If I wanted to weld on the body of the runner would I need to disconnect the computer or anything for the truck? I want to weld a little stress crack on the talgate but don't want to remove it. would it cause any problems by not disconnecting the computer?
Thanks all!
David

 

I would err on the safe side and say yes. It might not hurt it, but why take the chance?? Better to remove some screws and disconnect the computer, than to buy a new one. Have fun making the sparks fly. There is something really cool with melting metal.

 

thanks for the input!
I puchased a 220v (euopean standard voltage) for around $50 new and have been trying my luch on lots of stuff! (used about 20 rods so far just getting the hang of it) the only "real" welding I have done has been on the tools I built to do my cv shaft removal and install and my down pipe that I built for the header install I did, all have held strong.
David

ps Forgot the repair of my Weber grill too, Handle was about to fall off

 

A more important thing to do is the disconnect the battery. It has the potential to explode and that would just ruin your day. Most people don't disconnect the computer, but there is a slim chance of frying it by welding.

 

On our Metro buses, we have a checklist of items to disconnect before any arc welding occurs (the computer is one of them).

 

Another option is to get one of these . They seem to be hard to find in the US. I found a place on the web and bought their service minder and one of the jumper cable add-ons. I wanted the heavy duty direct connect one for a permanent connection, but figured I can cut the battery clips of the one I got and hard-wire it in.

It seems to be hard to get good information on how likely you actually are to damage your electronics by welding or jump-starting and how well devices like the one above actually work. They can cite cases where lots of damage was done without one and make claims about what they will do, etc. but I haven't seen any actual data (something like an oscilloscope traces without and with a surge suppressor).

Most or all of us have probably gotten away with jump-starting without frying the computer, but that may be a matter of luck more than it being a good idea.

Your 12v auto electric system is pretty nasty from what I've read, with lots of noise and very short high voltage spikes into the hundreds of volts caused by motors, etc. turning on and off.

Manufacturers put surge suppression devices inside the electronic units to protect them because of that. I think one of the problems is that those devices can be blown out by too big of a spike and if I understand it right, after a number of smaller spikes over a period of time. (They basically have to absorb the energy and turn it into heat when they limit the voltage spike and some of them sort of "use up" some of their energy absorbing capability each time.) Since I don't know how you tell if your surge protection is good or not, its probably wise to err on the safe side.

I'm a little worried about the huge currents flowing to an electric winch motor causing the voltage spikes on the lines to be pretty bad when the motor is turned on and off. I don't know how effective the batter is in absorbing that - I've seen some claims that it really doesn't stop them. I wish I had access to a good oscilloscope because I'd like to do some testing to see what the 12v line looks like when turning the winch on and off with a suppressor and without.