Kevin H 3 #1 Posted yesterday at 04:55 PM My dad is using my old 520xi and my son put a brand new 540CCA U1 battery from Tractor Supply in it last year. My dad has had no trouble with it since. He snowblowed the driveway for 30 minutes last week, (started fine) then the next day it was dead. He said it wouldn't take a charge and just clicked. I went over and the charger said 10.6v AFTER he had it on the charger, it wouldn't try to start, just clicked. After replacing the battery with a new one I tested the voltage and it was 14.6V. That's a bit high, but probably acceptable since the battery was fresh and probably needed to be topped up. Anyway, It's not in my garage so I can't do any troubleshooting further. I can suggest ideas, like test voltage at half/full/idle throttle. What should I do? Was it just a bad battery, got a dud? It says a whopping 6 month warranty! JUNK! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,187 #2 Posted yesterday at 05:27 PM You can not check a charging system with a an under-charged battery. It would drive you nuts. You have done it correctly. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Handy Don 13,112 #3 Posted yesterday at 06:00 PM (edited) Is there any chance he simply left the key in the RUN position after he finished? Any lights or other accessories that could have been left on after the tractor was off? Otherwise, unless the battery was defective (certainly possible but not too likely--take it to a parts shop or service center for a proper load test), I’d suspect something in the tractor’s wiring or charging system needs attention--possibly exacerbated by snow getting into a fusebox or connector. First checks: - Before starting the tractor, what is the “at rest” voltage of the battery? - Start and run the tractor for more than five minutes or so with the engine at about ½ throttle (i.e. after allowing the battery to recover from cranking). What is the “running” voltage across the battery? It should be 1-2 volts above the “at rest” voltage. If not, something in the charging circuit is probably not working properly. - After a work session of ~20 minutes, what is the “running” voltage. It should still be 1-2 volts above the initial “at rest" - Shut down and measure a new “at rest” voltage. It should be at least 12.4 and not more than 14. - Lastly, check the voltage while cranking the engine for a restart--anything below 11.0 tells you the battery is weak either from age or damage. Edited yesterday at 07:46 PM by Handy Don 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
