Garden tractor running off battery

Thanks, Chris

: Thanks, Chris

If it's depleting the battery, that generally means your alternator or generator isn't working correctly. What make/model tractor do you have? An older model may have a generator with a loose belt which doesn't let the generator spin fast enough to charge. A lot of these had a starter/generator in one unit, so if it starts, the belt is not likely the problem. Do you have an ammeter on the tractor? If so, does it show slight charge, no charge, or discharge? Check all connections to the battery, generator, alternator, and everything else to make certain they are CLEAN and tight. A dirty battery connection will sometimes let you "jump" the system from another vehicle without really taking much of a charge, thus letting your tractor run on what is being produced by the alterator or generator without putting anything back in the battery. If you have a battery charger, connect it to the battery and see if it takes a charge well. A faulty cell in the battery could be your problem if it won't. Also, make sure you don't have something left on to discharge the battery between uses. If it starts and runs okay for long periods from a jump, it's likely generating electricity, but not storing it!

: : Thanks, Chris

: If it's depleting the battery, that generally means your alternator or generator isn't working correctly. What make/model tractor do you have? An older model may have a generator with a loose belt which doesn't let the generator spin fast enough to charge. A lot of these had a starter/generator in one unit, so if it starts, the belt is not likely the problem. Do you have an ammeter on the tractor? If so, does it show slight charge, no charge, or discharge? Check all connections to the battery, generator, alternator, and everything else to make certain they are CLEAN and tight. A dirty battery connection will sometimes let you "jump" the system from another vehicle without really taking much of a charge, thus letting your tractor run on what is being produced by the alterator or generator without putting anything back in the battery. If you have a battery charger, connect it to the battery and see if it takes a charge well. A faulty cell in the battery could be your problem if it won't. Also, make : sure you don't have something left on to discharge the battery between uses. If it starts and runs okay for long periods from a jump, it's likely generating electricity, but not storing it!

Thanks for the input. My problem is that I don't see/have an alternator or starter/generator combo, just a starter. The tractor in question is an early '80's Ford LGT 165, w/16 HP Kohler. The ammeter shows a discharge condition when running. When jump started, the tractor runs fine as long as I need it to, I just can't restart it after I turn it off. It has developed another interesting symptom: When the battery depletes itself far enough, the PTO will quit working. I assume this is some kind of fail-safe to save power so the tractor will still run as long as possible. I guess the real question here is what device is responsible for charging the battery on my tractor, given that there is no identifiable alternator or generator??? BTW, there are no switches left on, as the only ones on the tractor are the PTO and the lights. I must be missing something simple. The owners manual is no help.

Thanks, Chris

: : : Thanks, Chris

: : If it's depleting the battery, that generally means your alternator or generator isn't working correctly. What make/model tractor do you have? An older model may have a generator with a loose belt which doesn't let the generator spin fast enough to charge. A lot of these had a starter/generator in one unit, so if it starts, the belt is not likely the problem. Do you have an ammeter on the tractor? If so, does it show slight charge, no charge, or discharge? Check all connections to the battery, generator, alternator, and everything else to make certain they are CLEAN and tight. A dirty battery connection will sometimes let you "jump" the system from another vehicle without really taking much of a charge, thus letting your tractor run on what is being produced by the alterator or generator without putting anything back in the battery. If you have a battery charger, connect it to the battery and see if it takes a charge well. A faulty cell in the battery could be your problem if it won't. Also, make : : sure you don't have something left on to discharge the battery between uses. If it starts and runs okay for long periods from a jump, it's likely generating electricity, but not storing it!

: Thanks for the input. My problem is that I don't see/have an alternator or starter/generator combo, just a starter. The tractor in question is an early '80's Ford LGT 165, w/16 HP Kohler. The ammeter shows a discharge condition when running. When jump started, the tractor runs fine as long as I need it to, I just can't restart it after I turn it off. It has developed another interesting symptom: When the battery depletes itself far enough, the PTO will quit working. I assume this is some kind of fail-safe to save power so the tractor will still run as long as possible. I guess the real question here is what device is responsible for charging the battery on my tractor, given that there is no identifiable alternator or generator??? BTW, there are no switches left on, as the only ones on the tractor are the PTO and the lights. I must be missing something simple. The owners manual is no help.

