05 MTD Yard Machine not starting.

dakotanut

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Sep 23, 2012
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It s been awhile since I've been on here. I'm stumped with this problem. I recently had a idler pulley on the rear end have bad bearings. So I replaced them and the belt from the motor to it. Its all good when I mowed the grass that day. I put it in the driveway for awhile and tried to start it and it wouldn't start. So, I pushed it into the garage and it sat for 5 days. Went to start it yesterday and it wouldn't start. Checked the battery volts and it has no volts. I'm thinking the chargeing system? It started when earlier in the day last week so I don't think it's a sensor or something. I can recheck all of them. Any and all help is greatly appreciated.
 

mechanic mark

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First things first, remove battery & take to auto parts store & ask them to charge & load test battery for you, should be of no cost to you. This will let you know if battery is good or bad. If you have a battery charger, charge it up & take battery to store for load test, less time for you & them. Post your model & serial numbers from tractor as well as all numbers from engine, thanks. Also, how old is battery?
 

cpurvis

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The battery being at 0 volts makes me think there's a drain on the battery.

After you recharge it, check for a current drain with an ammeter if you have one. If not, look very carefully for sparks when you connect the second battery cable.
 

bertsmobile1

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0 volts will be an internal fault in the battery.
One of the busbars has collapsed or the bottom of each cell is short circuting due to paste falling off or they electrolyte has been passivated.
A 0 Volt reading is very rare.
 

reynoldston

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0 volts will be an internal fault in the battery.
One of the busbars has collapsed or the bottom of each cell is short circuting due to paste falling off or they electrolyte has been passivated.
A 0 Volt reading is very rare.

A very good point seeing the mower runs off a mag and uses very little amperage when mowing and seeing it was starting OK. Its so rare I don't ever remember seeing it happen. I have tested old junk battery's that have set around for a few years and get a low voltage reading.
 

bertsmobile1

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Contry to popular belief a mower battery is different internally to a car battery and tat makes mower batteries a touch more expensive so a lot of mowers that come into this shop are fitted with car batteries and most are having problems.
 
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