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OK, for most of y'all I know this is a stupid question, but I have never welded on a vehicle so I want to make sure I don't fry anything on the truck.
I have a 99 7.3 Super Duty and I need to do a little bit of welding on my hitch. I think I have heard before welding on a vehicle the batteries should be disconnected. Is this correct and is there anything else I need to be concerned about?
You take a chance anytime you weld on a vehicle.. Batteries should be disconnected, however that still leaves the computers connected to the chassis. Stray current can fry anything electronic. If you must weld on the truck ground the truck near the weld job on the item welding to earth with a good system, ground the truck correctly to the welder. Not saying you are good to go but it should mitigate some of the potential issues. You will be still taking a chance.
Had the same concern welding on my truck so I called a couple different shops and the local ford dealer. They said the same thing about keeping the ground as close to the weld as possible. Also said it wouldn't hurt to pull the ground off the battery and pull the plug off the ECM.
I've done that everytime I've welded on my truck and so far have had no issues. Honestly I'm still always a little nervous about doing it even after so many times. 2000 f450 v10, I've done a ton of welding on the truck (d rings, hitch reciever, bulk head, steel deck repairs, etc.).
At home, I usually pull the ground wire from the battery.
But every time I've gone to the exhaust shop, they just clamp the ground close to where they are welding and go for it. Never had an issue. And I doubt the exhaust shop disconnects any batteries on all the vehicles they do day in and day out.
I have literally welded on thousands of trucks and cars and never disconnect. Thousands are used every day as welding work platforms. People hurt themselves and damage equipment every day fooling with batteries.