Welding on your rig question...

[stevelknieveleer]

this whole thing seems silly to me-why not just disconnect the battery? whats to loose-resetting the clock? I am a new bee so I dont count,but I have seen a computer get fried by this- it takes no time to disconnect/reconnect the positive cable-thats the end of the story-problem solved.

you sir underestimate the power of laziness lol

i usually pull the cables when i do weld on any vehicle especially if its not mine. just in case

 

[Crabapple]

lol, internet

What do you mean by that?

 

[cherokee chuck]

I worked in a body shop for many years & we never disconected batteries if we could help it. You wipe out the memories from the radio, clock, trip computers etc. For several years disconecting the battery on a BMW meant a trip to the dealer to reset the radio. We never fried a computer with a welder. Check with your local muffler shop. They weld on cars all day long & I've never heard of a muffler shop disconecting a battery to do exhaust work. If anyone has fried a computer by welding there was something unusual going on. This is an urban legend. I still weld on computer controlled cars a lot and have never had a problem because of the welder. I'm not saying it cannot happen, just that ordinarily it's not neccesary to disconect the battery to weld on a computer controlled vehicle.

 

[Kevinma255]

Burrned out an alternator because it was just one quick weld (yeah right) and would not hurt anything. DISCONNECT THE CABLES!!!

 

[cherokee chuck]

Burrned out an alternator because it was just one quick weld (yeah right) and would not hurt anything. DISCONNECT THE CABLES!!!

If you fried your alternator with a welder it probably didn't make a difference that the cables were connected.If you touch an alternator with the stinger it'll fry whether the battery is connected or not, it'll still be grounded through the engine and I wouldn't recomend using a welder with the ignition on but I have welded on dozens, if not hundreds of cars with no problems[except for crappy welds & burning holes in my material] & unless the battery is removed for some reason I don't worry about it. It is not good to weld near a battery though, you should actually remove it instead of welding close to it. Batteries can and do explode.

 

[the_weirdo]

I really don't see the point on giving advice like this. So, you've never had a problem doing it...OK! Doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. Just take the extra 2 minutes and disconnect the battery and secure the cables. Play it safe!

Why don't you tell us how it could fry the computer. Chances are that you don't know anyone that has ever fried a computer/alternator/etc by welding with the ground cable on. Stop listening to heresay and internet rumor.

 

[lawsoncl]

If you really want to get picky, you are better off leaving the battery connected instead of unhooking it and leaving the cables floating. With the battery connected it limits the DC voltage you can subject the system to. Otherwise, if you're not careful with the ground clamp placement you can get the full welder voltage between ground and a power wire which will fry things.

For example, the Ford EEC-IV ECUs had poorly designed voltage regulators and they would fry if you subjected them to too high of an input voltage. Had one fry when someone unhooked the battery to check if the alternator was good (don't do that on any computer controlled vehicle, btw).

Either pull both cables and connect them together, or just be smart and make sure your welder ground is close to where you're welding. Don't be stupid and put the ground clamp on the bumper and start welding on the exhaust.

All those muffler shops can't all be wrong. :} Lazy maybe, but they are greedy and generally avoid causing expensive damage when installing a $49.99 muffler.

 

[lawsoncl]

If you're paranoid about killing the ECU, I would unplug the ECU and not fool with the battery.

 

[kennzz05]

can i weld on the rear axle(outer near the brake drum) lower part. with fluid in the axle any other issues caused by the heat on the axle

 

[lawsoncl]

can i weld on the rear axle(outer near the brake drum) lower part. with fluid in the axle any other issues caused by the heat on the axle

Aside from heat cooking the oil and perhaps damaging the oil seal, I see no issue. Ground clamp on the axle tube near the weld point is just fine.

 

[Crabapple]

Why don't you tell us how it could fry the computer. Chances are that you don't know anyone that has ever fried a computer/alternator/etc by welding with the ground cable on. Stop listening to heresay and internet rumor.

Did I ever say anything about know someone who friend thier ECU by welding? If you even took the second to think about it you'd realize that it's possible, maybe not probable, but it could happen.