Cub cadet lt1040

[Howardg]

I power wash my motor and later mowed the yard, went out today and the battery was dead. I charged it and mowed the yard and later went back and the battery was dead. This is a brand battery and didn't have any trouble till I power washed it. Please help

 

[bertsmobile1]

:welcome:

And the moral of this story is..... NEVER EVER POWER WASH A MOWER
So you have forced some dirt into one of the switches which is now creating an earth leak or you have washed clean a bad patch of wiring which is creating an earth ( ground ) leak.

Now to pay for sins afgainst the mower gods you will have to spend a lot of time with some WD40 or similar product.
With the ignition turned off you should only have a power feed to the Solenoid and another to the ignition switch.
If the mower has a regulator on there then you might have power to that as well.
SO find those items, flood them with WD 40 .
Pull the fuse in & out several times, turn the ignition switch on and off a few times clean arounf the batery terminals with wd40 and a soft brass brush or hard tooth brush pull the plug on the regulator and again flood it with WD 40 and replace & remove it 1/2 dozen times.


Wipe off all the excess WD.
The late at night, some where very dark, close your eyes for 5 miutes then make & break on of the battey terminalsa few times.
If it throws small sparks then pull the plug on the regulator and try again.

In future blow your mower down.
Compressed air and a duster with a long 3' to 4' tube is best but a leaf bower will do at a pinch.

 

[primerbulb120]

:welcome:

And the moral of this story is..... NEVER EVER POWER WASH A MOWER

If you know what you're doing (stay away from electrical, gas cap and air filter), there is absolutely nothing wrong with pressure washing a mower. I pressure wash all of mine on a regular basis, as well as my trimmers, edgers, blowers, chainsaws and other equipment. :smile:

Only problem I've had is the air filter getting soaked. I just pull it out, start the engine and put it back in. Then I run the engine a little while and shut it down. :thumbsup:

 

[Howardg]

So why would the battery drain down?

 

[bertsmobile1]

oily water is conductive but not very much so you get a small short circuit like leaving the key on all the time.
Or it gets into a switch and in fact is leaving the key on all the time
A lot of dust is conductive when it is wet.

Everything is conductive to some extent in the right circumstances.
Dry skin is good for about 15 V which is why your car is wired to 12 V

 

[bertsmobile1]

If you know what you're doing (stay away from electrical, gas cap and air filter), there is absolutely nothing wrong with pressure washing a mower. I pressure wash all of mine on a regular basis, as well as my trimmers, edgers, blowers, chainsaws and other equipment. :smile:

Only problem I've had is the air filter getting soaked. I just pull it out, start the engine and put it back in. Then I run the engine a little while and shut it down. :thumbsup:

You left out spindle bearings , wheel bearings, steering bushes , brake pads.

The magic word is audience
By virtue of the fact they are here asking for help it is a fairly safe assumption that most posters are not particularly mechanically astute
I have just finished pressure washing a JD Sabre. And yes I do it regularly too, during a mower repair, never as a day to day cleaning routine.
BUT I KNOW WHAT I AM DOING and I also only pressure wash after first blowing down beause dry grass moves better with wind than it does with air

Just replaced all of the spindle bearing on a new 20 hrs Cub ZTR.
Reason, customer pressure washed the mower after every use but failed to dry it afterwards.
Did a Time Cutter last week, same story and this repair had a $ 300 deck repair because he had lifted nearly all of the paint with his pressure washer
Don't know how many AYP mowers I have repaced rotted out spindle housings because the deck was washed down but they never bothered to clean out the vents in the housings.
Then you get to things like rear axels where I have to remove the box. split it then press the axel out of the hub because the owner pressure washed it regularly.

OTOH using your leaf blower does the job of cleaning off the grass clippings , faster , better and with less potential damage than water, let alone pressure washing.

 

[Howardg]

Thanks for all the help, I let it set out in the hot sun and it starts great now, thanks again

 

[mechanic mark]

http://service.mtdproducts.com/Training_Education/769-02100/1000_1500_series_shop_manual.htm information

 

[primerbulb120]

You left out spindle bearings , wheel bearings, steering bushes , brake pads.

The magic word is audience
By virtue of the fact they are here asking for help it is a fairly safe assumption that most posters are not particularly mechanically astute
I have just finished pressure washing a JD Sabre. And yes I do it regularly too, during a mower repair, never as a day to day cleaning routine.
BUT I KNOW WHAT I AM DOING and I also only pressure wash after first blowing down beause dry grass moves better with wind than it does with air

Just replaced all of the spindle bearing on a new 20 hrs Cub ZTR.
Reason, customer pressure washed the mower after every use but failed to dry it afterwards.
Did a Time Cutter last week, same story and this repair had a $ 300 deck repair because he had lifted nearly all of the paint with his pressure washer
Don't know how many AYP mowers I have repaced rotted out spindle housings because the deck was washed down but they never bothered to clean out the vents in the housings.
Then you get to things like rear axels where I have to remove the box. split it then press the axel out of the hub because the owner pressure washed it regularly.

OTOH using your leaf blower does the job of cleaning off the grass clippings , faster , better and with less potential damage than water, let alone pressure washing.

That's why I said, "If you know what you're doing (stay away from electrical, gas cap and air filter), there is absolutely nothing wrong with pressure washing a mower." I will add all bearings and seals to the list of places to stay away from.

I pressure wash my mowers because I can't use a leaf blower to take off wet grass, dirt and debris. My pressure washer works a lot better.

 

[mechanic mark]

http://service.mtdproducts.com/Training_Education/769-02100/1000_1500_series_shop_manual.htm information

http://service.mtdproducts.com/Training_Education/769-02100/1000_1500_series_shop_manual.htm