Electronic Precautions While Welding

Moparfiend · Apr 18, 2020

So I am going to be doing some mig welding on the car like real soon. What precautions should I take such that I don’t damage my electronics. I am running an MSD Billet dizzy with a MSD 6AL box. Factory AM radio boogie alternator and um I think thats the whole entirety of electronic stuff.......

eldubb440 · Apr 18, 2020

its more of an issue on modern cars......but it doesnt hurt to disconnect the battery.........I would remove the msd box, only takes a minute...... keep welder ground close to where you are welding

33 IMP · Apr 18, 2020

And maybe ground the car itself. And definitely disconnect the battery, at least.

Lefty71 · Apr 19, 2020

Take the MSD box out completely. I ruined the heck out of a -7 thinking I could just unplug it.

Moparfiend · Apr 19, 2020

Lefty71 said:
Take the MSD box out completely. I ruined the heck out of a -7 thinking I could just unplug it.

Ok will remove it physically from the car. Better safe than sorry!!! Thanks for sharing your experience.

eldubb440 · Apr 19, 2020

when I had a collision shop, I had an employee fry every module in a chevy cobalt........ he cut off mashed piece of metal with a plasma cutter and that was that

I think that was the day I decided to pack it up and come home to work on old cars by myself

Lefty71 · Apr 19, 2020

Moparfeind said:
Thanks for sharing your experience.

MSD used to fix them for free...but those days are long gone. Mine's a dinosaur, but they did repair it, albeit at a cost, but still worth it and it works great now. The inside looked like a bomb went off in it after the welding incident.

Curiousyellow71 · Apr 20, 2020

Welding with dc usually doesnt doesnt damage electronics. I've done a lot of welding with dc and never a problem. But, good idea as safety precautions unhook the battery, put your ground close to where your welding. Now ac welding is a different story....computers will forget who they are and have to be reprogrammed or replaced.

myk r sanchez · Apr 20, 2020

Lefty71 said:
MSD used to fix them for free...but those days are long gone. Mine's a dinosaur, but they did repair it, albeit at a cost, but still worth it and it works great now. The inside looked like a bomb went off in it after the welding incident.

MSD repairs their boxes? Even old ones like my MSD 6 from '95?

Lefty71 · Apr 21, 2020

myk r sanchez said:
MSD repairs their boxes? Even old ones like my MSD 6 from '95?

Yes, they do. Mine was really old... long before they were bought out, and was made when they were still in a little shop in TX (el paso?)
You send it in, and they'll quote the repair. There is a maximum cost, and it's still a deal if it goes that high. You will get the oppoutunuty to yea or nay before they start repairs.
Call the phone number on this site, and they'll get you started.
https://www.holley.com/support/support_request/

khryslerkid · Apr 21, 2020

I believe it was "Bitchin Rides" I was watching, he has that custom door handle their known for, and a new guy was welding on the quarter panel with the ground clamp on the bare metal where the door handle was just installed. That would arc through the door hinges and who knows what else.

It's what you have to think about when welding anything. What's the path of least resistance? Welding on any vehicle there's bushings, ball joints, bearings, and most of all the electronics. Clamp off right at or as close to the weld.

Welding and plasma cutting creates high frequency waves also and that is what can cause damage to the newer electronics. It can cause problems with a person with a pace maker and or defibrillator implant also.

Moparfiend · Apr 21, 2020

khryslerkid said:
I believe it was "Bitchin Rides" I was watching, he has that custom door handle their known for, and a new guy was welding on the quarter panel with the ground clamp on the bare metal where the door handle was just installed. That would arc through the door hinges and who knows what else.

It's what you have to think about when welding anything. What's the path of least resistance? Welding on any vehicle there's bushings, ball joints, bearings, and most of all the electronics. Clamp off right at or as close to the weld.

Welding and plasma cutting creates high frequency waves also and that is what can damage to the newer electronics. It can cause problems with a person with a pace maker and or defibrillator implant also.

Both my pace maker AND defibrillator were removed but not for welding purposes lol

451Mopar · Apr 21, 2020

Make sure the welder ground clamp is connected close to where you are welding, and on the same metal part. Grounding through parts like bearings and hinges can damage them. Connecting the ground that is not near the part, could be the ground is isolated from the metal trying to be welded, like grounding to a tail pipe that may be isolated from the body. Or even forgetting to ground the welder, can really cause problems when the welder tries to complete the electrical circuit (higher welding voltages, unknown ground paths?)

myk r sanchez · Apr 22, 2020

Lefty71 said:
Yes, they do. Mine was really old... long before they were bought out, and was made when they were still in a little shop in TX (el paso?)
You send it in, and they'll quote the repair. There is a maximum cost, and it's still a deal if it goes that high. You will get the oppoutunuty to yea or nay before they start repairs.
Call the phone number on this site, and they'll get you started.
https://www.holley.com/support/support_request/

Thanks for that. My ancient MSD 6 is still kicking, I just wanted an alternative to the new digital boxes because I heard they're unreliable...

bm02tj · Apr 22, 2020

451Mopar said:
Make sure the welder ground clamp is connected close to where you are welding, and on the same metal part. Grounding through parts like bearings and hinges can damage them. Connecting the ground that is not near the part, could be the ground is isolated from the metal trying to be welded, like grounding to a tail pipe that may be isolated from the body. Or even forgetting to ground the welder, can really cause problems when the welder tries to complete the electrical circuit (higher welding voltages, unknown ground paths?)

Yes ground as close to well as possible but the voltage is lower and amperage is higher just saying :welcome:

451Mopar · Apr 22, 2020

bm02tj said:
Yes ground as close to well as possible but the voltage is lower and amperage is higher just saying

Depends if the welder is constant current or constant voltage. Constant current will ramp voltage much higher trying to establish an arc. Also, because voltage is I * R, High resistance in the ground connection can create higher voltages. Sometimes when you goto weld with the work not grounded, you will get a shock as the current can flow through your body too.

Electronic Precautions While Welding

Moparfiend

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eldubb440

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33 IMP

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Lefty71

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Moparfiend

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eldubb440

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Lefty71

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Curiousyellow71

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myk r sanchez

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Lefty71

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khryslerkid

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Moparfiend

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451Mopar

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