Precautions mig welding on my truck?

[Handy560]

Hey guys I need to weld on a threaded piece to my son's Toyota Tacoma; it needs to be welded under the door panel... Making the repair is no problem but I was wondering if I need to take some precautions not to fry the electronics.

I would grind a spot clean and close by for the work clamp.

I would be welding with a mm175 if it matters.

Thanks,

John

[arc]

done tons of repairs on trucks and such, all u have to do is disconnect the battery(s) and ur good to go. that is all no need to remove any thing else.

[tasslehawf]

Out of curiosity (being a Tacoma owner) what year is it and what's the repair?

[Bert]

done tons of repairs on trucks and such, all u have to do is disconnect the battery(s) and ur good to go. that is all no need to remove any thing else.

That's what I was always taught and do (save the onboard computer). Though...at work, they never do it. Never had a problem...YET

[Handy560]

95.5 Tacoma

The Tacoma was mine for years. It has about 200k miles now. Still runs great.

The drivers door panel was all torn up and I found a set of used ones in great shape on ebay. Went to install yesterday, but the square hole that has a snap in anchor of sorts for the main screw that holds the handle is messed up. The anchor was pulled out and the hole streched and torn so i drilled and taped a small piece of 1/4 steel that I was going to weld on over the hole and use a nice size machine scew and some locktite...

Still making things child proof even though he is 18

John

[TS-Off-Road]

Why would disconnecting the battery have anything to do with saving the ECU??


Has anybody really, ever seen (first hand) a cars electronics get ruined by welding on said car????

I've never heard of it.

[dabar39]

Why would disconnecting the battery have anything to do with saving the ECU??


Has anybody really, ever seen (first hand) a cars electronics get ruined by welding on said car????

I've never heard of it.

I've heard the warnings and seen some manufacturer instructions that state that the battery should be disconnected and others that stated to unplug the ECU or ECM depending on the vehicle, but have never seen any damages first hand.

I have also heard to keep the ground as close as possible to the weld area, but have worked on truck beds without moving the ground clamp every time I place a weld.

I have welded on probably several hundred vehicles in my working life and have never disconnected either the battery or ECU and either I have been lucky or their is just a very minimal risk of damage. Dave

[FoxPerformance]

I have welded on dozens of cars and never disconnected anything.

I also have never seen one muffler repair shop disconnect the battery, and their welding all over the exhaust systems everyday.

Technically speaking, the computer still has a ground to chassis in other spots of the harness besides the battery terminal, and it also has a connection to the altenator, so even if you disconnected both the positive and negative battery terminal it would not matter one bit.

If you feel paranoid unlplug the ecu, completely from the harness.

But again, there are tons of other electronics that are still connected.

In newer cars there no fewer than 3 ecu's, one for the motor, one for the trans and one for the body. So you'd basically have to totally disassemble the car to get them all unplugged.

I personally wouldn't worry about it one bit.

[trevwelder]

Why would disconnecting the battery have anything to do with saving the ECU??


Has anybody really, ever seen (first hand) a cars electronics get ruined by welding on said car????

I've never heard of it.

If its you own truck then it might not mater that much, however I do work on other peoples truck that some cost 45 grand plus. I take the battery cables just to be safe. One truck that I put a goose neck ball in the back of cost 55 grand new then he had 15 grand in peformance up grades, 600 hunded hp. I didn't want to ruin anything on that truck.

[cruizer]

Autobody shops don't disconnect anything.

I was curious today and inquired on what they did. I'd say to simply make sure you have a good Gound point for your welder.

[TS-Off-Road]

If its you own truck then it might not mater that much, however I do work on other peoples truck that some cost 45 grand plus. I take the battery cables just to be safe. One truck that I put a goose neck ball in the back of cost 55 grand new then he had 15 grand in peformance up grades, 600 hunded hp. I didn't want to ruin anything on that truck.

I work on custom vehicles in excess of $100K The ECU's are no more expensive!

[Bert]

I work on custom vehicles in excess of $100K The ECU's are no more expensive!

Well...well...I work on custom vehicles in excess of $400,000.00 and I've never
had a problem either!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not making fun of you guys, just myself ( just work on skateboards)....thanks for the input! I won't worry about it anymore...

ok bert, time to wake up...........

[trevwelder]

I work on custom vehicles in excess of $100K The ECU's are no more expensive!

I have never seen it first hand, but I have heard of it. Its just a precaution, what does it take 5 minutes to take them off, if that.

[TS-Off-Road]

My point was, the cost of the vehicle doesn't matter, the ECU for any of them costs about the same to replace.

Except for maybe a skateboard! LOL

[TS-Off-Road]

Well...well...I work on custom vehicles in excess of $400,000.00 and I've never
had a problem either!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not making fun of you guys, just myself ( just work on skateboards)....thanks for the input! I won't worry about it anymore...

ok bert, time to wake up...........

Hey, you gonna' build roll cages for skateboards now with your new bender??