Hobart 187 No Wire Feed

[OklahomaTJ]

I bought a Brand new, never used Hobart Handler 187 from Northern Tools a month ago and tried to use it for the first time last night and I couldn't. I'm using the flux core wire that was provided and I have the polarity set according to the instructions (it didn't work either way).

I made an extension cord going from the dryer to the garage, using 10/3 wire and here is how it's wired...


The welder has power, the fan turns on and when I engage the trigger on the gun it makes a loud solenoid clicking noise. That's it. That's all it does. The wire feed doesn't work.

Any ideas?

[Dan]

Disconnect the unit from input power. Then remover the side cover and look for a disconnected wire, maybe on the back side of the voltage selector switch.

[Tinkertech]

Hobart 187

In the picture I can not see the black wire on the male side of the plug. The 187 is 220 and there should be a black wire too.. Is it just the picture or is a wire missing? If the unit uses only one side ot the 220 to run the wire feed circuit then you may be missing the side of the 220 that is used to power the wire feed circuits.You may only have half of the 220 making it to the welder. Check and make sure you have 220 at the unit and not just 115. Also make sure your ground is good as that would be needed for any 115 circuits in the unit.

[willness33]

Ok OklahomaTJ, if you're sure all of your power connections are proper, and when you pull the trigger with the machine on and get no spin on the drive roller, I've got an idea. As I've read in other threads and advised in one, sometimes the 187s don't seem to get a proper Q&A on their way out of the manufacturer. Open the case and take a look inside the machine. Not just the door, but the actual cover. There seem to be simple connections missed on these things. Your problem may be as simple as a wire not plugged in on the wirespeed selector or drive motor, or even somewhere else. Basically, look for something not properly plugged in. PLEASE do this with the machine unplugged.

BTW, is your name TJ or are you a Jeep guy?

[blown3qtr]

My new HH 210 did this when I turned it on for the first time last night. Then started working fine. I read in the instruction that the drive wont work if the output selector is not fully engaged on one of the taps, i.e. "just a lil off". I don't know why mine started to work but has been fine since. I'm curious to know what you find to be the problem.

[JalopyBldr]

Is it me or are the contacts in the female receptacle parallel and the positive & negative contacts on the plug angled ? In other words, how do they fit together - are they making contact?

[OklahomaTJ]

Ok...yesterday I took the whole outer casing off and inspected everything. The circuit board was knocked loose from the side and the red/black wires going from the drive wheel to the circuit board were not even connected! I plugged it all back together and snapped the circuit board back into it's position and it works like a charm!

I'm a Jeep guy....building 2 jeeps right now with 1 welder. YJ-7 (CJ body YJ hood and grill) and my TJ on 1 tons and 42's.

Thanks for all your help. I can't believe it wasn't connected....

[Sberry]

They often get rattled during rough shipping.

[blown3qtr]

I think I better take a look inside.

Good to hear it's workin for ya!

[willness33]

Ok...yesterday I took the whole outer casing off and inspected everything. The circuit board was knocked loose from the side and the red/black wires going from the drive wheel to the circuit board were not even connected! I plugged it all back together and snapped the circuit board back into it's position and it works like a charm!

Like I said, it's not the first time I've heard of it happening.

I'm a Jeep guy....building 2 jeeps right now with 1 welder. YJ-7 (CJ body YJ hood and grill) and my TJ on 1 tons and 42's.

I've got a buddy with a YJ-7 and I run a TJ on 36s. I'm not quite to give up on the fun of little tires yet and pop for the tons. PM me some pics id you have any.