Bench Test / KickingHorse / M185

Test intent

Separate display-feedback complaints from true gun, feed, and power faults.
Confirm stable startup, correct feed behavior, and normal display response after repair.
Prove whether the complaint stays in the torch front end, source or inductance setup, or genuinely follows the display PCB branch.

Digital multimeter
Clean steel coupon
Known-good work clamp
Known-good MIG torch and consumables
Plain-steel wire baseline
Stable 208/230 V source with 40 A branch guidance for normal proof and 50 A time-delay breaker path for rated-output proof

Check	Expected condition	Result
Torch, liner, and tip baseline	clean and matched to wire size	pass / fail
Clamp and lead path	tight and clean	pass / fail
Display window and panel controls	intact and readable after service	pass / fail
Wire path baseline	free movement with tip removed	pass / fail
Source path baseline	correct `208/230 V` supply with breaker path matched to the intended proof level	pass / fail
Inductance baseline	returned to a sane known-good starting point before blame is placed on the machine	pass / fail

Checkpoint	Expected value or behavior	Record actual
Display on startup	stable and readable, not locked or obviously wrong
OCV baseline	about the official `72 V` class OCV
Feed at idle	stopped until trigger command
Display response arc-off to arc-on	preset values at idle, then actual values during weld rather than staying frozen
Inductance reset retest	starts improve or stay stable after returning inductance to sane baseline
No-feed plus bad display	treated as one electrical branch until proven otherwise
Protection light behavior	stays off during short proof weld on a correct source baseline

Test	Pass condition	Result
Stable startup	no abnormal display state	pass / fail
Trigger feed	feed starts on command and stops cleanly	pass / fail
Short MIG weld	stable weld with sensible display response after source and inductance baseline are normalized	pass / fail
Warm restart	no return of frozen display, no-feed condition, or protection-light complaint	pass / fail

No feed plus bad display: stay in display or control branch first.
Feed and arc healthy but display wrong: keep the complaint in the display path.
Display healthy but arc bad: stay in torch front-end, inductance, consumable, and source branch first.
Complaint changes with torch swap: stop before deeper board work.
Complaint improves when inductance is returned to a sane baseline: stop before display-board escalation.
Complaint appears only on weak source or wrong breaker path: stay in source branch first.
Protection light comes on during a short proof weld: stay in source, cooling, and current-path branch before board blame.

Use these only after the complaint has already been proven to follow the external torch or tip branch.
M185 product and accessories entry: official M185 product page
NT1-3E MIG torch KAM31003: official product page
Contact tip KOM32135: official product page

Signoff item	Result
Stable startup restored	pass / fail
Display behavior restored	pass / fail
Base MIG baseline restored on correct `208/230 V` source and sane inductance setting	pass / fail
No repeat no-feed, frozen-display, or source-path collapse complaint after power cycle	pass / fail
Preset-to-actual display transition confirmed on release weld	pass / fail

Technician: __________ Date: __________ Serial or shop tag: __________