oldtrack123 wrote:

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Tony Bev wrote:

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Many (45), years a go

A family member took a brand new Toyota into a local place to have a tow bar fitted

It came back with the alternator not charging

Took the new car back to the city, they would not honour the warranty, as soon as they saw the towbar

They pointed out where the welder earth lead, had touched the bodywork

I have never had electrical problems after welding on a vehicle
In may just be a coincidence, but I always disconnect the battery, and have the earth lead as close to the welding as possible

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Hi Tony 

Unless that was a very old welding machine, pre late 50s,the secondary winding [ welding winding]would have been electrically isolated from the machine frame & "mains"earthing system

So the problem was due to that accidental contact of the welding return lead shunting welding current through the body & possibly wiring

The same could happen with accidental contact by the rod to  a body part  

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Hi oldtrac123

It was about 1966/7, the welding took place at the small town of Southern Cross WA
I never went near the establishment where the towbar was fitted, as it was used mainly to sell stuff to farmers at that time
It had certainly never been known as a welding workshop, in the 11 years period, when I called that small town, my big smoke town

I have no idea what type of welder was used, or the experience of the welder
I would assume that it would have been an old welder, even in those days, as there was not enough fabrication in that area to support a fabrication workshop

The mode of operation in those days, was to apparently bolt some pieces on, and then weld some pieces to the bolted pieces, to make sure it fitted
It was probably a case of on, tack, tack, off, tack, tack, until they got it right

The Toyota people from the city only mentioned the earth, and not the electrode rod end of the welder
If there had been a burn mark from the rod, my family member may have been able to get reimbursed

All I can say is that it was an expensive experience, for my family member

I will therefore advise everyone to disconnect the battery, and place the earth lead of the welder, as close to the weld as possible
That is what I do, and have never had electrical problems
I have no experience of welding on a vehicle, with the battery still connected