Im looking at putting a ford style alternator on the zuk, with the external regulater.......How does the zuk handle this?

Will it act just as an internal one did?

Come on, not of you web wheelers know this?

The zuk handles the ford welder just fine, with the exception of a minor Tach problem that i have yet to diagnose.
(the tach will jump about 500rpm very quickly, but engine speed will not be affected)
As long as you follow all the safety precautions you wont have any problems.
(electrode always positive when welding on own rig, that kinda stuff)

Originally posted by Stu
The zuk handles the ford welder just fine, with the exception of a minor Tach problem that i have yet to diagnose.
(the tach will jump about 500rpm very quickly, but engine speed will not be affected)
As long as you follow all the safety precautions you wont have any problems.
(electrode always positive when welding on own rig, that kinda stuff)

Well i dont have a tach...so im ok.....it is an 88.5......


(electrode always positive when welding on own rig, that kinda stuff)

What do you mean by that??

just out of curiousity, why are you going the Ford Alternator route?

in some instances*, it is preferable to use the electrode as the negative, and the work cable as the positive.
obviously in a negative ground system like an automobile (most anyway...) you would fawk up your electrics if you welded on your cracked frame using reverse polarity.

i always unhook my battery regardless, when doing ANY kind of welding on my rig, but i don't have an onboard welder (yet) so i'm not familiar with the true facts on this matter.

*actually, i have yet to run across this need, but i'm sure there are lots of pro welders that do it all the time.

Originally posted by UZI 9mm
just out of curiousity, why are you going the Ford Alternator route?

in some instances*, it is preferable to use the electrode as the negative, and the work cable as the positive.
obviously in a negative ground system like an automobile (most anyway...) you would fawk up your electrics if you welded on your cracked frame using reverse polarity.

i always unhook my battery regardless, when doing ANY kind of welding on my rig, but i don't have an onboard welder (yet) so i'm not familiar with the true facts on this matter.

*actually, i have yet to run across this need, but i'm sure there are lots of pro welders that do it all the time. \

Well if you use the ford style, it has an external regulator.
You can place a switch in between the Alt and the regulator for a converter, and your Welding plugs....During this time your engine is running off of your battery...............about 2 hours on a yellow top straight!..........

I do a lot of welding, and I have welded alot on the trail this year for people with broken Heeps.....Tired of welding with batteries!

I read your post in gerneal 4x,
Keep the sidekick alternator, or upgrade, but I'd keep the welder seprate. You could use the Ford as an alt and a welder, but it gets a little tricky, and im my poinion it's just too risky to have both in the same unit.

As for the electrode polarity, when you weld on your own rig use electrode positive. If you use electrode negative you send all the current backwards through your electrical system and would theroritically short out the computer and mabe some other electrical parts. (I hope no one finds this out the hard way)
When your welding on anything else it doesnt matter what polarity you use. Elecrtode negative has deeper penetration, while electrode positive lays more materal.
And you don't have to dissconnect the battery at any time.

:beer:

Originally posted by Stu
I read your post in gerneal 4x,
Keep the sidekick alternator, or upgrade, but I'd keep the welder seprate. You could use the Ford as an alt and a welder, but it gets a little tricky, and im my poinion it's just too risky to have both in the same unit.

As for the electrode polarity, when you weld on your own rig use electrode positive. If you use electrode negative you send all the current backwards through your electrical system and would theroritically short out the computer and mabe some other electrical parts. (I hope no one finds this out the hard way)
When your welding on anything else it doesnt matter what polarity you use. Elecrtode negative has deeper penetration, while electrode positive lays more materal.
And you don't have to dissconnect the battery at any time.

:beer:

Very cool, I dont have room for another alt....but i did see the premier setup....That replaces your current alt with theres and then you are able to weld from there box.....Same thing im trying to accomplish...

have you checked out island4x4.com?
Moose's "weldunator" (TM) is VERY cool, with a GREAT write up.