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MILLER 211 welder gun trigger switch problem?

90zcar

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Nov 8, 2013
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So lately in the past week I'd say I have sporadic times where I squeeze the trigger on the gun of my miller 211 and nothing happens. Usually u will hear the relay kick followed by the whine of the drive roll spinning.
Does anyone know if these switches go bad or any other common issue that would cause these results.
It doesn't matter if I'm on 110 or 220


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71goldss

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May 23, 2012
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Northern Calif
My son has a Lincoln and was using my 211 for the first time last week. Being unfamiliar with it, and not looking closely, he flipped the spool gun switch, thinking he was turning the welder on. Same thing, no sound or feed! After checking a few areas and thinking my 211 developed an issue, we discovered his mistake and laughed it off! No sound coming from the welder at all should have been his first clue, but it was noisy in the garage that day! I know it's highly unlikely, but any chance that is happening on yours?
 
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90zcar

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No I checked that. Plus like I said it's doing it sporadically


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Rossco

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Jun 29, 2011
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Great White North
Nice weldor. Used one lots.

The cannon plug is secured?

Kinda hard to TS as am sure you have tried everything we could suggest.

Swapping out the Gun / Ambi would be the easiest way to tell.
 

CGT80

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IE, SoCal, USA
The switch on the mig gun can wear out. I wore one out on my Miller 135. It was a $20 fix and the lws had one in stock.
 

sk farmer

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Mar 4, 2009
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nd
So lately in the past week I'd say I have sporadic times where I squeeze the trigger on the gun of my miller 211 and nothing happens. Usually u will hear the relay kick followed by the whine of the drive roll spinning.
Does anyone know if these switches go bad or any other common issue that would cause these results.
It doesn't matter if I'm on 110 or 220


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sounds like the liner is dry/dirty and when the lead is kinked or twisted too much it sticks. if the relay kicks in and the roll is spinning the wire should be moving.
 

wayne55

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Oct 28, 2010
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I ran into this problem yesterday, but it turned out what I was trying to weld still had enough paint on it that it the arc would not start. After I sanded to bare metal, all was good. Probably not your problem, but I thought I would throw it out.

I have read other posts in the past, where they would open the handle and something was wrong with the switch though or either a wire had come loose.
 
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90zcar

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So I called miller this morning and the guy told me to run a jumper wire to where the gun switch connects and try that. He said if that always works it's something in the switch. If I still have issues it's something in the machine


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90zcar

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I think the OP means the machine is dead when the trigger is pulled.

Usually the relay fires and the spool spins.


Yes this is exactly what's happening. Sometimes when I pull the trigger I get absolutely nothing. No relay noise or drive roll spin.


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90zcar

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Haha I'm lost now. I unplugged the switch connection at the machine and ran a jumper wire and toggle and it worked every time for about 40 times I did it.
Then I hooked it up like normal and the gun works every time. So now it seems to be fine. Who knows I'm lost now lol

I took the handle apart and pulled the switch out and played with it and cleaned it and it seems to pivot fine and connect.
68d5670928d5ad9b4674eb0469756779.jpg


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merr6267

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Nov 17, 2010
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Ravenna, MI
You may have had a dirty or corroded contact in the connector. When you took it apart it jarred the contaminants or corrosion loose enough that you now have good contact.

Now that you know how simple it is, you'll have somewhere to start in the future.

Another thought; you might have a sketchy wire in the gun whip. In some positions you might have contact, in other positions the copper conductors might be separating within the sleeve. This is possible if something small and sharp penetrated the rubber sleeve of the gun and penetrated the copper.

Good luck.
PM
 

Ign

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Jul 7, 2006
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Butte Peak ND
Is this an M10 gun? (M25 uses the same trigger and I'm assuming other models too).

If so, YES THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM.

These switches are terrible.

Very common.

Miller can't build a MIG gun to save their life. Walk into any pro shop or tech school and they've ditched the Miller guns.

Very common problem, a new trigger will get you going again, for awhile.
 
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90zcar

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This welder is only a little over 3 years old as well and I only use it here and there so it's not like it's used much.


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90zcar

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85bbe7a6df90ba5305305524869806ba.jpg
Bought a new switch on eBay so well start there


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90zcar

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Just wanted to give an update. It's been 4 months now and have t had a lick of trouble with my welder since I replaced the switch with a new aftermarket one from eBay.


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