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rustyj14 01-03-2013 11:05:59 74.109.237.80 Report to Moderator

Bite the bullet--go buy a new battery, and get back to work. Then, accept the fact, from time immemorial, that car, truck, lawn tractor, any kind of wet cell batteries don"t last much more then 2-4 years, depending on how many times they are used to start something! Unless__ Unless there is something wrong with the charging system, which should be checked if you are having dead battery problems. The main reason that batteries go dead, is the fact that the safety gurus have made the newer machines run batteries down sooner than they used to: Just think---every time you raise yer butt off the seat, for more than a second or two--the engine stops. This calls for another start. Then you drive down behind the shed, get off to dump the load--and BINGO-shuts the engine down. And another start! Do this twenty times in a day or so, and the battery is losing the stuff off the plates in the battery! And, thats why lawn tractor batteries go bad in a year or so! Figger this: Your car or truck battery only gets used maybe 2-4 times in a day. The same principles apply, but car batteries last much longer in average service, because you might drive at least 5-10 miles and that replaces the charge rather quickly. Lead-acid batteries, as used to start most engines, be it car, truck, or lawn tractors, have the problem of lead dropping off the inner plates each time you start something. The lead falls down into cells, upon which the plates set. When the lead droppings get high enough, it contacts the bottoms of the plates, and shorts out the inner workings of the battery! At that time--you scamper off to the auto parts store, or wally-world, and buy a new one, which should give at least 2-3 years of use. Note: expensive batteries have deeper cells at the bottom of the case, which makes the battery last longer. Cheap batteries have shallower cells, which fill up faster-resulting in a trip to Joe"s Auto Parts, to buy another battery. And, sooner than you wanted to! [Reply]   [No Email]