The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay welding on the 50

as some of you may know i've had some issues with my charging system. it didn't dawn on me until i was prepping a small piece of metal to mount a back up light on my truck, that i had heard you should disconnect the battery prior to welding anything on a vehicle.

a couple of weeks ago i had spent the afternoon welding up some stress points on the box so my question is... since i didn't disconnect the battery during this operation, could or would this have had some effect on the electrical/charging system???

p.j.,

Not very likely at all!

Stuart

I believe it can effect vehicles with electronic ignition and computor controlled components, particularly computor chips. In future though it's best to disconnect the battery when welding, at least that's what it says in my welding book. Hope there's no damage.
Bob T

I opt to disconnect the alt and the battery.
And yes it can damage the alt.

thanks for the input guys.

think i'll not take any chances and just disconnect everything.

If welding electrod touched a wire in harness it could complete the circuite and cause damage. I always place my grounding clamp on a freshley made bare spot close to where I'm welding. Current will always take the shortest path. If that path is thru your wiring because of rust between parts, valuable electronics will be distroyed.

Beaver 53 makes a good point on the grounding close to the work. The other consideration is the farther you ground from the weld area the more possible bearings that can have current pass through them. It is not unusual to have bearings fail on heavy equipment from maintenance welding that is grounded poorly. They get small areas around the contact between the race and bearing where the arc tracks across them.

Brad Allen,

This usually happens when the ground path is through a bearing. If you weld on the frame of your stovebolt, and the ground clamp is on the frame, your wheel bearings won't be affected nor will any other component.

Stuart

I think you would be surprised at how many good welders have no ground clamp discipline. I have seen people ground right to wheel studs etc.Bottom line the closer to the work and the better the ground (clean off paint, grease etc) the better the weld quality and reduced chance of damage.

In arc welding, an arc is established from the electrode to the workpiece. To do this properly, the arc requires a smooth flow of electricity through the complete electrical circuit, with minimum resistance. If you crimp a garden hose while watering the lawn, the flow at the sprinkler head is much reduced. Beginning welders often make the mistake of attaching the work clamp (or electrical ground) to a painted panel or a rusty surface. Both of these surfaces are electrical insulators and do not allow the welding current to flow properly. The resulting welding arc will be difficult to establish and not very stable. Other telltale signs of an improper electrical connection are a work clamp that is hot to the touch or cables that generate heat. Another key point to consider when attaching the welding ground is to place the welding ground on the piece being welded. Welding current will seek the path of least resistance so if care is not taken to place the welding ground close to the arc, the welding current may find a path unknown to the operator and destroy components unintended to be in the welding circuit.

Great advice and might I say.... spoken either by a "shop teacher" or a long time professional welder.

Or maybe someone with a "how to weld" book!


Stuart

Journeyman Boilermaker Local 182. Made my living for several years as a tube welder on most of the oil refineries, coal fired, and nuclear power plants in 9 western states. Got tired of the grind so earned a degree in Industrial Technology and a Masters in Communications.

And with all that stuff running around in your brain, now you can't tell your left foot from your right,LOL