Is it true that there is a risk of frying the ECU when welding to the frame of a vehicle? I was asking one of my guys if he can weld my sliders to my rig but he said he can't because he doesn't have a grounding system to the battery to prevent ground from traveling and possibly frying the ECU or any onboard computer on the rig. I'm skeptical about what he said so I'm asking the collective wisdom of everybody in this forum. Thanks.

George

 

Yeah, while this can and does happen, for the most part it is not something to worry about. Always disconnect your battery when welding on your truck. If you have a good ground (close to the area beening welded, solid metal contact, ground is in good working order) there is a snowballs chance in hell that you will fry your ECU. Just look at it this way, how many people here have sliders? And how many people here have said that they fried their ECU putting them on?

 

If you are really concerned about it, you can always just bolt the sliders to the frame. I did it this way so that I can take them off if/when I need to - welded on makes it just a bit tougher to remove!

 

Um, no

If he was really worried about it he should just unplug the ECU. That's what, a five minute job at most?

I have done a TON of welding on my truck in all different locations. NEVER have I fried the ECU. Did catch a seat on fire, but that is a different story all together...

 

mine are welded and i didnt have any problems with the ECU or any electrical devices. but disconnect the battery before-hand if you are concerned about it.

BTW Dave, this is way off topic, but when i graduate college and get into a career, and start making some money and have another DD, you have inspired me to do a SAS on my runner. so thanx for pioneering that huge accomplishment!

-Casey

 

My pleasure. Can't wait until someone else does it.

 

I have welded sliders to more than a 100 trucks and never had a problem! *knoks on wood* If your really worried about it pull your battery cable.

What can happen is if you ground off your muffler to weld on the frame that will fry it!

 

Guys,
Thanks a lot for the advices. Like I said, I will be ordering some sliders probably next week as soon as I get the payment for my running boards that I will be selling. I will also ensure that the battery and ECU are disconnected to prevent any chances of frying something on the truck. Again, thanks.

George

P.S. Where's the link for the sliders round up?

 

Yeah, I guess unplugging the ECU would be quicker - just offering up another option if a permanent mount way also an issue.

So...dare we ask how you caught the seat on fire!

 

Thanks alot.

george

 

Not to go off subject, but if you weld them, the recommended way to weld them with a plate on the frame that is square but rotated 45 degree from horizontal.

Also, today when I welded my limiting strap tabs and panhard drop bracket we did disconnect the battery, and it's merely a safety measure, because two weeks before I didn't do it and nothing bad happened.

Chris

 

hey, why cant you just bolt it to the frame? i read a thread about that vs. welding a while back, most people said that they were about the same either way strength wise. bolting on sounds better to me just because you can get them off easily... well what do you guys have to say about that, eh?

 

How about both?
I have three tubes per side welded to the frame, and the sliderz put out of the tubes and are secured with bolts.

You can see the three tubes here, well barely.

I got this idea from a post on POR, and Jeff @ Badland Bumpers said it would work out good.
They are hard to get off though, it's a very tight/close tolerance.

I have some pics here of the guy's install I got the idea from.
http://www.toyotaoffroad.net/tando/nerfpics/dadnerf.jpg
http://www.toyotaoffroad.net/tando/n...s/nerfbar1.jpg
http://www.toyotaoffroad.net/tando/n...s/nerfbar2.jpg
http://www.toyotaoffroad.net/tando/n...ruckwnerfs.jpg
http://www.toyotaoffroad.net/tando/n...s/tubeson2.jpg

Nice frickin' truck 'eh?

 

welded sliders. no problems.

 

FYI, the reason to disconnect the battery is so that it doesn't explode

 

Yeah, I had that happen on my 98 Taco (unrelated to welding) - it sucks.

Dented the hood, ate the paint, and sent 10 people running for cover at the gas station where it happened.