Lincoln Power Arc 5000 AC Welder

jlgurr · Jun 5, 2014

Trying to help my father-in-law with his welder that petered out today. It's a portable welder that's been virtually trouble free. Today, while welding it seemed to slowly lose power and eventually faded to nothing. In the past, anytime it gave trouble it was pretty quick to stop welding, no fade like it did today. Nameplate: Code # 10255 Serial # U1960100053.

Below are some photos of it, if only to help identify it. There are no visible signs of failure.

Would anyone have a suggestion of what to look for or any diagnostics we can perform?

Thank you,
Jeff

CNC Dan · Jun 5, 2014

When you say lose power, do you mean the engine boggs down, or do you mean that the welding power drops off?

With the code number and serial number you should be able to download any documentation that Lincoln Electric has.

jlgurr · Jun 5, 2014

The arc faded out. Engine still runs normal.

CNC Dan · Jun 6, 2014

jlgurr said:
The arc faded out. Engine still runs normal.

You have a bad connection some where. Could be in the output circut, or the field circut.

Mark @ Everlast · Jun 6, 2014

Also, check and make sure your work cables aren't corroded. I've had an issue on an engine drive where the unit kept fading over time and it was that the cables were corroded and as they were used, the longer they were used the more they heated up and even would smoke a little. I suspect they were undersized to begin with, but as the heat rose so did the resistance, and the arc got awfully weak after a while.

jlgurr · Jun 6, 2014

CNC Dan said:
You have a bad connection some where. Could be in the output circut, or the field circut.

Thank you Dan. We will check this out and I was able to download the operating manual this morning. They have a few tests in there that we can do and help find the problem. I appreciate your suggestions. :thumbsup:

jlgurr · Jun 6, 2014

Mark @ Everlast said:
Also, check and make sure your work cables aren't corroded. I've had an issue on an engine drive where the unit kept fading over time and it was that the cables were corroded and as they were used, the longer they were used the more they heated up and even would smoke a little. I suspect they were undersized to begin with, but as the heat rose so did the resistance, and the arc got awfully weak after a while.

Thank you Mark. Another good suggestion!