PowerPro 256 AC Not Working

Set up to weld some .25 aluminum but I only get a quiet DC arc. Sounds exactly like welding steel and no cleaning action at all. I've checked and recheck settings, flipped the ac/dc switch back and forth, moved the ac balance around but no change. It's putting out the amps and melts the aluminum with ease. When I flip the switch from AC to DC the display drops a few amps. When I put it back to AC the display reads the number I set for AC again so all that seems normal.
Settings, Pulse off, 180 amp, switch to AC, freq and balance at 2 and 10, HF, Tig, 2T with the pedal, pre flow 1, post flow 6, torch in negative, clean new 6061 aluminum .25"

It's gotta be something simple.

Since you can't turn off the HF, it might not be such a good idea to measure the output with a voltmeter to confirm that it's DC. You can go to stick mode in AC and measure the outputs to see if it's DC only.

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Originally Posted by Rambozo

Since you can't turn off the HF, it might not be such a good idea to measure the output with a voltmeter to confirm that it's DC. You can go to stick mode in AC and measure the outputs to see if it's DC only.

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The arc is very quiet with no cleaning action at all.

Check under the cover toward the front of the top board and make sure all your plugs are firmly seated.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rambozo

Since you can't turn off the HF, it might not be such a good idea to measure the output with a voltmeter to confirm that it's DC. You can go to stick mode in AC and measure the outputs to see if it's DC only.

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Actually, not all PP256's will do AC in stick mode ... mine does not.

Cheers
Mike

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Originally Posted by posixPilot

Actually, not all PP256's will do AC in stick mode ... mine does not.

Cheers
Mike

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Boo. I was wondering about that and had to go through the manual since it wasn't listed in the specs. Of course I looked at the newest version of the manual. I know there have been some changes. Do you have the CNC port?
Not that I would use it much, but there are times where AC for stick is nice. I bet with the right settings you could probably do stick with the machine set in TIG mode if you really needed to. I know I used a foot pedal once for stick welding where all I had was my TIG machine. It worked rather well as I had some really messed up torch cut and rusted away steel to do vertical welds on with a horrible fitup and lots of gaps to fill with 6011. Having HF start for stick almost felt like cheating, too.

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Originally Posted by Rambozo

Boo. I was wondering about that and had to go through the manual since it wasn't listed in the specs.

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Yeah, the website actually listed AC SMAW until a couple of months ago, so you are in good company ;) . Mine does have the CNC port, but doesn't appear to weld in AC/stick ... when I tried it the arc and weld quality was identical to DC.

Cheers
Mike

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Originally Posted by performance

Check under the cover toward the front of the top board and make sure all your plugs are firmly seated.

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Just got a chance to work on it this morning. I pulled the cover and checked the plugs... never felt one seat any further but I fired it up and AC is working again.
Thanks for the help.

Glad to hear you're back in business. It always bugs me when I can't find the problem and something fixes itself.

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Originally Posted by zoama585

Just got a chance to work on it this morning. I pulled the cover and checked the plugs... never felt one seat any further but I fired it up and AC is working again.
Thanks for the help.

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Probably a loose wire in the plug then.