John Deere 318 voltage regulator
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texasranger556
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Yes, your battery voltage should be right at 12 volts with no load. When running at full throttle about 14. Search YouTube for checking a battery/charging system.
Coyote machine
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First thing you ought to do is put on safety goggles, or at least safety glasses and gloves and carefully remove the negative battery wire connection from the battery and put it aside. THEN, look at how the wires at your ignition switch are laid out. If they are frayed to the point that they can touch together bare wire to bare wire, you could use electrical tape to temporarily tape each frayed wire so it cannot contact any other wire or any metal on the mower.
With a VOM, ( Volt-Ohm-Meter), put the black lead on the negative post of the battery and the red on the positive post. Read Voltage present in the battery, without the engine running. Next, hook up the negative battery wire and start the mower. Now read the voltage. It should be at 13.5-14.5 Volts Maximum. If it reads any higher immediately shut off the mower and re-disconnect the ground wire, (neg) at the battery. At this point, IF the voltage is higher than what I wrote, you have a n overcharging problem, likely caused by a bad voltage regulator. The Voltage regulator is likely a separate box, about the size of a pack of cigarettes, that has wires going to/from the alternator. It could also be part of the alternator, as in a integrated Vreg, but less likely.
Report back the results of the tests I outlined above.
I also suggest keeping the mower outside, away from anything that could catch fire if the battery/ electrical system were to catch fire due to over-voltage being present at the battery. Though unlikely, it's not outside the realm of possibility.
With a VOM, ( Volt-Ohm-Meter), put the black lead on the negative post of the battery and the red on the positive post. Read Voltage present in the battery, without the engine running. Next, hook up the negative battery wire and start the mower. Now read the voltage. It should be at 13.5-14.5 Volts Maximum. If it reads any higher immediately shut off the mower and re-disconnect the ground wire, (neg) at the battery. At this point, IF the voltage is higher than what I wrote, you have a n overcharging problem, likely caused by a bad voltage regulator. The Voltage regulator is likely a separate box, about the size of a pack of cigarettes, that has wires going to/from the alternator. It could also be part of the alternator, as in a integrated Vreg, but less likely.
Report back the results of the tests I outlined above.
I also suggest keeping the mower outside, away from anything that could catch fire if the battery/ electrical system were to catch fire due to over-voltage being present at the battery. Though unlikely, it's not outside the realm of possibility.
Thank you for the great information. I'll be honest, I'm quite nervous about that situation since I'm not knowledgeable about electronics. I've ordered a voltage regulator, new plug for the ignition switch, and I'll be getting a new battery. I think I'll replace these parts since all are original and the plug is in bad shape and the battery likely is no good. I'll try running this process once everything is replaced.
BrokeFarmerJohn
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If your doing any crimping of butt connectors, your gonna need a good crimping tool, I used Chanel locks, I have two sets and they work great. Channellock 9 9 Crimping Tool with Cutter - Crimpers - Amazon.com
For wire strippers, I find it's best that you get a pair with the strippers at the nose like these. Klein Tools Kurve Wire Stripper/Cutter-11 55 - The Home Depot
I had a voltage issue on my Husqvarna with a B&S engine, it was the opposite, my battery was dying on me while it was running.
Another thing you will want to put in is a few inline fuses like this Amazon.com: Parts Express ATC/ATO Water-resistant Fuse Holder - 1 AWG: Automotive
That will protect your wires from over current and melting, would prob keep your battery from cooking also, my mower has two, one is inline from the voltage regulator to the battery.
If acid boiled over, you need to take the battery out and clean anywhere acid could go, acid is highly corrosive and if left alone could eat its way threw metal. I'm not sure of the best way to clean acid, I would thing a heavy Base type cleaner? To neutralize the acid? Idk
Be very careful with liquid acid, if it contacts your eyes or mouth your most likely headed to the ER, it has the potential to burn your skin as well, a non absorbent glove is suggested until the battery is free of exterior acid, a trip to advance to have the battery checked wouldn't be a bad idea also, if it has caps you may have to top off the acid. Good Luck and be careful.
