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My multimeter indicates while the mower is running, I am only getting 6.2 volts to the battery-not enough to charge the battery. I last fall replaced the starter assembly since it was failing to start the mower. Starter now works fine and if I remotely charge the battery, the battery fully charged shows 13.4 volts, more than enough to start the mower. I am concerned as to why I am only getting 6.3 volts to the battery while the mower is running. Any suggestions?

check the model number again

Most like it is a HRR216K9 VLAA. Will need serial number as there is 4 IPLs listed for this model. On this mower's engine the stator appears to be part the ignition coil.

Serial number is MZCG-8825154

Maybe I missed it but I looked here and did not see an alternator or generator on it. Looks like it uses a plug in charger/ https://www.hondapartsnation.com/oemparts/l/hpe/50f735dbf8700233e4c92ed8/hrr216k9-vlaa-parts

HRR216K9 VLAA MZCG-8825154 IPL

sgkent said:

Maybe I missed it but I looked here and did not see an alternator or generator on it. Looks like it uses a plug in charger/ https://www.hondapartsnation.com/oemparts/l/hpe/50f735dbf8700233e4c92ed8/hrr216k9-vlaa-parts

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Yes you are over looking the stator as stator is the circled part on the ignition coil PN 3050-Z0L-M72

where is the regulator? If there is none, and it just gets a pulse each time thru that 3 amp fuse, the peak voltage may not be readable with a meter. You may need an oscilloscope to see the spike. But I would think that there should be a diode somewhere in that system to keep the battery from discharging back thru the winding.

Is there a way to test the stator to see if it is putting out 12+ volts?

the actual pulse may not be measureable with a meter, I don't know. An oscilloscope might let you see the peak voltage, and polarity. Is the 3 amp fuse good?

It is good but I replaced it with another to test the voltage, still only 6.3 volt output. Last year when checking the battery, there was 12.4 volts output at the battery terminals with the engine running-now about half that amount being produced.

Chathamite said:

It is good but I replaced it with another to test the voltage, still only 6.3 volt output. Last year when checking the battery, there was 12.4 volts output at the battery terminals with the engine running-now about half that amount being produced.

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is the battery fully charged? Maybe there is no surplus voltage and the battery is pulling it down. Also make sure no corrosion on any of the connectors. Has the coil been replaced?

Battery fully charged with external charger and no sign of corrosion anywhere. Original coil-mower pull starts first pull.

Chathamite said:

Battery fully charged with external charger and no sign of corrosion anywhere. Original coil-mower pull starts first pull.

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The question is the mower recharging the battery itself without the external charger?

Since I haven't seen this setup I can't be specific about the charging system but it does appears to be a pulsed DC system. Most meters only reads average RMS voltage even when reading DC voltages of this type so the reading will be lower; although, with the battery in the circuit it will be smooth out to closer to pure DC due the capacitive loading effect of the battery. The battery is such a large capacitor you never reach peak impulse voltage until it is fully charged. You can not get an accurate reading without the battery attached. Plus your test needs to done at full throttle, readings at idle will be lower.

I don't believe the mower is charging the battery. When installing a newly-charged battery with an external charger, I get 13.4 volts. The starter will crank the engine quickly. A week or so later, the battery will show about 12.3 volts, which should be enough to start the mower. However, the mower will start crank slowly but eventually start. Have tried a new battery-still same results-engine turns over slowly. Even if I use the pull-rope to start the engine, the starter will crank slowly even with a warm engine and mowing for at least 30 minutes. I have a new starter which works great with a fully charged battery from an external charger. It is after not mowing for at least a week, starter acts like it has a very low battery charge-it will barely turn over (sometimes it will NOT work at all-just hear the whirring sound of the Bendix.

Have tried two different batteries with the same result. When this mower was new in 2013 I never worried about an electric start. It would work all season without any problems. Took the battery out for the winter, charged it in the Spring, installed it and it worked all year.

What type of charger are you using to remotely charge your batteries? Honda service makes a point to say that using and automotive style charger will ruin the battery. I’ve also seen Toro batteries, same type as Honda, fail when using this style of charger.

It as float charger (battery maintainer)-not an automotive charger. Specifically, it is a Battery Tender Junior.

