pp256 spark in front of panel

finally had a bit of time this weekend to do some welding, only the second time i get to use this machine, set up the tig, open up the regulator, just going to purge my line, regulator wasen`t working, was just going to tap on like i dod last time and noticed a nice bright spark coming from the tig switch plug in to a bolt on the side panel, so i imediately checked the connection and removed and re-installed it and as soon as i hit the trigger on the torch i get this spark, WTF!!!

http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/a...1/IMG_0149.jpg
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/a...1/IMG_0149.jpg

That's the HF jumping. Don't use it until you call in. Likely something is touching somewhere.

called in yesterday, took the cover off, there is a chassis ground and a whatyoumacallit? capacitor on the positive side, i did find the pilot arc wire was really loose so i tightened that one up, when i use the torch with the hand operated trigger as soon as i touch the trigger i get the spark, if i then install the pedal i then get no spark, looked closely at the front connector and board and i see nothing out of the ordinary

http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/a...1/IMG_0150.jpg

the other end of the yellow green wire is bolted to the bottom of the chassis

Charger, I can’t see the other end of the yellow and green wire, it should be connected to the chassis for a ground.

If that’s OK I would remove the screw and scrape the paint off a little under the screws that connect the yellow/green wire to the front panel and the welder chassis.



Ray

Ray, it is imposible to remove and clean that ground, you basically have to gutt the machine to get to the screw, what i did instead is run a new ground wire from the side front panel to the machine ground on the back top of the machine, still have spark on the front panel

It may not be a ground issue. It may be a torch issue, where the torch switch wires are touching or too close to the Power Cable inside the torch. The spark may be being picked up along the route. Are you using a water cooler with your torch? The fact is is happening with the torch switch plugged in could suggest some stray HF in the torch cable or at the torch head transferring to the plug wires. You could "test it" by hooking the foot pedal up to the unit. Then stick something such as a paper clip inside the torch connector pins and create a small spark gap between the pins and the table or case. Then press the foot pedal and see if spark is jumping from the pins to the table or the unit case.

Definately seems to be coming from the torch, if the pedal itself is connected then it isolates the torch head from the machine, i only get the spark when using the torch trigger not the foot pedal, never ran the machine without the water cooler, only the second time using the tig function and the first time was using the pedal. will try the paperclip idea tonight when i get home.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by charger891

Definately seems to be coming from the torch, if the pedal itself is connected then it isolates the torch head from the machine, i only get the spark when using the torch trigger not the foot pedal, never ran the machine without the water cooler, only the second time using the tig function and the first time was using the pedal. will try the paperclip idea tonight when i get home.

---

I had a similar spark problem when I first got my PP256. The pilot terminal for plasma use was loose and I removed the cover to correct that. Not sure if that fixed the sparking, as I mostly use pedal for TIG welding. But, some time later, when I was using the "torch switch", the arc for welding would start just by holding the handle a certain way and not touching the switch. When I opened-up the handle, I found that too much insulation was removed from the small wires soldered to the switch terminals, allowing the exposed copper to touch if the handle was twisted just right. Unsoldering, trimming the excess, and re-soldering, fixed the self-starting problem. I think maybe the original exposed copper leads could have also been picking-up some HF, causing the original sparking problem??

Yep, my pilot arc was also loose but tightening it didn`t fix my problem, i`ll check the handle tonight. stuck 2 pieces of copper household wire into the torch switch terminals with a small gap and used the pedal, no spark present, thought of this this morning and i should of pressed the tig torch switch while pressing the pedal, then i might have a spark.

took the handle apart, the wires were nicely soldered to the switchboard, no extra exposed wire, not sure if this handle is the same as yours but there is a plastic divider between the switch assembly and the torch leads and the first two lines closest to the switch are waterlines, So Everlast what`s the next step??

Did you try it while pressing the switch?

I`ll try it tonight, need the machine so i`ll just have to use the pedal for now!

charger891

i have a solution .. please email me your info or call me

tried copper household wire in both terminals with a small gap, using the pedal and activating the torch switch,no spark between the two pieces of copper, then took the plug and brought it close to the screw which the spark was occuring ,soon as the pedal is pressed and i can get a spark , looks like i need a new torch!

Oleg, i tried e-mailing you but i`m having issues with hotmail!seems i can`s send anything! my email is glmechanicalperf@hotmail.com