tigwave 250 problem

[kobra_428]

I just fell into a tigwave 250. I was told it did nothing, so i tried it and they didn't lie. I replaced the plug and power cord and then it would power up. still no hi freq. or output currant. I found a broken electrical thing ( like a long brow coil or resistor ) on the right side above the transformer it connects to a relay and to the currant selector switch. i have no manual or diagram, and worst of all , the ink on the part is all faded, and I cant replace something, if i dont know what it is. If someone has a manual/diagram or any other helpful info, I would be very thankful.

[DrIQ]

That was part of the Hobart industrial equipment that Thermal Arc has. You should be able to get the info from them at 1-800-462-2782.

[kobra_428]

Thanx....now have my manual, and a name for the part. It is a 4 Ohm, 100 wat load resistor.
thanks again fer the info!

[sunpeople]

Hi Kobra, welcome to the site, i own a tig wave 250 too i use it in my small machine shop. I do alot of stainless steel fab work for two food companys here in town. When i bought my welder i tried to find a service manual for it and all i could find was a owners manual.

I called Thermal Arc customer service and asked them if they had a service manual i could get a copy of and they told me that all they had was some test point sheets that they could fax or email me but they said that they dont have a service manual for that welder.

After i got off of the phone with them i though about what they said and i guess what they must do is just test the different chips and items per the test points and if a item does not check out they just replace the whole board and don't take the time to find out what item failed on the board.

If i keep the welder and as time goes by it will become more important to be able to trouble shoot the items on each board due to the fact that repair and replacement parts will start to dry up and if i plan to keep the welder and not just buy a new one (and who has a few grand sitting around) then being able to repair it becomes more important to me.

Back in Febuary when i got my welder i called the parts department and they told me that they still had a good stock of most everything with only one or two items being out of stock with no plans to buy more. Now one of those items that is out of stock was the high frequency board so if that dies on yours our my welder it will stop our welder in its tracks unless we find a used one. One other item i think i will buy is a set of points for the welder and just save them till the time comes that they need to be replaced.

They did tell me that they do have most of the accessory for our welders so if you need or want something for your welder it might be a good idea to get it now. One of a few items i did buy for my welder was the pulser, (out of stock with them you will need to find a used one) i got it used from another member here on weld talk and it works great on thin sheet metal. The other item i got was the remote hand control, it comes in handy when you cant use the foot control.

If you have any question about your welder you can PM me and i will see if i can help you find the answer.

[LarryL]

Search "Literature" section of TA website

Kobra and Sun, if you search the "Literature" section of Thermal Arc's website, you might find a service manual for the Tigwave 250. I was able to find a service manual for my discontinued 300GTSW tig welder a few weeks ago by searching through that section. In fact I just now did a brief search and found some items related to the Tigwave 250. Go to the "Order Literature" subsection of the Literature section, and continue selecting "Thermal Arc." Eventually you will come to a long list of manuals, brochures and pamphlets that you can order. In this list I found at least two pertinent items: one appears to be a manual for a Tigwave 250 and the other a manual for a Tigwave 250 AC/DC. No indication was given whether they're operator's manuals or service manuals. You may want to follow this up with emails to the person in charge of ordering literature. I sent emails inquiring about the price of a service manual for my welder. They replied and sent me one free of charge.
LarryL

[sunpeople]

Hi LarryL, thanks for the input but i already have checked the info on Thermal Arc web site and the items you are talking about are both the same thing "owners manuals for the Tigwave 250".

After i bought my welder i spent about two days on the phone and called just about everybody that had anything to do with the Tigwave 250 welder to try and find a service manual and i kept getting the same answer "They dont have one" and if you have a problem "call our service deptpartment

So i called the guys at the service department of Thermal Arc and ask them what they would use to help a tech in the field repair and trouble shoot a Tigwave 250 and they told me that all they have is a test point sheet and a trouble flow sheet and thats it. So i ask them for a copy of anything and everything they had and they sent me the test point sheet but all that does is tell you if a board is bad but not whats bad on the board.

So that's all the information i have ever been able to find on my welder, but if someone has a service manual for the Tigwave 250 i would be more than happy to pay for a copy but from the info i got from Thermal Arc they never made one.