Hello,
New here but have been reading this website for a long time
Thanks to Dave`s reviews, I now use a Fluke 179 and am very very happy with it.
My soldering station recently ceased to operate. The model is a Weller EC2100A-ESP and is in use with the EC1201A iron. It won`t heat the iron.
The station works fine, temp display and etc. is fine, the output gives 12.36V on the upper right pin, 3.5V on the pin underneath but between the two I measure 23.96V. How come ( first question )?
The two wires that go to the heating element are white and yellow. Between these pins on the station I get 23.96V as noted above. But when I measure on the iron pins for the same cables - there is no voltage. If I reference to ground I get the same readout on both - around 11.9V. But the station outputs 3.5V on the pin that measures 11.9V at the handle. The heater itself gives a reading of 12ohms so I suspect it is good, the temp sensor also seems good.
My own conclusion is this is a cable problem and one the cables have broken somewhere in the line, maybe either close to the handle or the station plug. But when I check for continuity, they seem fine and not intermixed. Really confused on what could be the problem.
The station has a switch which has "set" and "read" modes, when I put it to "read" it shows about 700C. I have no idea what the read mode is for, suspect it should show the tip temp and switch power being fed to it for safety so you can cool down the station safely ( only guessing hear ).
Would appreciate any input on this matter, thanks a lot!