: Thanks, Chris

Chris: - the alternator on your engine consist of a stator ring of coils mounted behind the fly wheel. Depending on the model, they only put out one or a few amps so it is very important that all connections are good and the battery is good. Follow the other guys check list and remember that if any one of these things is a weak spot it won't charge.
Your PTO is stopping simply because your battery can no longer power the electro-magnetic clutch. Running it with the battery down can cause it to slip and wear badly.
Good luck.

Thanks for clearing up the alternator mystery. Does this mean I need to pull the flywheel (read pull the engine) to check on this stator? If I go thru all that, what will I be looking for? How would I then test the stator if the engine is out? Since this has happened to 2 batteries, I assume it is a charging problem. I've checked the connections and they are tight. Under no load, the ammeter shows no charge or discharge ("0"). When I flip on the PTO, it shows about a 4 amp discharge. Your previous comments said that since it ran a long time after a jumpstart, that it was probably making electricity (stator), but was not storing it (battery), right? Maybe I'll just buy a new battery and trade the whole thing in on a compact diesel.

Thanks for the help, Chris

: Thanks for clearing up the alternator mystery. Does this mean I need to pull the flywheel (read pull the engine) to check on this stator? If I go thru all that, what will I be looking for? How would I then test the stator if the engine is out? Since this has happened to 2 batteries, I assume it is a charging problem. I've checked the connections and they are tight. Under no load, the ammeter shows no charge or discharge ("0"). When I flip on the PTO, it shows about a 4 amp discharge. Your previous comments said that since it ran a long time after a jumpstart, that it was probably making electricity (stator), but was not storing it (battery), right? Maybe I'll just buy a new battery and trade the whole thing in on a compact diesel.

: Thanks for the help, Chris

Chris : I would double check everything down to the air in the tires before I pulled the flywheel to look at the alt. ring. They do fail but very rarely as there are no moving parts. I don't have my books handy but some, but not all, of these systems have a little ceramic diode thingy (tech term) in the wire from the ring to the battery which can be damaged by a high powered jump start or other problems. It would be about 3/4" long X 3/16" dia. Its job was to prevent current flow back to the ring (sort of a check valve). Also sometimes the wire will get damaged by rubbing the flywheel.
Good luck.

: : Thanks for clearing up the alternator mystery. Does this mean I need to pull the flywheel (read pull the engine) to check on this stator? If I go thru all that, what will I be looking for? How would I then test the stator if the engine is out? Since this has happened to 2 batteries, I assume it is a charging problem. I've checked the connections and they are tight. Under no load, the ammeter shows no charge or discharge ("0"). When I flip on the PTO, it shows about a 4 amp discharge. Your previous comments said that since it ran a long time after a jumpstart, that it was probably making electricity (stator), but was not storing it (battery), right? Maybe I'll just buy a new battery and trade the whole thing in on a compact diesel.

: : Thanks for the help, Chris

: Chris : I would double check everything down to the air in the tires before I pulled the flywheel to look at the alt. ring. They do fail but very rarely as there are no moving parts. I don't have my books handy but some, but not all, of these systems have a little ceramic diode thingy (tech term) in the wire from the ring to the battery which can be damaged by a high powered jump start or other problems. It would be about 3/4" long X 3/16" dia. Its job was to prevent current flow back to the ring (sort of a check valve). Also sometimes the wire will get damaged by rubbing the flywheel.
: Good luck.

I have a 16 HP Briggs engine on a unit that had simular problems. Drove me and service dealer crazy ( it was a new unit ) They even went so far as to switch engines. Still the same problem. Finally found a "fuse wire" in the harness allowed the engine to put out current but not deliver it to battery. They rewired from the engne to the amp meter ( put a fuse in a holder in the line for safety ) and they unit has workd fine for about 10 years. However it does blow a fuse about every 18 months. Don't know why.

That turned out to be the problem here, too. Found a bad fuse in the fusible link from the terminal block supplying charge to the battery.

Thanks to all, Chris