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Sporadic dead battery John Deere 420 tractor

A

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member
I have a restored John Deere 420 tractor. New battery, battery cables,coil, plug wires,dis. cap.I can use it one day, starts immediatly. Next couple days same thing. Maybe the next weekend the battery is completly dead. Battery is completly drained. Any ideas ? regulator ? generator ? Thanks for your assistance
 
Our JD 350 did the same thing, replaced everything and it kept happening. We installed a battery cut off switch and it has been fine since.
 
If the Cutout Relay were intermittently sticking closed upon engine shut down (common problem which clean/buff/polish the contacts can sometimes help for a while???) that will drain the battery but fairly rapidly and the genny will get warm and if the belt were removed it would even spin, plus a working ammeter would indicate a high discharge. If its a lower current slow discharge it may be a short or a battery problem etc

John T
 
When the battery is charged what is the sp reading on all of the cells. Batts can go dead even after they have been charged. Disconnect the ground and see if you get battery voltage . Take the reading between the end of the ground cable and tractor ground if you read voltage there is a leak.
 
You can install a master switch between the battery and where it's grounded. This will isolate the battery from being grounded. The military has used this for years. Your auto parts store should have them. Hal
PS: Be sure to put it in the off position after you've shut the engine down.
 
I"ve had the same problem with a 1965 IH Scout,
for 20 years..I think that theres a short some-
place, mice DID chew on some wires. I put a
battery shut off switch on, about 15 years ago,
and no more problem..unless I forget to turn the
switch off!
 
With it shut off, pull off one battery cable and measure the volts between it and the post. if it is more than .5 volts, there is a leak in the system, it should be near zero in a pure mechanical electrical system. If it is near zero, I would suspect a bad battery cell. It happens on new ones. To be sure of it, disconnect the battery for the next two weeks when it is off, and see if it discharges. I like the disconnect switch, but it is possible to disguise a potentially dangerous short to ground that way. Jim
 
I suspect the starter switch has the potential to do that. I think I am correct to say the starter switch is live whether the switch is on or not. I suspect it could it have a low drain contact that could drain the battery. Just a thought.
 
Use a hydrometer to check the specific gravity in each cell. Fully charged battery should be in
the 1.260 reading and all cells should be close to one another. If one reads 1.100 or near that
you have a dead cell. Here's my Viewcheck. Hal
a69288.jpg
 
And everything connected to the amp meter. Light switch, ignition, generator, and other added accessories. The Amp gauge is hot all the time on both sides. Jim
 
Check the connections to the battery posts. Hooking up the charger can reestablish the contacts; first thing is to take the cables off and make sure both clamps and posts are shiny clean.
 
Feel alternator or generator and see if it is warm. Like overnight. This would mean regulator is hanging up and staying on. Dave
 
Feel alternator or generator and see if it is warm. Like overnight. This would mean regulator is hanging up and staying on. Dave
 
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