Those chargers are for lead acid batteries, as stated in the owner’s manual. You have a lithium battery which is totally different and uses a different style of charger. I’m not going to try to explain the difference between the two, but this website does any excellent job of explaining why you will not get a full charge out of your present methods. https://enerdrive.com.au/2017/11/29/can-i-charge-my-lithium-battery-with-a-lead-acid-charger/

In looking at the battery, model GEP Power Products GP-2795-09 25CCA indicates it contains lead. Are you sure it is Lithium? It appears to be a Sealed Lead Acid (SLA) battery, 1.3 Amp 12 Volt Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) with T1 terminals. It indicates it contains Sulfuric Acid.

That is a lead acid battery

May be, but the specs for your charger say for 6-cell lead acid batteries. My experience says they will not fully charge your type of battery. Unless they become fully charged, the battery life is extremely shorted. Just my opinion, whether it applies to your battery is up to you.

I agree that it is for a 6-cell battery. However, I have used with success the PeleusTech 12V 14.4V 1A Float charger for AGM, GEL, SLA and FLA batteries (Amazon). Currently have another battery charging with it currently. I have used it for the past two years and get a charge of 13.4 volts when battery is freshly charged.

My concern still remains the mower is not currently charging the battery properly.

Let’s start over. You state a fully charged battery 13.6 VDC will spin the engine over fine and start the mower. If you let it sit for a week your battery voltage only reads 12.3 VDC and turn the starter very slowly, won’t start the engine. If this is correct, I would be doing the following, in this order.
1. Fully charge the battery, install your VOM across the battery terminals and start the engine. As it is cranking read battery voltage.
2. Once the engine starts, at full throttle, take a second battery voltage reading.
3. Let the unit sit for a week, connect your VOM across the battery terminals and read battery voltage.
4. Now try to start engine and take a reading while cranking. If it starts repeat step #2. If it doesn’t start, try pull starting and repeat step #2.
Let us know each of your readings. From them we should be able to tell you if you have a bad battery, bad stator or a voltage drain in the system.

I will try all of the above and let you know. I have two batteries-the original which is 9 years old and an ExpertPower EXP1213 which has very little difference in specs from the original (12V 1.3AH/20HR). I have both charged and removed from the mower to measure daily the voltage drop from both batteries while out of the mower. The original battery GEP shows 12.97 volts today. The ExpertPower has 13.77 volts today. I will measure each battery daily to see how much battery drainage occurs (if any) before reinstalling in the mower.

It will be difficult to use the VOM meter while installing in the mower due to the "T" style connections but I will try. I did attach the VOM to the leads coming from the mower and since there is only one speed while running-the measure of volts coming from the charging system was only 6.3 volts (should have been at least 12 volts) in order to charge/maintain the battery status.

average life of a lead cell battery is 4 years. You are over double that with the 9 year one. I wouldn't even be considering it.

I pull the spade connectors off slightly so I can clamp an alligator clip on the battery terminal. Charging output should be over 12.6 VDC to fully charge a battery. As sg said normal battery life for those batteries is 3-5 years. It wouldn’t surprise me if we find both the stator and the batteries are bad.

Any additional readings?

I have used a fully charged battery (14.4 volts), installed it in the mower, started the mower using only the electric start, touching the Multimeter probes to the positive and negative terminals of the installed battery to the only spot I could find which is when the terminals on the mower battery are slightly exposed, I had a reading of 16.64 volts while charging. I am not starting the mower for at least a week to see if the battery discharges while resting. I will also again measure the voltage while restarting the mower, hopefully using the electric start. I'm not sure why I am getting a reading of 16.64 volts while charging but I tested the rate at least 3 different times and got the same reading each time, again with a fully charged battery. Still monitoring the situation.

Replace the battery with a new one from Amazon. Same battery mentioned in other post regarding hr217 battery. It arrived with 12.7 volts. I installed it and charging rate at mower terminals was 14.3 while mower is running. For $15 it is working well but have only used it twice.

Do you have a link? I looked for local batteries and I found the cheapest to be $35 or more, and they weren't an exact fit on the specs.

This is what I bought from Amazon:

• Neptune NT-1213 12 Volt 1.3 Amp Sealed Lead Acid Hi-Capacity Rechargeable Battery

I just noticed is not in stock now. It was $14.95 at the time of purchase. Mowed today and it started every time I turned the key (about 4-5 times stopping and starting). Don't know how long it will last but it was an experiment.