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disconnect battery when welding
Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2004 6:29 pm
by scorched
Someone said to me that the cars battery will blow up if i weld on the car with battery connected.
Is the this true cause i have been doing a heap of welding and nothing has blown up just yet

Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2004 6:30 pm
by RV80
it is a good idea to disconnect it

Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2004 6:40 pm
by Daisy
battery must be gettin huge amp shocks

Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2004 6:49 pm
by Bartso
not only your bat but if you have a ecu it will get screwed think about all the high currents that are going around the place
Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2004 6:53 pm
by bj42turbo
Yeah and cover up the seats when welding a rollbar

Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2004 6:55 pm
by pcman
haha sounds like us 40 owners suffer the same problems lol tho i was grinding my rollcage

Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2004 7:13 pm
by tomsoffroad
batteries going bang ain't pretty aye!!!!! I've had one do it in the garage from sparks from the grinder and now there is no way I'll even smoke over a battery.
Don't underestimate batteries aye

Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2004 7:29 pm
by Wesley
My oldmans mate had a battery blow up on his motor bike he was welding his foot peg and didnt realise the breather came down right next to it lucky he was holding his welding sheild just got a bit of acid on his hand and a real big scare.
Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2004 7:55 pm
by ausyota
As long as the earth lead is earthed directly next to the bit you are welding the current will go staight though the easiest path and wont go anywhere near your battery but having said that its a good idea just to disconnect it. It only takes a couple of seconds. Just in case!
Paul.
Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2004 8:03 pm
by J Top
Disconnecting the battery will not save it from blowing up.
Batteries explode from sparks igniting the hydragen? gas emitted,
paticularly under load or charging.
You remove the battery to a safe place to save it.
Disconnecting the battery is to save your alternator and ecu, but as previously stated , keeping the earth lead close to the hand piece and on the same piece of steel has continuously worked for me.
J Top
Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2004 8:26 pm
by DAZZ
leaving the battery connected can also stuff the regulator in the alternator and any electronic device iconnected to the battery.
Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2004 8:32 pm
by Mad Cruiser
Remove the bloody battery from the 4wd !!!!!! Simple as and safer
battery
Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2004 8:55 pm
by DR Frankenstine
the only time a battery will blow up is if it is being charged or over charged and emitting gas or the water\acid level is low. Welding blows the diodes in the alternator turning the charge from d/c to a/c then blowing the regulator. doesnt do computers much good either.
Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2004 9:56 pm
by hypo
tomsoffroad wrote:batteries going bang ain't pretty aye!!!!! I've had one do it in the garage from sparks from the grinder and now there is no way I'll even smoke over a battery.
Don't underestimate batteries aye

i could tell u were from NZ b4 i even looked at your location.......
aye bro

Re: battery
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2004 6:26 am
by V8Patrol
DR Frankenstine wrote:the only time a battery will blow up is if it is being charged or over charged and emitting gas or the water\acid level is low. Welding blows the diodes in the alternator turning the charge from d/c to a/c then blowing the regulator. doesnt do computers much good either.
spot on call.
Having had one go BANG its scary (almost shyte meself !!)
My little explosion was on a m/cycle while I was starting it .....yep the battery was directly under the familly jewels ! The battery expolsion was caused by a low fluid level in this case, when I hit the ignition switch the fluid level was suffencently low enuff that a spark jumped accross the plates inside the battery and this ignighted the acid vapor ..... BOOM !
By disconecting one of the leads to the battery you "break" the circut, this way you wont burn out the diodes in the alternator, blow a computer, or burn out any electronic modules.
If you want to be ultra safe ........ put the battery in another area.
Kingy
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2004 6:34 am
by bru21
the battery can act to absorb large current shocks. i weld all the time without disconnecting the battery (it shits me when my sterero needs reprogramming). i have done it to several cars efi and otherwise and never had a problem. although i may remove the ls1 computer altogether for safety when its installed
cheers bru
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2004 7:34 am
by murcod
Matson make a surge protection device that connects across the battery using alligator clamps. Most exhaust places I've seen use them when welding.
http://www.matson.com.au/surge_minder.html
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2004 9:03 am
by Utemad
bj42turbo wrote:Yeah and cover up the seats when welding a rollbar

And the windscreen

Batteries
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2004 12:28 pm
by Damo
Leave them hooked up, it's just like using a fast charger

Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2004 1:08 pm
by 83 lux
disconnect it
i have already burnt out an alt.
from about 10min. of welding
JUST DO IT

Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2004 2:24 pm
by bazzle
Leaving batt connected is better than undoing leads. Act like a suppressor to absorb some voltage spikes but not all.
You need tto cover with a rag to prevent sparks igniting gasses.
What happens with welding is when the ark strikes there is a high voltage surge on chassis that back feeds any semiconductor components, ie, alt diodes, comuter etc.
Older vehicles normally safer, newer ones you take a risk.
Get a surge protector and put across batt when welding as stated above OR remove all wires from alt, stereo,Radios, ECU and batt.
Bazzle
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2004 3:35 pm
by tomsoffroad
hypolux
Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2004 9:56 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
tomsoffroad wrote:
batteries going bang ain't pretty aye!!!!! I've had one do it in the garage from sparks from the grinder and now there is no way I'll even smoke over a battery.
Don't underestimate batteries aye
i could tell u were from NZ b4 i even looked at your location.......
aye bro
Everyone loves a smartass

And I want my pet sheep back too please