Always remember to disconnect the power(battery) before wiring anything up.
For wire strippers, I find it's best that you get a pair with the strippers at the nose like these. Klein Tools Kurve Wire Stripper/Cutter-11 55 - The Home Depot
I had a voltage issue on my Husqvarna with a B&S engine, it was the opposite, my battery was dying on me while it was running.
Another thing you will want to put in is a few inline fuses like this Amazon.com: Parts Express ATC/ATO Water-resistant Fuse Holder - 1 AWG: Automotive
That will protect your wires from over current and melting, would prob keep your battery from cooking also, my mower has two, one is inline from the voltage regulator to the battery.
If acid boiled over, you need to take the battery out and clean anywhere acid could go, acid is highly corrosive and if left alone could eat its way threw metal. I'm not sure of the best way to clean acid, I would thing a heavy Base type cleaner? To neutralize the acid? Idk
Be very careful with liquid acid, if it contacts your eyes or mouth your most likely headed to the ER, it has the potential to burn your skin as well, a non absorbent glove is suggested until the battery is free of exterior acid, a trip to advance to have the battery checked wouldn't be a bad idea also, if it has caps you may have to top off the acid. Good Luck and be careful.
Always remember to disconnect the power(battery) before wiring anything up.
Coyote machine
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You're welcome.
I would go about it differently, BUT I completely understand your concerns.
So first disconnect the ground, (minus/negative) battery cable, usually black color sheathing. Set it aside.
Then positive cable, (red), without allowing the wrench to come in contact with any metal part of the mower.
Then replace your ignition switch, AFTER taking a few pics of what goes where, wires, etc. Draw yourself a diagram if necessary.
Replace the switch with the new one. Same procedure with the new voltage regulator, pics, then remove and replace.
Now install the new battery, after making sure there are no remaining frayed, broken, loose or otherwise not secure wires anywhere on the machine.
Recheck to make sure the neg and pos cables to the battery are in the right place.
You should be able to start it and verify the output voltage as detailed earlier.
Now, if it doesn't start, there can be other reasons, which get more complicated, so lets get this far before going deeper.
You should gather the year and exact model of the mower, the serial number and what EXACT engine it has in it. These items tell the tale of what parts may be needed to make it run/run properly. There are numerous issues with these mowers, especially if the engine was ever swapped out, if a different ignition switch was installed, etc. So get all the data you can so you can post it here if we determine further investigation is needed.
Take your time, check everything overe, and don't panic; it's not rocket science, yet!
You're welcome.
I would go about it differently, BUT I completely understand your concerns.
So first disconnect the ground, (minus/negative) battery cable, usually black color sheathing. Set it aside.
Then positive cable, (red), without allowing the wrench to come in contact with any metal part of the mower.
Then replace your ignition switch, AFTER taking a few pics of what goes where, wires, etc. Draw yourself a diagram if necessary.
Replace the switch with the new one. Same procedure with the new voltage regulator, pics, then remove and replace.
Now install the new battery, after making sure there are no remaining frayed, broken, loose or otherwise not secure wires anywhere on the machine.
Recheck to make sure the neg and pos cables to the battery are in the right place.
You should be able to start it and verify the output voltage as detailed earlier.
Now, if it doesn't start, there can be other reasons, which get more complicated, so lets get this far before going deeper.
You should gather the year and exact model of the mower, the serial number and what EXACT engine it has in it. These items tell the tale of what parts may be needed to make it run/run properly. There are numerous issues with these mowers, especially if the engine was ever swapped out, if a different ignition switch was installed, etc. So get all the data you can so you can post it here if we determine further investigation is needed.
Take your time, check everything overe, and don't panic; it's not rocket science, yet!
Thank you for all the info today! I feel much better about this process. I'll report back.
