Advantage Tools 3-in-1 Thermal Light

[thatguy]

Hello,

I'm thatguy and this is my first post. I'm a hobbist from the midwest who picked up this Advantage Tools AT680 Pro 3-in1 Tig/Stick/Plasma a month ago. I bought it "used" (never opened or used) and have since been using it every other day since. It was working great until last night and this morning.

I have it wired for 220 in my garage and I was cutting with it until the thermal light came on (first time that's happened). By then I was finished for the night so I shut everything down. This morning I tried to use it again but the thermal light comes on if I switch to Stick or if I try to use the plasma.

The ambient temp is about 80 degrees, nothing appears to be blown inside the machine, I just hear the thermal relay click when I try to do anything.

I know it's a Chinese welder, but if anyone can help me diagnose this I would be very grateful.

Here are some videos of what I'm experiencing.
http://youtu.be/bzNoDxaIVXA
http://youtu.be/efeKicdoBQE

[DSW]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but import 3 in 1 machines in general have a bad reputation of going "bang" and frying the electronics, usually shortly after purchase. With a "used" machine and no warranty, you are probably screwed.

You might check with Mechanic416 here. He's one of the few I know of that works on import plasmas. Most places won't touch 3 in 1 import of units for a number of reasons. #1 manuals aren't really available. You have to be able to trouble shoot these things without a manual. #2 parts aren't really available. You can't just buy a board in most cases and plug it in. You have to rebuild them from scratch or have "donor" machines laying around to scavenge for parts. #3 by the time you add up parts and labor, you usually have more into the machine than it's worth....


If it makes you feel any better, you aren't the only new guy who's been suckered into the "lots of options at one low price" gimmick. Good luck with your machine and if nothing else hopefully your next item will be one that's easier to support and has a better track record.


Edit: one other thought... You didn't by chance use your credit card for the purchase did you? Many cards have "warranty" coverage that might take care of something like this. You might check into this as one possible option to "save" yourself a lot of hassle. Time is usually limited with things like this so don't wait too long before looking into it. Also I'm tell them this was NOS, not "used" as I doubt they cover used items, but probably cover unopened "new" ones.

[thatguy]

Thanks for the reply DSW, I traded some tools and parts for the welder so I'm not really out "money" so to speak. I'm not terribly bummed, this is mostly an experiment.

I have done a thorough look at the innards and there is nothing that appears to be blown or charred. I'm not afraid to tinker with it, I've got time on my hands.

Thankfully I have my other welders at my disposal

[lugweld]

Have you called their tech support? This is a fairly primitive machine and shouldn't be that hard to figure out for them.

[forhire]

You might check the manual but some thermal disconnects have to be manually reset by pushing a small button on it. Once tripped it will stay on until reset. That said most welders have thermal breaks that reset when the temperature returns to normal. Good luck.

[turbocad6]

yeah, my lincoln plazma cutter has a reset button that has to be pressed after a thermal or any other trouble is set, but it's right there on the face and says "reset", I would think a reset button should be obvious but maybe you missed it?

[thatguy]

There is no reset as far as I can tell, I'm going to give it another check to be sure. The manual is worthless and the company changed their name (as far as I can tell) to Accurate Tools.

Thanks for the replies everyone, I'll keep you updated if I find something, a fuse maybe.

[forhire]

Originally Posted by thatguy

The manual is worthless and the company changed their name (as far as I can tell) to Accurate Tools.

If this is their website http://www.accuratetools.com/ ... it's likely equally worthless as the manual but there is a least some contact information.

Be sure to scroll down and read the terms of usage... posted on their main page.