I need to make a small weld inside the slide room around the area where the slide lock pins are located. I talked to Newell and they said I only need to disconnect the batteries. Should I also disconnect anything on the engine, transmission, etc?
Thanks for the advice!
I didn't disconnect the batteries and had no issues but don't take my advice. What I would suggest is after you do disconnect batteries is to put your welding clamp very close to the weld area. Keep the coach plugged in to shore power but leave the shore power breaker off. This gives another ground path protection. DDEC still retains power even if you switch the batteries off from the Cole Hearse switch so physically disconnecting for prolonged welding is the smart thing to do. Those ECU's are around 4-5k and getting someone to come to the house to remove/install and program it is where your wallet gets thinned out
I have done a lot of welding on the coach replacing basement floors. I disconnect the batteries, DDEC, and Allison computers. That may be overkill, but they are pricey. Five minutes to disconnect seems like a small chore.
As Simon says, ground clamp close the the weld zone clamped to a clean, bright and shiny piece of steel.
I am assuming something has cracked or broken in the side room structure. Go Slow, short welds, and give the steel plenty of time to cool. If you get too jiggy, the heat will transfer to the aluminum skin and bubble the paint. No bueno.
Adrian,
What Richard said! As you know there are a bunch of wires that go through that valance area. I use a old pizza stone for flame and splatter protection. Emphasis on "old" as Doris would be using a frying pan if I got the one out of the kitchen.....just sayin. There is also silicone cookware at Walmart that one could use for protection as well.
Thanks guys! There is a crack in the corner that was discovered when I pulled the front slide room ceiling out. I’m slowly putting it back together - it’s probably been a year now! So many other projects! I like the silicon mat idea and I have one of those flame retardant cloths from HF that works well to cover everything. Will post pictures for others to see it when I get to it. I think I will have to extend the slide to make the repair…