2660 Charging issue

AHNC · Dec 2, 2020

My 2660 will on occasion fail to start as it did today. I checked the battery and noticed a corroded Neg terminal. I pulled the battery out, disconnected the negative terminal for cleaning and figured I'd charge the battery for a bit. It generally only takes a little bump on the charger and it starts just fine. I connected the charger on 2A to the hot and to the bare Neg terminal on the battery. The Neg battery lead was laying on the rubber footman on the tractor. While the battery was out I blew out the radiator. I did my work on the 23 and came back in a couple hrs. Reconnected the battery and put everything back together and turned the key to get the glow plugs going. All the status lights lit up brightly. I turned the key and nothing. No sign of life. Now when I had plugged in the charger I heard a pop that sounded suspiciously like I let the smoke out somewhere. Much obliged for any suggestions.

tom39 · Dec 3, 2020

AHNC said:
My 2660 will on occasion fail to start as it did today. I checked the battery and noticed a corroded Neg terminal. I pulled the battery out, disconnected the negative terminal for cleaning and figured I'd charge the battery for a bit. It generally only takes a little bump on the charger and it starts just fine. I connected the charger on 2A to the hot and to the bare Neg terminal on the battery. The Neg battery lead was laying on the rubber footman on the tractor. While the battery was out I blew out the radiator. I did my work on the 23 and came back in a couple hrs. Reconnected the battery and put everything back together and turned the key to get the glow plugs going. All the status lights lit up brightly. I turned the key and nothing. No sign of life. Now when I had plugged in the charger I heard a pop that sounded suspiciously like I let the smoke out somewhere. Much obliged for any suggestions.

Sorry but I am having troubles following your procedures.
You indicated that you removed the battery from the tractor. That the negative terminal was lying on the rubber mat. At the end you state that when you plugged the charger in you heard a pop sound.

If the battery was removed from tractor, how do you feel that the popping sound has any bearing on the tractor?
Please verify if was the battery out of the tractor when you were charging it.

AHNC · Dec 3, 2020

Ya know, I re-read the post prior to sending and wondered if I was tying people in knots. Thanks for taking the time and pointing it out.
I removed the battery from its position setting it on the floor deck with the positive terminal, which had no corrosion, still connected to the battery. The Neg terminal was disconnected from the battery and lay on the rubber decking next to the battery. There was no possible connection of the battery cable on the Neg side. So, the charger was hooked up to the battery properly, pos/neg, set on its lowest output, 2A and then I plugged the charger in to the line voltage. POP. The charger cycled as normal. I am not sure, but think I must have created a dead short somehow.

powersrp · Dec 3, 2020

I keep mine on a 3amp battery maintainer 24/7, prob costs a quarter a month, 2 hours before winter use i unplug charger and plug block heater in. 2 years ago i thought the battery was weak, so i started using the maintainer. It was getting a lil weak on cold startups so last month i replace it. it was 6 yrs old.

tom39 · Dec 3, 2020

AHNC said:
Ya know, I re-read the post prior to sending and wondered if I was tying people in knots. Thanks for taking the time and pointing it out.
I removed the battery from its position setting it on the floor deck with the positive terminal, which had no corrosion, still connected to the battery. The Neg terminal was disconnected from the battery and lay on the rubber decking next to the battery. There was no possible connection of the battery cable on the Neg side. So, the charger was hooked up to the battery properly, pos/neg, set on its lowest output, 2A and then I plugged the charger in to the line voltage. POP. The charger cycled as normal. I am not sure, but think I must have created a dead short somehow.

If the positive terminal was connected and you heard a pop, I would check fuses.
But I would guess that the main issue is that your battery has given up and isn't providing enough CCA to turn over a cold engine.

AHNC · Dec 4, 2020

Why, Tom, by golly you are a genius. Last night I pulled the battery, put it on the charger overnight and let it go. This morning I re-connected the battery and the tractor would very briefly turn over. Took the battery in to the Elect. Motor shop local and it is in fact kaput. I thought it had only been 3 or 4 yrs since I purchased that battery, but according to their records 7.5. New battery and it fired right up, thankfully.