I have a john deere z425 with a bs engine. I have noticed that my battery life lately has been very short. Like less than one season short. I have noticed that my 20amp starter circuit fuse blows , but I am not sure of when because the mower still starts and runs, that is until the battery is dead. Do these two things correlate? Bad alternator, voltage regulator? What can be causing premature battery life. This is the second battery I have changed so I dont think it is isolated to a bad battery. Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Take a meter and check the battery voltage at the battery while the engine is running at full throttle. You should get a reading of 13.2-14.6V if the charging system is working properly. Please give us the make and model numbers of the engine, if you need further help.
If you have 14V with the engine running, your charging system is working properly. In your case blowing fuses is probably caused by a loose connection in the starting circuit or turning the starter for more than 5 seconds, which will over heat the circuit causing the fuse to blow. In this case, maybe a good tune-up with valve adjustment will solve your problem.
