I thought this was standard for the non digital. the first arc turns the lens on, then as long as it sees an arc within 30 minutes it stays on. my friend that has a non digital learned to close his eyes for the strike. I got the digital which I have to turn on with the button

 

Maybe I just don't remember how it worked when it was new or the flash didn't bother me then. It does seem to be a recent noticeable issue.

One would think that the instruction manual would mention to close your eyes on the first strike. That would seem to be a poor selling point, however.

All I'd need to hear is one weldor that has the non-digital Elite and doesn't have this flashing problem to convince me that it shouldn't be happening.

Even my old Hobart solar didn't flash. Might go back to it.

 

I can't remember if my non digital Elite has this issue or not. I always turn it on manually and tip it towards the sun or the overhead lights to make sure it darkens and is functioning before I go to it. If I make it out to the shop this afternoon to do some tig welding on a few projects, I'll pay attention and see if this happens to mine. I'll just pull it out and strike an arc. I can't remember off the top of my head if this hood will fire up automatically or not right now or if you have to manually turn it on at 1st..

 

If I don't push the on button before the first arc I get a flash.

 

The non-digital Elite doesn't have an "on" button that I'm aware of. If you mean the "reset" button then that sounds like a great thing to try. If it "turns on" the helmet then that is another work around. The OEM manual doesn't say anything about it. (The manual is too large to attach here as a .pdf file.)

I had that happen to me once. Try this turn the shade up and down a few times then the senativety then the delay reset everything back to were you want it, let it set for a few hours and try it. It worked for me.

This will be the first thing to try. So....you were getting flashed each start of the day before you did this trick?

I Googled and checked the Miller website forum and nobody seems to mention this oddity.

 

I had that happen to me once. Try this turn the shade up and down a few times then the senativety then the delay reset everything back to were you want it, let it set for a few hours and try it. It worked for me.

 

I just had the same problem with mine Wednesday - went to local Airgas and we replaced battteries , but didnt help. I was told after 3 years its a comin problem and only fix is buy a new hood. Wasnt to pleased , but i changed to a Lincoln hood , not worth trying another miller.

 

I have the same problem with an OPTREL auto-darkening helmet. The Miller guy here told me to just sit it in the sun for a few hours or under a 100 w lightbulb for 24 hr. It doesn't have a replaceable battery, so when it will no longer take a charge the lens/sensor has to be replaced or it gets kicked to the curb. These aren't cheap helmets and when someone spends $400 on a helmet and and this still happens, I begin to think of buying disposable helmets or going to non-auto. A few on the various forums have had the same trouble with the Elite model. Makes you wonder about the mainline manufacturers when their helmets start at $300.

 

Agree about the "get what you pay for" expectation. One could buy ten Harbor Freight helmets for the price of one of the "premium" ones. Just toss the HF one and replace it when a problem comes up. (Maybe not the best solution for those that weld 12 hour shifts.)

I'm going to rummage around and see if the receipt for the Elite can be found. We will see if the Miller customer service reputation is all that some make it out to be. Since it sounds like a fairly common problem it should be solvable - maybe a new sensor.

 

Just hit the reset button. Verify the lens goes dark breifly. Then start welding. No more flashes.
If you aren't welding for 30min, just tap the reset button to give it a wake up before you start welding again.

 

if you have an old infrared remote use it to test/start the AD. i keep an old one in the shop to test my hoods that have set for a while.

 

the button on my Elite says On, and something in smaller print below. I have always used the on button and never had the flash problem before.