CHARGER9AUTO 3 #1 Posted November 16, 2007 I have about had it with my '88 416-8 because it never starts up with the Good battery I'd installed to replace the old worn out one all the wires is connected to where they should be it isn't the ignition switch . I'm tired of putting the battery charger on to charge the battery up each time what I want to use it my idea is to swap engines and take out the MAGNUM M16 and put in the Kohler K-341S from a parts '73 16 AUTOMATIC tractor for the 416-8 400 - series machine. Ben.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nylyon-(Admin) 7,254 #2 Posted November 16, 2007 Ben, is the battery discharging on you? Is the volt meter reading higher voltage when the engine is running than when it is off with the key on? You may want to check the fuses to be sure that they are good as well as the ground wires. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rollerman 290 #3 Posted November 16, 2007 Ben have you checked to see if the rectifier is working correctley? Does the tractor have a short & the battery drains when it sits or is it just not charging? There is not a whole lot of differance with the Magnum & the K series engines. If your not charging or have a short an engine swap will leave you in the same boat. Give us a better idea whats going on & "Red Square" will try are best to figure out the problem. Stephen in northern IN Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CHARGER9AUTO 3 #4 Posted November 16, 2007 Ben, is the battery discharging on you? Is the volt meter reading higher voltage when the engine is running than when it is off with the key on? You may want to check the fuses to be sure that they are good as well as the ground wires. Karl, I have not tryed the volt meter yet or checked the 25 amp fuse I rewired some faulty wires and made sure they were in the correct spot . I'm itching to sell my 416-8 at the 2008 Wheel Horse show next year I paid $101.00 for it at the Wilbraham - Hampden town school auction . Ben :D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CHARGER9AUTO 3 #5 Posted November 16, 2007 Ben have you checked to see if the rectifier is working correctley? Does the tractor have a short & the battery drains when it sits or is it just not charging? There is not a whole lot of differance with the Magnum & the K series engines. If your not charging or have a short an engine swap will leave you in the same boat. Give us a better idea whats going on & "Red Square" will try are best to figure out the problem. Stephen in northern IN Steve, I just know the tractor will not start with the battery stone dead when you turn the key switch I have not checked the rectifier out yet no I need to research more into the problem . Ben Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rollerman 290 #6 Posted November 16, 2007 Ben check to make sure there is "AC" current going into the rectifier...the 2 wires comeing from behind the flywheel shroud. Should be 32 to 48 volt across the two wires at 3000 RPM Then with AC wires pluged into the rectifier make sure it is giveing you DC voltage out...center tab or one by itself on "2 styles" wil be the DC side. If the battery is dead or bad and wont turn the engine over the engine will not run right or for long because it needs 12volts to power the coil too. So make sure your charging circuit & battery are in good condition & working. Stephen in northern IN Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CHARGER9AUTO 3 #7 Posted November 16, 2007 Ben check to make sure there is "AC" current going into the rectifier...the 2 wires comeing from behind the flywheel shroud. Should be 32 to 48 volt across the two wires at 3000 RPM Then with AC wires pluged into the rectifier make sure it is giveing you DC voltage out...center tab or one by itself on "2 styles" wil be the DC side. If the battery is dead or bad and wont turn the engine over the engine will not run right or for long because it needs 12volts to power the coil too. So make sure your charging circuit & battery are in good condition & working. Stephen in northern IN Steve, I will have my Dad help me with testing the voltage from the rectifiers tabs or connections . Ben in MA Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kj4kicks 151 #8 Posted November 16, 2007 Sounds to me like you have a draw on the system. Try just unhooking the battery next time you park it. Wait a few days, hook it up, and see what happens. If it starts, you know you have something drawing current even when the key is off. If it doesn't start, you have a bad battery. It is unusual for a new battery to be bad, but it does happen. Eldon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CHARGER9AUTO 3 #9 Posted November 16, 2007 Sounds to me like you have a draw on the system. Try just unhooking the battery next time you park it. Wait a few days, hook it up, and see what happens. If it starts, you know you have something drawing current even when the key is off. If it doesn't start, you have a bad battery. It is unusual for a new battery to be bad, but it does happen. Eldon. Eldon, I will try your idea of taking off the + battery cable and wait a few days then see if it starts up after that time period . Ben Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kpinnc 11,877 #10 Posted November 16, 2007 Use jumper cables the next time you crank it on the first crank. That way, you'll be starting it with a minimal charge actually on the battery. If the tractor can be cranked immediately a few times AFTER running it for a while, you can assume it's charging the battery. If it won't, then do what Stephen said and fully test the charging system. If it's charging, use an A/C charger to FULLY charge (probably a few hours worth) the battery. Park the tractor, just like Eldon said, and wait a day or so. If it won't crank later, you've got a draw on the battery. I've had an ignition switch go bad before. The ignition (not the "start") shorted out, effectively like leaving the tractor in "run", with the engine off. All it did was energize the coil, which does not take much current. But, it would kill the battery completely in a matter of hours. Took forever to figure it out. One "backwoods" way to verify a drain on the battery is take the key out of the ignition and remove the cable to the positive side of the battery. this would require a FULL charge on the battery to be sure. If you rake the battery connector back and forth over the positive battery post, and get a small arc or spark, you've got a drain. With the key out, you should have an open circuit between the two posts on the battery. No spark= no drain. My two cents. Kevin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Curmudgeon 28 #11 Posted November 16, 2007 The idiot lights on the 400 series are also notorious for phantom drains. Once I unhooked all of mine, most of my electrical gremlins went away. Dale Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CHARGER9AUTO 3 #12 Posted November 16, 2007 Use jumper cables the next time you crank it on the first crank. That way, you'll be starting it with a minimal charge actually on the battery. If the tractor can be cranked immediately a few times AFTER running it for a while, you can assume it's charging the battery. If it won't, then do what Stephen said and fully test the charging system. If it's charging, use an A/C charger to FULLY charge (probably a few hours worth) the battery. Park the tractor, just like Eldon said, and wait a day or so. If it won't crank later, you've got a draw on the battery. I've had an ignition switch go bad before. The ignition (not the "start") shorted out, effectively like leaving the tractor in "run", with the engine off. All it did was energize the coil, which does not take much current. But, it would kill the battery completely in a matter of hours. Took forever to figure it out. One "backwoods" way to verify a drain on the battery is take the key out of the ignition and remove the cable to the positive side of the battery. this would require a FULL charge on the battery to be sure. If you rake the battery connector back and forth over the positive battery post, and get a small arc or spark, you've got a drain. With the key out, you should have an open circuit between the two posts on the battery. No spark= no drain. My two cents. Kevin Kevin, I will check everything out on my 416-8 before I start the tractor up next time around . Ben Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
