2-wire gun to 4-wire connector

[ayelvington]

I'm helping the local school bring a welder back to life and have run into a snag. The welder (600+Amps) has an external wire feed (Miller) The wire feed has a 4-wire line running to the gun, but the gun only has a single contact set. I have the manual that shows where the wires go, but it gives no details on what they are connected to (voltage, ground, etc.) We found the pair that starts the wire feed, but I need to be able to adapt the connector to the single contact to wire/gas/current.

Does anyone know if the two pairs on a Miller 4-wire share a common ground? If so, I could diode isolate them and use the single pair to ground both lines at the same time.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. It's a Miller SS-12 spool drive; serial number KH507964 (http://www.millerwelds.com/om/o1583v_mil.pdf)

 

[Jim in ICT]

Al, gather all the information on all the equipment you have (model number;part number;serial number) and call Miller's tech line. Their tech guys are the best and should be able to tell you how to complete your wiring, whether it will be possible to do this, or might have an actual cable with a part number that you could purchase. The call may also prevent you from toasting a piece of equipment.

 

[DaveOmak]

Don't know all the details but, I asked my welding shop why my welder did not idle when the gun was plugged in.
They said the gun has a 110v AC circuit in it to keep the welder up to full RPM ready to start welding when the trigger is pulled.
Unlike stick, which idles then comes to full RPM when the circuit is completed on electrode contact.
I do not know electricity. There must be a 110v "loop" in the gun to complete the circuit and "fool" the generator circuit. The 2 wires that don't go to the trigger just may do that specific job.
I will be watching this thread to find out the real answer from a pro.
Glad you are helping the school. Good luck.

 

[ayelvington]

Dave and Jim: Thanks to both of you! I'm going back Monday a.m. to have another look at it. I'm pretty certain that the second pair is for the "voltage sense" option since the pair goes back to the optional "option" board. I'll certainly follow up with the tech support folks at Miller anyway since I'd like more detail to the documentation that I have. This thing is a beast, so I'll take some pictures! (I restrapped it from 3-phase 440VAC to 3-phase 208VAC, and it's rated up to 600A with .0625 wire.)

 

[yomax4]

Often times when there are 4 wires included in the plug, It is for dual schedual. You can click the trigger or another switch to toggle between thicknesses or other parameters.