saltlife97
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At W.O.T, the max charge of the battery was 13.82v. After shutting down the battery was flickering between 12.78 and 12.79 back and forth.
Charging system fail?
- Thread starter saltlife97
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At W.O.T, the max charge of the battery was 13.82v. After shutting down the battery was flickering between 12.78 and 12.79 back and forth.
cpurvis
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OK, it's charging.
Now, if you have a multimeter with an amp meter function, disconnect the negative battery post an put the multimeter leads on the now-disconnected battery terminal and the ground cable.
There should be no current flow at all but it may show a milli-amp draw. Anything higher than the milli-amp ranges shows that something is draining your battery.
If it shows little to no current drain, let it set a couple days and re-check the battery voltage. If it's down a few tenths of a volt, have the battery tested. Even a relatively new battery can be bad.
Now, if you have a multimeter with an amp meter function, disconnect the negative battery post an put the multimeter leads on the now-disconnected battery terminal and the ground cable.
There should be no current flow at all but it may show a milli-amp draw. Anything higher than the milli-amp ranges shows that something is draining your battery.
If it shows little to no current drain, let it set a couple days and re-check the battery voltage. If it's down a few tenths of a volt, have the battery tested. Even a relatively new battery can be bad.
saltlife97
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There was no current flow at 10a, 200ma, nor 20ma. I'll let it sit for a few days and check the voltage then. Thanks for help so far guys
cpurvis
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I forgot one other thing to check and that is to test the voltage across the battery with the engine running and all electrical loads on (mower, lights, and anything else you may have). This is to make sure the charging system has enough capacity to run all of that stuff and charge the battery, too.
saltlife97
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Might be a bit tough with the mower running with the seat needing to be down, but I'll check it out thanks!
cpurvis
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Yeah, you'll probably need a helper monkey for this check. I have used weights in the seat before but don't recommend it. Keep your feet away from the mower, too!
bertsmobile1
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As much as I hate telling people how to bypass safety devices, this is one time that you will need to do it.
From memory your seat switch is a pancake type with a keyhole mount in which case you rotate the switch and it will drop out ( may need some encouragement )
These get clamped closed then the mower things you are there so you access the battery without being on the mower, just remember to reconnect it when your are done testing.
The other pin types usually have one pair normally open & one pair normally closed so you will need either need to strap the plunger down with a cable tie or disconnect the switch and jumper the wiring pins.
From memory your seat switch is a pancake type with a keyhole mount in which case you rotate the switch and it will drop out ( may need some encouragement )
These get clamped closed then the mower things you are there so you access the battery without being on the mower, just remember to reconnect it when your are done testing.
The other pin types usually have one pair normally open & one pair normally closed so you will need either need to strap the plunger down with a cable tie or disconnect the switch and jumper the wiring pins.
saltlife97
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Things seemed normal with the electrical loads on. Left it for almost a week and checked the batt voltage and it's at 12.58v which seems to be normal. So it should start up easily the next time I'll run it. I guess the best test is to wait and see if it'll hold up for a few rounds of lawn mowing and see if it starts strong every time. Could've been the stator after all
saltlife97
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Update: The regulator has two blown open diodes. Think I found the problem.
cpurvis
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Hmmmm....
In post #11 you said the battery was receiving 13.8 volts with the engine running, which is above the normal 12.7 volts for the battery. This indicates the battery is being charged.
Then two posts above you said things appear to me normal with the electrical loads on. I'm assuming the voltage was still in the 13-14 volt range during this test?
If those two conditions are true, I'm not sure what replacing the regulator is going to do for you. How did you test these diodes to determine they were blown?
In post #11 you said the battery was receiving 13.8 volts with the engine running, which is above the normal 12.7 volts for the battery. This indicates the battery is being charged.
Then two posts above you said things appear to me normal with the electrical loads on. I'm assuming the voltage was still in the 13-14 volt range during this test?
If those two conditions are true, I'm not sure what replacing the regulator is going to do for you. How did you test these diodes to determine they were blown?