on board welder aka the Weldinator

[Badass]

you can do this with some ford alt. also just not sure which one. We were converting this SBC to serpintine belt and used the space for the smog pump and mounted the Weldinator instead.

start with an older style gm alternator as these are the easiest to convert.
First thing you do is remove the bolts that hold the case together. then seperate the two halfs. i had to use a deadblow and tap on the case till it came apart.



you will not mod this side so just set it aside for now.




this is the half where we will do the mods



We will be removing: top right is the capacitor, the top center and upper left is the exciter diode and components and the lower screw we will remove the plastic insulation.



I removed the copper winding




I removed the capicator and exciter diode and its components





i removed the insulation from the screw


here is what you end up with



then you slide the brushes back in the holder and i put a very small drill bit in there to keep them in place whal i put it back together





after the ase is reassembled then you can remove the bit and the brushes will contact the shaft



mounted.
You need a master on/off switch for the welder. Since the rotor can draw 4 or 5 Amps easily, a relay is in order. The system I came up with used an 'accessory' supply through a switch. That switch activated a relay that let 12V from the battery go directly to the rotor.








Now for the business end... Get two lengths of welding cable with ring terminals at one end. Bolt on one ring terminal to the + output of the welder. On the back of the new welder, there is a threaded hole. Use this to bolt on the other ring terminal.
we made up some quick connect leads



made a bracket to hold the truck side leads.



Bunkey supervising


we welded the bracket to the core support






now you just plug the leads in and weld. remember to reverse polarity if welding on your own rig







Onto the proof. 6011 3/32 rod.

[chuzie]

Hey that is pretty cool. Certainly a cheap alternative to some of the other products I have seen out there.

Thanks a million.

[Badass]

it was super easy and these GM alt are cheap and easy to come across for me. this is only like a 78 amp one so you dont need to find a super high amp one. with this mod you lose all use of it being a 'regular' alternator so you have to run it in addition to your stock one. it is not hooked into the vehicle wiring at all so there is no draw to your current set up. it is basically stand alone.

[SC74]

Great tech article! I'll have to remember this for a future mod.

[chuzie]

I wonder if there is there any risk to my electronics like my EEC etc.

[Badass]

it is stand alone. it is not hooked to or run thru the vehicle wiring at all so i would say no. just reverse polarity if you weld on your own rig

[broncomatt]

Great write up! something I have wanted too do for some time, just havent made the brackets yet.
We do allot of welding on cars at the dealership, and from experiance I would be very carefull welding on your own rig. You definetly need to reverse the polarity. Should also turn off anything not truly needed.
Thanks for the write up.
Broncomatt

[jollygrngiant]

Excellant info!!:xyxthumbs:
Very detailed with the pics too! I'll be planning that later on down the road.

[chuzie]

Only problem is the engine has to be running and this the need for the EEC. At $100.00 a pop, I am too paranoid I would screw something up and fry my EEC.

[bucketobolts]

If you could figure out a way to mount the generator and insulate it from the chassis ground, I think you'd be alright.

I've seen guys use 2 batteries and 2 sets of jumper cables to weld with. It works but you have to keep an eye to not overheat the batteries.