etpm
Veteran Member
I thought my battery had bad connections. There was lots of corrosion and the battery clamps were junk. So I bought some nice brass ones, cleaned up the corrosion, charged the battery and everything worked great. But then the problem returned, the battery seemed to be bad. But after putting the thing on the charger the green doodad in the window would show a good charge and the tractor would start right up and do so for a couple weeks. Then this morning it dawned on me, the battery wasn't getting charged. So I checked the voltage at the battery while the engine was running and sure enough, it wasn't getting charged. So I pulled apart the connector from the tiny alternator to check the voltage it was putting out. When checking the voltage I accidentally, but quite briefly, shorted the output from the alternator with one of the meter leads. This made a small spark. Then I checked the voltage and it was 20 volts. The connector looked like there was some white corrosion on the spade connectors. Not much, but it was there. I'm out of contact cleaner so I ordered some so that I can clean the connector. Anyway, there is now 14.70 volts at the battery. Before I fiddled with the connector and shorted the alternator the voltage at the battery terminals didn't change from the 13.6 volts measured after I charged the battery and started the tractor a couple times, so I knew the battery wasn't getting charged. I'm wondering now if the brief short woke up the alternator and that's why it's now charging or if cleaning the spade connector by pulling it apart and re-connecting a few times did the job. I think it was the short. I showed that alternator I meant business and was gonna replace it if wasn't gonna perform up to snuff. Or maybe cleaning the connector actually did the trick. You be the judge.
Cheers,
Eric
Cheers,
Eric