2615 No juice!

[Old Steve]

Scratching my head on this one; maybe you can help. Had taken my old battery out for charging. Held the charge for a couple of days, so reinstalled it. The minute I started the crank, everything went dead. Re-checked the battery and found that my Neg cable wasn't tight. Tightened--no juice, nothing, no lights, nothing. Checked all the fuses, all okay. Battery still holding at 12.4 volts. Is installed with pos and neg cables correct. What's up?

 

[MarkF48]

If you haven't done so already, check the other ends of the battery cables where they are terminated. I seem to recall corrosion or connection problems people have had to the cable that I think connects to the tractor frame. Presume you cleaned the battery terminals and posts when you had the battery out.

 

[Old Steve]

Yes, I cleaned them. Other ends of cables are fine.

 

[JerryK]

You have to measure the voltages whilst you try to crank her. That way, you will find if you have a battery that is opening up under load, clamp, cable, starter, etc.... Good luck, Jerry .....

 

[Old Steve]

Thanks, Jerry; however, there's no juice at the switch; no lights, nothing. This is an old battery; however, it is holding a charge at 12.5. Should be enough for lights and switch.

 

[JerryK]

Use your meter and check any wires coming off the battery. You may have blown a fuseable link... which is a fuse that is in the wire, kind of a failsafe, if you have voltage on one end of the wire.. and not on the other... then either the connector on the wire [ battery clamp, etc. ] is bad, or you have blown that fuseable link.... They are sometimes not easy to find, just a bulge in the wire... sometimes covered with shrink wrap.. Good luck, Jerry...

 

[Old Steve]

Okay, thanks, Jerry. Will check it out.

 

[LAWALLSTRACTOR]

Use your meter and put the positive lead to the lug on the solonoid where the positive cable attaches and the negative lead to a bare spot on the tractor engine or frame. If your battery connections are good you should have the same reading that you get on the battery. I would check this before you get any further. If that checks out good then put the tractor in neutral and then try to jump the starter solonoid. If that starts the tractor, I would start checking the wiring. I believe there is a second small wire on the positive terminal of the battery. Check for opens in that line.

 

[Old Steve]

Thanks, Galen, will check it out.

 

[MarkF48]

Any luck with this Steve?

 

[Old Steve]

This turned out an easy fix. I put in a new battery. As I said, the old one held for a few days at 12.5 volts, then began to gradually lose. It was ten years old; however, I thought it should still be adequate if the voltage was up. Anyone experience this before? (I appreciate the help and suggestions on this.)

 

[AchingBack]

This turned out an easy fix. I put in a new battery. As I said, the old one held for a few days at 12.5 volts, then began to gradually lose. It was ten years old; however, I thought it should still be adequate if the voltage was up. Anyone experience this before? (I appreciate the help and suggestions on this.)

I think a ten year longevity on a battery could be a record. Anyway, on another thread, I suggested a battery tender. As far as voltage goes, I believe the criteria you need to know is the remaining CCA level.