It is the battery - Quick advice please!!!

[r0GuE]

We have a few inches of ice pellets on top of last nights snow. I went out to start the tractor and it is more appearent to me now that I do indeed need a battery. My BX is almost 3 years old. I do not think the battery would be warrantee would it?? Besides, I really need to go NOW and get a battery installed to clean my driveway (preschool tomorrow),.

Where to go? Wal-Mart,Sears,Advanced Auto
What to get?
How much is "the right price range"

Thanks for a quick answer please

 

[RalphVa]

Don't you have a vehicle and jumper cables?

I had to go to a special battery place in town (after trying 4 or 5 places) called Central Battery here in Charlottesville to get one for my Gravely.

Hopefully, someone with a BX can advise you on maybe some of the places you mentioned have ones to fit the BX2200. My Gravely had a STRANGE size and hold-down plate design. Central Battery had one identical to what was on it. Batteries Plus, Advance Auto, etc. didn't have any that would work.

I started my Gravely with a utility battery that I have 2 of in my carriage house where it sits.

My huge Benz battery would jump start even a big truck.

Just connect the ground cable last, to the frame on your BX, when jumping it.

Ralph

 

[surfran]

I would say that any of those might have one that would work. I would choose the closest place to check first. If you have a Tractor Supply Co. or something similar, they would also be a good choice.

Do you have any other mowers, motorcycles etc. that might have one you can "borrow" for the night? Just a thought.

Cost probably around $30-40.

Good luck,

 

[RalphVa]

I paid $50 for my Gravely battery. Nearest other one that MIGHT have worked was one for $70. Most run $30 to $50.

Even Benz batteries are down to about $50 now. Would you believe they used to be $200?

Ralph

 

[Egon]

Get a maintenance free rough use battery. The most cranking amps that will fit in the tractor. A few extra bucks here is well spent.

Just for interest the battery in my B7100 is still the original, 10 years old but is going to need replacement very soon.

Egon

 

[Inspector507]

Personally, I've used the Diehard Gold series in my lawn tractor and motorcycle. Motorcyle long gone, rider still in the shed since I bought a tractor /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif . They are more money, but they seem to last for years even with a discharge over the winter.

 

[Junkman]

As I said in another post to your problem, go with a Walmart $29.99 battery with the one year warranty. It will start your tractor and after 3 or 4 years if you replace it, it will still be less expensive than buying one of those high dollar alternatives. I have one in my Benz for the last 5 years and it cost $39.99 because I had to buy the two year battery. The only difference in the warranty period is how much you pay for it. Take the old one with you and save the core deposit. I am certain that anything that you get will be at least equivalent to what was in it new. It is the cold cranking amps that you should consider, not the price. Get the highest number of cold cranking amps for the least amount of $$ any you will not be disappointed...

 

[NIXON]

ROGUE I replied earlier to your previous post . But I forgot to add TSC . They're on rt 356 just past the dmv liscencing place . John

 

[r0GuE]

There was a day when I wouldn’t have thought twice. I'd have spent whatever they wanted and I’d have a new battery right now. But now I am expecting a 3rd child, and with a stay at home mom, that means try to economize wherever possible. So instead, what I decided to do was to borrow a trickle charger (1.5 Amps) and run an extension cord to the shed. I cleaned off the corrosion and attached the charger at around 9PM. It has a green light to indicate charging (which was lit) and a red light to indicate charged (which was out). At 10:50 (less than 2 hours later) it is saying that it is charged. I guess I am assuming now that it is not going to take the charge. I’ll find out in the AM if it will run, but I am not holding out much hope. Is this what you all would guess as well..?

If I have to buy a new battery, $30 is quite reasonable. I’m not destitute or anything, I just thought that three years was not quite enough life to squeak out of a battery. Perhaps I was mistaken. Typically when I try and save money it doesn’t work. When I don’t try, it becomes painfully obvious that I could have.

Thanks for the replies everybody! Great info. I used the baking soda trick, and I did stop at Advance auto and buy the felt things for $1, but I forgot to put them on /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif (duh!)…

 

[Junkman]

This just came to mind........ did you happen to check the level of the electrolyte in the battery. If it is low, and not covering the plates, then you will not get the battery to hold a full charge. I know it is late, but it is still worthwhile to go out and check this. Adding any water is better than having the top of the plates exposed if you don't have distilled water. Just fill the ports till the fluid comes up to the bottom of the split plastic tube. The reason for the plastic tube that the battery cap screws into is to allow the electrolyte to run back down into the battery when the battery is being charged by the alternator and the battery is "gassing". This means that there is some bubbling of the acid and that the breaking bubbles would expel liquid if it didn't have the plastic tube to condense on. There is a small hole in the battery cap that allows excess gasses to escape without the liquid... Hope that all this makes sense to you because it is hard to put into words sometimes....

