Miller 252 Welder Problem

[formenwhogrow]

I have a brand new Miller 252 mig welder that is giving me fits. The machine welds great on all settings for 7 seconds then I lose the arc. As soon as I pull the trigger again, it will start right back up. IT will weld for 7 seconds, stop, then when I let go and re-squeeze the trigger, it will start right back up and weld for another 7 seconds. It is not a wire feeding problem,as when i pull the gun away from the metal, it will feed wire out till heck won't have it. Thoughts?
 

[Uncle Ernie]

Sounds like a warranty problem to me. If it was our new welder it would be a phone call and then back to Miller in a heartbeat. Support and service quality is what you are supposed to get with American made machines!
 

[Ken-Pa]

I'd say return it to the dealer before more time goes by . Could be a bad or weak transformer or reostat or maybe a circuit board failure . As new welder designs change , I'm not sure what all components are used nowadays . Locally we have an electric repair shop that repairs welders of all types & ages . Years ago , my welder was acting up by cutting out during some steady welding , so I took it down to that repair shop . All it was , was alot of dust buildup & a film build up from fumes produced from welding . They blew it out good , spray lots of cleaner & cleaned all components . They advised me to occassionally use air pressure to blow the insides out . But if yours is a new machine , that won't be your problem . Be sure to share what you find to be your problem . Merry CHRISTmas & God bless , Ken
 

[Butch(OH)]

We had the exact same problem with our 252 that was new during the summer. Was about to take it back and had somebody watch the feeder while welding. Ours was stopping due to slippage at the rolls even though it was set correctly as per the book and would start right back up feeding as you said. We are running .035 S-7 wire and had to crank the tension knob way down to get it to stop doing it.
 

[jon f mn]

I've had several of those type Miller welders. Started with a 250, then 250x, then 251. There may have been 1 or 2 more in there. Had a real hard time with them. None of the guys that worked for me would run them. Had a Lincoln about the same and a Miller Vintage too. The Vintage and lincoln would use about 1/10 the tips and other parts that the 250's would use. When I complained to Miller they told me I was the only one that complained, but every 2 years or so a new model comes out bragging about fixing the problems I complained about. They are especially hard with a spool gun on aluminum. The 250's would use at least a tip for each 1# spool of wire where the vintage runs about 8-10 rolls through 1 tip.
 

[Stick welding]

Sounds like a contactor problem. The contactor turns the weld power on when you pull the trigger. Look for a loose wire but it should be a warranty issue. 252's are a good machine.
 

[dieselpup]

Don"t those machines have a "tack" weld setting. My friend"s 252 did the same thing when brand new and he just needed to change a setting.
 

[camolabs]

i have been welding with a 250 for years. when i have this problem its is usually the feed rolls slippng.
 

[Stick welding]

The gun is made in Mexico and I'm sure other parts as well.
 

[jon f mn]

The way it was explained to me is that the 250 and newer are all electronic and don't have contactors. Miller has been trying to get rid of contactor machines because they are more expensive to manufacture and don't last as long. Had the contactors go out on my vintage when it was 2 years old, just off warranty, cost $800.00 to fix. But that was when we were building racks for 4wheelers for Arctic Cat, Polaris and Honda. So the thing would do thousands of 1" welds every day. Miller tried to get me to use the 250's, but they would build up enough static charge between welds that it would stick the wire to the tip. The quality control on the Honda's especially made it so that wouldn't work.
 

[torch guy]

My 252 did that once. Poor connection on the ground clamp
 

[Handyman]

[504]

Enables operator to preset voltage and wire feed speed. Standard run-in, pre/postflow, burnback, spot/delay (stitch) timer menu.(From Miller sales flier)You have it in stitch mode
 

[LAA]

Check your wiring one more time, weak ground or blue wire loose inhibiting gas.
 

[JD Seller]

Make sure you do not have it set on stitch welding. If it is not that I would contact whom ever you bought it from. I have one Miller 252 it has had a bad circuit board and it acted that way then. Was out of warranty too.