Put in a new Battery, got nothin' - I am not dumb, but maybe I'm not bright?

[Fuddyduddy1952]

I have a '93 F150 farm truck. Last year I replaced the battery with an $300 Optima.
Engine cranked over fast & it was fantastic for a WEEK! Wouldn't crank & meter showed 12.7V but dropped to almost zero key to crank. So I got another one and it's been perfect.
New DOES NOT = GOOD!

 

[EPachinski]

I have owned/operated a 2013 LS4041 tractor for 12 years, and I have had battery replacement issues twice.
First time the new battery worked immediately but did not start the next time. After checking multiple solutions, the battery cable terminations I bought cheap were the culprits. Spent a little more for good ones installed securely to the battery terminals and they worked fine for several years til the battery got drained by kids playing with light switches.
Second time the battery would not start, I had checked all my previous work, and traced things backward from the battery to the key switch. Turned out to the one of the starter relays--there are 7 relays under the dash on my model--and as luck would have it, the last one I checked was defective. Got lucky and was able to find the part number on it, ordered on amazon, installed and fixed the issue.
I don't know how you operate without a multi-meter. When get one, I recommend you spend 30 minutes reading the manual to understand how to test for problems, otherwise you will remain in the dark and waste a lot of time (like I did). You will eventually use most of the functions on the multi-meter and be glad you read those directions. Full disclosure I had several advisors help me run my electrical issues to ground. An uncle was a 50-yr maintenance foreman for an airline so he taught me how to trace issues from one end of a circuit to the other to find the problem(s). And a mechanically inclined friend taught me to "check your pecker tracks" when you start to find a problem--the last thing you did might have caused the problem.
Good luck. Patience helps control costs. I have a $400 starter motor I bought that did not fix one of my "won't start" issues. Ouch.

 

[EPachinski]

Forgot something. You can search online for how to use the multi-meter to check your relays to determine if they are good. Also you can find the wiring schematics for your tractor showing the location and function of the relays, which may point you to which relay to check first.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Multimeter 101...
Resistance (ohms) never EVER test on a live circuit.

 

[4570Man]

. But also consider using a load tester on the battery (a multimeter is great for many different things, but to check the health of a battery, a load tester must be used.)

In the event of not having a load tester which most people don’t all you need to do is hold the volt meter on the battery while someone attempts to start the tractor. I keep some alligator clips in my toolbox so I can preform this step by myself. I like to do the test once measuring straight from the battery terminals and again measuring from the starter terminals. If it drops a lot from the battery then you know the battery is the problem. If the battery holds above 12v but it drops a lot at the starter then you know the cables or more likely the cable ends are the problem. There is a 3rd option that for some reason the starter could be drawing too many amps but a dead battery is much more likely than that.

 

[qualsite]

You need a meter or at least a test light... why go probing around like a blind man in the dark, looking for something you can't see, hoping you stumble across something that might work? Meters are cheap, and you aren't going to get away from electricity issues.
Troubleshooting 101
1. Verify you meter is good, by testing on a known good 12v source, like your car that starts
2. Check across the suspect batteries on the terminals themselves, then the clamps.
3. Verify a good ground by keeping + on positive post, and move - to somewhere on the engine, which will verify that you have a good ground link. Then you are confident in using any ground point on the engine for your - probe.
4. Start from the battery + post, working back each section to find out where you lose +12v. Normally, there should be a direct wire from the battery + to the starter or starter solenoid.

And yes, you can have a bad new battery. Lawn and Garden batteries are the absolute low end of the battery world. I replaced all my L&G lead acid batteries with ATV/motorcycle AGM batteries, which last a lot longer, are much more vibration resistant, and are usually smaller dimensions, and sometimes cheaper. Although, you probably have an automotive battery if this is a tractor and not a mower, so you should be able to swap any automotive battery with it that will fit in the spot and fit the terminals, or like some have suggested, give it a jump. And keep a battery maintainer on them.

 

[Aquabird]

The problem I had after changing the battery on my old tractor, was that I had lost the ground. I had to remove the ground from the frame and sand it off. It worked.Much later I noticed the negative cable had a cracked clamp.

 

[Aquabird]

Another time the seat switch would not "make". I had to adjust the switch. Good luck.

 

[dodge man]

First order is to find that big fuse you posted a diagram of. My money is on that.

 

[BigBlue1]

If absolutely nothing powers up (i.e. dash is dark, lights don't turn on) then it isn't a safety switch. At that point it is either failed battery, bad cable(s)/connections or blown fuse.

 

[FredBarber]

I had a similar problem with my Kubota L48 -- battery seemed to be failing, eventually wouldn't start, all dash lights went out when I tried, etc., etc. Replaced the battery and no joy. Cleaned up the battery and ground connections, including the ground connection to the battery tray. No joy. Did some (obviously incompetent) multimeter testing. Some of the readings didn't make sense, but it was clear that sufficient power to start the thing wasn't getting to the starter. Replaced the starter relay. No joy. Bought and installed a new main harness. No joy.