 

[r0GuE]

I have a sealed battery. The little window appears to show a green dot, but it was certainly low on charge (am I right in my thinking that the dot indicates overall viability of the battery, but NOT the charged status of the battery). The tractor was having trouble just turning over so certainly the battery did not have a good charge. am just VERY surprised that the battery charger indicated that it was charged so quickly (2 hours). Of course this is a smaller tractor battery and not a massive SUV battery.

 

[Pks]

Rogue,

Two things to remember about batteries: First, they need to be kept clean. That means no corrosion on the terminals or battery case. Second, when they get real cold, they lose power.

Since you mentioned having to remove the corrosion from your terminals, I'll ask if you cleaned the rest of the battery with a baking soda and water mixture. I put together a mix that is a little like a paste. The cable clamps are removed and then I scrub everything clean. I take a wire brush and then emry paper to dress the terminals and clamps.

To offset the cold, my B2400 lives outside, I keep my battery hooked up to a 2 amp trickle charger. Also, adding a blanket or towel around the battery will also help keep the battery warmer. The fan on the B2400 pulls cold air past the battery and into the radiator. So this battery is always cold.

My battery is six years old and still starts things up at -4 degrees F. Any colder then that and I'm the one who won't start. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[hogboy]

I have had excellent results using a Battery Tender on both my tractor and motorcycle batteries for the past several years. I just hook them up after each use and the battery is always ready to go. It also has stopped all corrision on the terminals.

 

[Junkman]

To me, it sounds like it might be a combination of poor connections, cold temperatures causing a loss of cranking amps, and a slightly discharged battery. The green dot shows the overall condition of the battery and if the charge gets low enough, then the green dot will change. The question is, did it start this morning?

 

[LarryG]

The green dot just shows the condition of that one particular cell. I had the same conditions on my Tahoe about a year ago in warmer October weather. The starter would sound like a machine gun going off. Just bang, bang, bang, etc. It would not start with a jump either. I called the local Chevy dealer and talked to one of their mechanics who said that it sounded like the battery was bad but generally the starter would slow right down. Mine kept banging at a fast rate. I called my garage mechanic who told me right off the bat to get a new battery. When I asked about the green dot, he told me that it only indicates the one cell. He said that any of the other cells could have an internal short and the green dot would still show green. He told me that if I was unsure about the battery due to the green dot then take the battery out of my truck and try it. I did and it started right up. I bought a new battery and have had no problems since. I would say just forget the green dot and get a new battery. Like anything else, some things last forever and some things screw up when they are brand new. Save yourself the aggreviation and get a battery.

 

[r0GuE]

Well, preschool was canceled so I just left the driveway icy (3 to 6" of solid ice!!!). My Jeep Rubicon has no issues with snow and ice. When I get home tonight I'm going to give it a shot. I may try to clean the terminals a little better and I have those felt washers (hey, they were only .99 /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif) to put on.

 

[rbarker]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Rogue,

Two things to remember about batteries: )</font>

I will add a third thing. Sometimes batteries aquire a condition that my Grandfather used to call sulphated. This a condition where the battery shows full voltage but has no real capacity to deliver amperage. This fools trickle chargers and vehicle charging systems into thinking everything is fine but as soon as there is a load the battery goes flat.

I know you will all laugh, but he used to have some success reviving a battery like this if it wasn't too far gone by dropping it from about 6" onto a cement floor. Something about jarring the scales off the plates, I think was the explanation. It was a lot of years ago! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

The upshot is when having problems like this you need to load test a battery, a simple voltage test doesn't always show what's going on.

BTW, Gramps was an auto mechanic specializing in electrical and carburation for more than 50 years. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Junkman]

Bob...... I am not as old as your grandfather is or would be, but I have heard of dropping the battery. That was done with the old hard rubber battery cases to jar the sulfated metal from the plates to fall away from the bottom of the plate. If the sulfated metal is in contact with the bottom of the plates, it will cause them to short out. If you can jar it loose and get it to settle a little lower, it will help the battery to continue to put out voltage and amperage. If the battery is sulfated and it isn't too badly sulfated, then they can be brought back to life by adding a bottle of a product called Electro-Start. You add about 3/4 of an ounce to each cell and then put a slow charger on the battery for a couple of hours to days. The chemical will cause the sulfation to go back to a liquid state and will re adhere to the battery plates. This is the simplified explanation, and there is a more technical one, but I won't go into it now.. This product can be purchased at many auto parts stores for about $4.00....
another brand....
I was not able to find any information about electro start on the www, but I did run into a article that suggested wrapping the battery with a strand of the small Christmas tree lights and plug them in to warm the battery... Seems like a bright idea, but I don't know if it will work.. Just passing it along.. Any one care to try and report back to us???

 

[5030]

Junkman:

This Rogue guy has his priorities mixed up. He want s al 'el cheapo battery and drives a Jeep Rubicon. What gives??

 

[frank_f15]

a 3 yr old battery should not be gone(unless it was a cheap battery to start with) but if it is get the best heavy duty battery with the most CCA u can. any good name brand will do fine.