestone Wes!!!

[@srlstephen8465]

Another interesting video Wes. I hope your subscription continues to grow way beyond 100K. By the way, on older electronic equipment I always head straight for the electrolytic caps. They are undoubtedly one of the weak links as equipment ages.🇬🇧

[@timlarcombe9096]

You are very modest and one smart cookie