Welding on a M715

[vacca rabite]

What needs to be disconnected?
Battery ground, obviously.
What else? Some dizzies need to be unhooked, some don't. I dunno how it is on a 715.

I'm going to need to weld up a few small holes in my door bottoms, and probably the other usual rusty places as well.

In the past I have always done a full tear down before welding. I don't want to do that with the truck, but I have this urge to remove rot where ever I can find it.

Zach

[fisherman]

Disconnect the usual and you should be fine. Be careful around your glass, canvass if you have any. If you weld I'm sure you know what hot welding dingle berries can do. I had to weld over 50 holes in the bed alone. I'm sure I put a spool or so of the .030 and .025 wire into my truck.

[randyscycle]

A good rule of thumb is to disconnect the battery negative cable and you will be fine. That isolates the entire electrical system from any damage.

The best thing too, is to keep the welder ground lead no more than 8 inches from the weld point and chances are you won't have any ill-effects, even with the battery connected.

About the only damage you could do on a stock truck I can see would be to the diodes in the alternator. On a vehicle with a computer, or an electronic distributor, digital dash, etc, there is a chance of spiking something and damaging it.

[wrecker]

I've never disconnected anything and never had any issues. Even on computer controlled vehicles. Now that I'm aware of potential problems, I might be more inclined to be cautious. Ignorance really is bliss. Curses to y'all for ruining that for me!

[randyscycle]

I've never disconnected anything and never had any issues. Even on computer controlled vehicles. Now that I'm aware of potential problems, I might be more inclined to be cautious. Ignorance really is bliss. Curses to y'all for ruining that for me!

I can't say as I have ever had a problem either, but with the cost of electronic components these days, I don't want to let the magic smoke out of any computers anytime soon.....

[warpig]

I forgot to disconnect my battery last year and screwed up my brand new alternator with about 5 minutes of welding. was reading 11 volts and droping to 8 when I turned on my fan. got to love lifetime warrenty.

[ryanroo]

The best thing too, is to keep the welder ground lead no more than 8 inches from the weld point and chances are you won't have any ill-effects, even with the battery connected.

my ground lead is usually about 40x farther away than that every time i weld
ryan

[Tomahawk715]

Since you mentioned doors-dont ground off the body and weld on the door-Never seen it happen but heard you can "weld" the hinges that way. Easier to weld doors off anyway to get the right angles.

[vacca rabite]

Since you mentioned doors-dont ground off the body and weld on the door-Never seen it happen but heard you can "weld" the hinges that way. Easier to weld doors off anyway to get the right angles.

More important in my case would be that any grease on the hinges would block current, and I would either get poor welds or blow a fuse when the amperage spiked. BTDT.

Zach

[Tomahawk715]

Right- I think thats why you could end up welding the hinges-juice trying to "push" thru the grease/gap in those areas. Again I've never welded a door on an auto but I can see it being an issue.