Think I broke my tractor.

[brianMO]

I was using my boxblade and notice a crack on the blade. Decided to back into the garage and close it up with a weld, still attached to tractor. Stupid me, I did not disconnect the battery on my tractor. May have been a fluke, but when I tryed to start my tractor I heard a small clicking sound then nothing. I have know power to anything. Battery read 13.00 volts when I check it. I checked to see if I had 12 volts on the solenoid of my start and it was there. I had my wife try to start as I held a meter across the solenoid and it went to zero. I checked all my fuses and 3 fusible links, all good. I am thinking maybe my battery could have shorted out. I have not swapped yet. It has been great to this point. Reads a strong voltage but maybe bad. Any help would be appreciated.

thx,

Brian

 

[DJ54]

Maybe check the ground cable off the battery, on both ends... It may have arc'd enough to cause a problem...

It has been known to knock the regulator out of the alternator, and computers on newer, larger equipment, and vehicles also.

Hope it's an easy fix..!!

 

[Soundguy]

i've welded alot on tractors with alternators.

if I think about it I sometimes disconnect a bat cable.. but usually.. more often than not. i just weld.

built an entire subframe for a back hoe, in place on a tractor with a welder, cutting and welding as i went.

put meter across battery posts and try to start.. if it drops to 0, pul the battery and check water and see if it will recharge.

if it stays up, check cables and grounds as the other poster stated.

post back

soundguy

 

[oldyellr]

When shops do any arc welding on a car or truck, they attach an "anti zap" device to the battery to protect the electronics. It's cheap insurance and better than disconnecting the battery, which wipes out the radio presets, may require a code to make the radio work again and messes with the computer. Not sure how much electronics there are in a tractor, maybe the voltage regulator. People also say that if you clamp your ground cable close to whet you're welding, it should not affect the electrics.

An easy way to check if the battery grounding has gone bad is to measure the voltage from the positive post to other parts of the chassis to see if it's still 13 volts.

 

[pat32rf]

Was your welding ground hooked up to your blade or to the tractor?

I have heard storys of "someone who knew someone" who zapped their electronics, but never met anyone who did....

 

[Soundguy]

i always hook the ground clamp right near the work being welded.. and never thru a bearing or bushing or pivot point.. always one one of the 2 pieces of metal being welded.. nothing bolted or merely touching them.

soundguy

 

[cowski]

clean the battery cables ,even if they look good.you may have a bad connection that just showed up when you welded it.

 

[Soundguy]

yep.. never know when corrosion will strike!

soundguy

 

[Jay4200]

I was using my boxblade and notice a crack on the blade. Decided to back into the garage and close it up with a weld, still attached to tractor. Stupid me, I did not disconnect the battery on my tractor. May have been a fluke, but when I tryed to start my tractor I heard a small clicking sound then nothing. I have know power to anything. Battery read 13.00 volts when I check it. I checked to see if I had 12 volts on the solenoid of my start and it was there. I had my wife try to start as I held a meter across the solenoid and it went to zero. I checked all my fuses and 3 fusible links, all good. I am thinking maybe my battery could have shorted out. I have not swapped yet. It has been great to this point. Reads a strong voltage but maybe bad. Any help would be appreciated.

No way. I don't buy the welding causing damage to electronics thing. I think it's an old wives' tale. It might be possible if you hooked your ground clamp to the front of the machine and welded on the back, but even then it is unlikely. Good luck generating ANY voltage across 4000 pounds of iron. It SURELY wouldn't damage your battery in any case. I suspect that your battery was on it's last leg and you left your key on while welding, or perhaps your alternator crapped out a few weeks ago, and it was purely coincidence that you got the last few electrons out of the battery when you did.

You say you read 13V across the battery with the tractor off. Assuming your cable connections are good, measure the voltage across the battery when you crank the key. If it drops to some very low number, you need a new battery. It is doesn't drop, your starter solenoid is junk. if the starter is OK, then jump start the tractor and measure the battery voltage. If it is not above 13.5V, you need a new alternator.

JayC

 

[cdaigle430]

Welding on any vehicle with an alternator will cause damage to the electronics-don't kid yourself-It is not an old wives tale. You may be lucky and then again-whats the harm in disconnecting the part to be welded or disconnecting the battery\alternator? It's just a few extra steps that will not only save you money in the future-but alot of hassle. You will also void the warranty......

Read....
http://www.deere.com/en_US/ag/servicesupport/tips/tractors/common_stories/welding_electronics.html#

 

[Soundguy]

i've welded on many vehicles and tractors.. more often than not I don't disconnect anything.. I use ac stick welders.

las car I welde don was a saturn ( lotsa electronics ).

I've yet to ever kill a battery or any electronics doing so.

could it happen? theoretically yes.. i believe it's possible under certain circumstances with bad grounds and bad welding practices, or proximity to the electronics.. also perhaps the welding gear.. high freq welders might be more of an issue even from emi/rfi.. etc.

soundguy

 

[retiredmgn]

No way. I don't buy the welding causing damage to electronics thing. I think it's an old wives' tale. JayC

You're in deep do-do now pal. Here come all the old wives.

 

[brianMO]

Sorry...no time these days. I fixed my problem. Feel a little stupid. It turned out to be a bad connection at the negative terminal. It is kinda wierd that it appeared right after I welded on it. I don't care now, its working again. I don't know how I lived without a tractor for so many years! I guess I way over analyze my problem. Thought the worst. Always go back to the basics. If the problem would have just appear one morning I probably would have been all over it. I just kept thinking my welding arc something. Is it back to a wife's tale?

 

[Soundguy]

corrosion happens.. just like I said..

soundguy

 

[Jay4200]

Welding on any vehicle with an alternator will cause damage to the electronics-don't kid yourself-It is not an old wives tale.

It has nothing to do with an alternator.

From your reference, "High current associated with welding can damage wiring that provides a ground path. Electrical voltage spikes caused by welders can damage electronic components."

So, don't ground your weld through an in-circuit wire (which would be awfully hard to do in the first place), and don't hit a circuit board with your stick. If you're welding a frame, bucket, or anything else that's a big chunk of steel, and you put your grounding clamp anywhere even remotely close to your weld, you absolutely CAN'T damage anything.

JayC