Finally checked the resistance from the battery ground to the engine block. Voila! The battery tray's connection to the tractor frame is obviously rusty (I haven't actually checked that), so the battery was effectively floating. Used a random piece of 12 gauge wire to connect the battery ground directly to the block (promising to do something better at a later date, which I haven't done yet) and everything came right back up.

As others have said, using the battery tray as the grounding point is a bad idea. The main harness on the darn thing goes right to the solenoid on the starter, so there's no reason they couldn't have included a proper ground there, too. (Well, no reason other than $$.) I can't help but wonder if the original battery was actually fine, even though it was the "obvious" problem when things first went south. At least I saved the old relay and harness, just in case I need them some day -- and to remind me of what an idiot I am.

Bottom line, even if this isn't your problem now, it probably will be some day. Go ahead and fix it before it bites you.

BTW, if you really do need to charge that battery, just disconnect it and carry it up to your garage.

 

[Fxfymn413]

Common sense says it has to be at the only thing you worked on. I'd vote a broken, or more probably, a heavily internally corroded, battery cable you broke when you changed out the battery. That may be why the old battery didn't work properly as well.

 

[camshawn]

Just going back to the start, did you remove the wires from the battery terminal clamps and if so, did they all get put back on? Often there is a big positive power wire as well as a separate control wire or 2 or 3. I have never (honestly) missed a wire when changing a battery. We have already addressed those pesky plastic caps over the battery posts that I have always removed before installation. Good luck.

 

[TORQUIN]

I have not seen, and perhaps I missed it, that you cleaned your battery terminals, on the battery AND on the cables, when you changed the battery. That is something you always do, since the cable terminals develop corrosion over time, and the battery, while fairly unlikely, does corrode the terminals slowly while sitting on a shelf.

Chris

 

[lman]

If the tractor doesn't have a home under a roof, corrosion is a more likely factor. We got 10" of snow here so hopefully the tractor will be running and plowing snow soon.

 

[JBF43]

Common sense says it has to be at the only thing you worked on. I'd vote a broken, or more probably, a heavily internally corroded, battery cable you broke when you changed out the battery. That may be why the old battery didn't work properly as well.

I vote for this as I have had this happen on my tractor and also a tilt bed trailer using a 'starter motor hydraulic pump' system to raise and lower the bed. The battery was new and fully charged, and tested well in all respects, including load testing. But nothing happened when trying to tilt the bed or run the attached winch. Even got voltage at both ends of both battery cables. But no amperage was available to run the motors. Closer inspection of the cables revealed that the cables were internally corroded inside the insulation, starting at the battery end of the cable and working toward the other end. I found both the positive and negative cables to be this way and corroded inside as far as halfway up the cables. replaced the cables, and everything was fine. Note: There was no indication that anything was wrong at all by looking at or handling these cables. But stripping back the insulation revealed the damaged wire inside. Looked as if they were acid-eaten. As mentioned earlier, I have seen this happen on my trailer and my tractor several times now. No clue what causes it, as I keep my batteries clean and no acid or corrosion at any of the connections. Just a thought and something very easy to check.

 

[Jaygyver]

How old is your LS? I have a 3 year old MT2-35e and I did notice I had a plastic battery pan but assumed it was also grounded to the frame. Mine is actually indented so the battery sits down farther. Doesn't block the radiator as much? Maybe check the battery ground bolt at the pan just to make sure? I kinda think it may be the main fuse likes been mentioned.

I only checked the LS as I had just had to replace the battery pan and everything near it on my 27 yr old JD 770. The battery now lives in a marine battery case.

 

[garry1p]

I think Freddy found the problem and did not want to share.

 

[SPYDERLK]

I think Freddy found the problem and did not want to share.

Workweek distractions maybe?

 

[Avenger]

In the event of not having a load tester which most people don’t all you need to do is hold the volt meter on the battery while someone attempts to start the tractor. I keep some alligator clips in my toolbox so I can preform this step by myself. I like to do the test once measuring straight from the battery terminals and again measuring from the starter terminals. If it drops a lot from the battery then you know the battery is the problem. If the battery holds above 12v but it drops a lot at the starter then you know the cables or more likely the cable ends are the problem. There is a 3rd option that for some reason the starter could be drawing too many amps but a dead battery is much more likely than that.

Absolutely! This will work. And if you have a second person to help turn the key, will work just fine. It has been my experience that the leads on multimeters are not long enough to reach from the battery to the cab. Or from under the hood to the cab of pickups, cars, boats, etc. I've made longer leads to get me by in a pinch, and is possible, but is the readings accurate at that point?

Alternatively, you could spend less than $40 for a little digital load tester from Amazon (link) that you can use yourself without ever needing to turn the key. The one I linked is the one I use. I keep it with my electrical testing equipment, and if I ever suspect a battery, its simple to grab and use.

Just a thought while we wait to see what happened to this particular tractor.