Champion 10000 failed board

[andrewc]

Hi there, new member hoping to get some insight on a repeat problem that Im having with my Hobart Champion 10000.
It had a board failure about 150 hours ago when that happened the f1 fuse on front of the blew and kept blowing and no weld output. I had it replaced by a good repair shop in town and had no issues except the idle would kick up on its own every now and then. I suspect boosting it may have fried it as I have read that on the forum.
I ran it for over a year with 100 hours or so of genset use and then the remaining time welding with some very light air arc. This week I was welding 7018 at 120 amps and had got in two rods and then it loaded down and then stopped welding. I still could run a grinder on the outlet but when I went to strike an arc it would not burn so I dropped it off at my repair shop again and they are saying it needs a board again. This time no fuses blown. I trust their diagnosis but I am wondering why I have failed another board in such a short time. They say they cannot find any other issues right now and I have a board on order and it should be in Tuesday. They also contacted Hobart support and they have no idea why this happened.
I was wondering if another component could fail the board or if they are just bad boards. I haven't had to boost it since I bought it used. If this unit is going to die again I would like to know so I can plan to buy another machine and sell this one working. It has 800hrs on it now.
Any ideas would be appreciated
Thanks

[duaneb55]

When you say it "loaded down" do you mean like it would if you were welding? If so, I'd suspect failed weld output rectifier diodes that failed shorted and then burned open.

Easy for the techs to test but may have been overlooked due to tunnel vision as a result of the previous board failure.

[andrewc]

Hi duane, it loaded the engine further down than what I was currently welding at, then the engine picked back up and then no weld output. Are the rectifier diodes in the "toaster looking thing" were the two large wires come from the generator? If they install the board will it fail right away with it on their load bank or will it fail down the road after the warranty expires on the repair?

[duaneb55]

If the diodes failed open it'll show up on the load bank test 'cause there won't be any weld output.

I guess you could describe the weld output rectifier as a "toaster looking thing".

[andrewc]

Got it daune, could the board still be good and it is just the diodes? I did a few checks on them before I sent it in and I think they were ok but I don't fully understand how to test them as the diodes I test are out of the machine and far less in quantity. I put my meter on the plate and the other lead on the wire and it shows continuity both ways with 0.5vdc to bias them. The plates were still bolted together but the wires were disconnected. I don't know if this means anything to you though.

[andrewc]

Apparently we have a a bad rotor, Im glad they found it. Its not going to be cheap though.