Brand new battery. Reads 11.4V right now. Keep having to charge it before use. This was a problem that started since the last battery I purchased, 2 years ago. The mower is 3 years old. What is a good place to start?
Start by checking the voltage at the battery engine off & engine running full speed and engine running full speed blades on
Let us know what the readings are
Sounds like you may have a bad charging system or parasitic drain on the battery. Post all engine numbers and we’ll find you a manual to tell you how to check the charging system.
Your charging system is not working.
Engine running you should see 13 V minimum with the engine running full speed.
Next step is to check the output voltage from the rectifier by back probing the + wire and measuring it's voltage to the engine ( ground ) .
If it read higher than you read at the battery then the connection from it back to the battery is bad
Flip the meter to AC and measure each of the same coloured wires to the engine and between each of the same coloured wires.
Wire to ground should be 13 to 16 V AC and between the two wires 28 to 36V AC.
Took the fan shroud off and plastic housing, and noticed the connection to my flywheel was, well no longer connected to the rectifier. It is now charging. Perhaps it got caught in the fly wheel because the metal crimp connections were still on the wires.
