Welding machine inverter DIY repair

In detail: do-it-yourself inverter welding machine repair from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

If you know how to repair welding inverters with your own hands, then you can fix most of the problems yourself. Possession of information about other faults will prevent unreasonable costs for service maintenance.

Welding inverter machines provide high quality welding with minimum professional skills and maximum welder comfort. They have a more complex design than welding rectifiers and transformers and, accordingly, less reliable. Unlike the aforementioned predecessors, which are mostly electrical products, inverter devices are a rather complex electronic device.

Therefore, in the event of a failure of any component of this equipment, an integral part of diagnostics and repair will be checking the performance of diodes, transistors, zener diodes, resistors, and other elements of the inverter's electronic circuit. It is possible that you will need to be able to work not only with a voltmeter, digital multimeter, and other ordinary measuring equipment, but also with an oscilloscope.

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The repair of inverter welding machines also differs in the following feature: there are often cases when it is impossible or difficult to determine the faulty element by the nature of the malfunction and you have to consistently check all the components of the circuit. From all of the above, it follows that for a successful self-repair, knowledge in electronics (at least at the initial, basic level) and little skills in working with electrical circuits are required. In the absence of these, do-it-yourself repairs can result in a waste of energy, time and even lead to additional malfunctions.

Video (click to play).

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An instruction is included with each unit, which contains a complete list of possible malfunctions and the corresponding solutions to the problems that have arisen. Therefore, before doing anything, you should familiarize yourself with the recommendations of the manufacturer of the inverter.

All malfunctions of welding inverters of any type (household, professional, industrial) can be divided into the following groups:

  • caused by the wrong choice of the welding operating mode;
  • associated with the failure or malfunction of the electronic components of the device.

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In any case, the welding process is difficult or impossible. Several factors can cause a problem with the machine. They should be identified sequentially, moving from a simple action (operation) to a more complex one. If all the recommended checks are completed, but normal operation of the welding machine has not been restored, then there is a high probability of a malfunction of the inverter module electrical circuit. The main reasons for the failure of an electronic circuit are:

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  • Ingress of moisture into the device - most often occurs due to precipitation (snow, rain).
  • Dust accumulated inside the housing interferes with the normal cooling of the electronic components. As a rule, most of the dust gets into the machine when it is used on construction sites. To prevent this from causing damage to the inverter, it must be cleaned periodically.
  • Failure to comply with the manufacturer's mode of continuity of welding work can also lead to failure of the inverter electronics as a result of its overheating.