Husqvarna Riding Mower Battery?

UP Oliver

Member
Hello.

I need some advice and this seems like the best place to get it all.

My riding mower just kind of rattles when I turn it over, so I charged the battery and tried it again and got the same thing. The battery charged real quick, thought that was odd. Anyway, I thought the solenoid was making the noise so I got a new one and still have the same problem. I am thinking my battery is shot but don't know how to tell for sure. I know I could go out there now and it would show 12.1 volts or whatever, and after I turn it over and here it rattle for few seconds before nothing happens, it would read maybe 11.4?

How can I tell my battery is shot?

Thanks a lot.
 
Charge it for a few hours and then take it to an auto place for load testing. Or buy a new one - they are $25 this time of year.
 
try jump starting the mower from your car or truck. if it starts right up, prolly a bad battery.
 
Load tester is the best way to check a battery.

Volt Ohm meter alone won't tell you much.

Now a poor mans way to use a Volt Ohm meter to check kinda take three hands but if you have a helper is doable. Hold your VO meter on the battery and have a helper hit the switch. If voltage stays above 10 battery may be ok. You may have a bad connection somewhere. To check that use your VO meter on the voltage setting. Test over parts of the circuit "like the battery terminal to the battery side of the solenoid etc. When circuit is closed voltage should be 0 or at least under 1 volt. Best way to start with this is one test lead on the battery and the other on the starter terminal of the starter then chase from there.

hth

jt
 
Make sure the connections are good. Jump starting is a good suggestion, but if the battery is a few years old and it wasn't kept charged over the winter...
 
I checked the dealer today, a new battery is $53. I tried this tool I have, a charger/jump starter and that did not work. It worked great one day on my F350 diesel when it was 15 below this past winter. I just tried jumping it with the Chevy Tahoe, and no luck there. I don't understand why that won't work, even if the battery is completely shot on the mower? I would appreciate any input on that.

Either way, it is time for a new battery. It is original and I got this mower in 2006, maybe 2005. So it is 9 or 10 years old. Just don't understand why the car can't start it.

Thanks.
 
Where do you buy batteries for $25?

I just bought one on sale for $38.00. it was the cheapest battery I could find.
 
In this area, both Menards and O'Reillys have had those batteries for $25 or under recently.
 
I am thinking bad starter -- I had one making lots of noise and when I took it apart one of the permanent magnets had got loose and moved -- I ended up getting a different starter -- If the voltage is getting to the starter -- then its the starter -- good luck -- Roy
 
(quoted from post at 17:20:00 05/19/15) I checked the dealer today, a new battery is $53. I tried this tool I have, a charger/jump starter and that did not work. It worked great one day on my F350 diesel when it was 15 below this past winter. I just tried jumping it with the Chevy Tahoe, and no luck there. I don't understand why that won't work, even if the battery is completely shot on the mower? I would appreciate any input on that.

Either way, it is time for a new battery. It is original and I got this mower in 2006, maybe 2005. So it is 9 or 10 years old. Just don't understand why the car can't start it.

Thanks.

If the battery is shorted or open internally jumping won't work. With it full of electrolyte and charged check each cell with a battery hydrometer -
21099.jpg
(This is at 77deg/F)

This will tell you if the battery is, or isn't, taking a charge.
Sounds like you have one or more 'dead' cells.
I've had some of the same experiences lately and the fix has been a fresh battery in each of 4 or 5 cases :roll: Sometimes a failing battery can be given a bit more life by adding some white sugar - don't know WHY it works but it does ...... sometimes ...... but I've never tried it with one as far gone as yours seems to be. Good Luck!
 
Hello UP Oiver,

If it won't start by jumping, it is not the battery. Check voltage at the starter terminal while having the key in the start position. I'm guessing it is the starter. Tap the starter with a hammer or a piece of wood. If the brushes are hanging up, you may dislodge them doing that. Also you need to check what kind of voltage is reaching the starter. Battery voltage should be 12.6 at 80 degrees F*. At 11.5 volts the battery is dead! starter voltage should not fall below 9,6 volts while cranking with a good battery and good connections. Now you get to play detective and see what you find,

Guido.
 
Yup, those and others. They were just on an endcap at Orscheln for $25. That was the smaller CCA. I think the bigger are about $8-9 more. Maybe, but I know I haven't seen a $35 mower battery that I can remember. I guess it pays to live in Kansas!
 
Thank you everyone for the advice.

I plan to replace the battery anyway since it is at least 9 years old, and since the dealer told me people are lucky to get 5 years out of them. Also, I did draw some fluid out and I didn't really fill the tool but the little needle didn't move at all, basically showing major charging needed. I didn't use this mower since probably September, and I thought it was very strange that it charged in probably 15 minutes when I first hooked it up a week ago. Last year it took several hours to charge when I first started using it in the spring. When I tried to jump start it a few hours ago, my wife sat in the seat and left the key on. Probably not even a half hour later when I tried a different charging tool it read that the battery had very low voltage. I checked it with my meter and it was less than 1 volt. Is that possible with a battery in good shape? I don't know. I turned the key off and the voltage went up to 12 in no time.

I wonder about the starter, I did tap on it awhile ago and that did not help. When I think about how the starter on my F150 probably had to start that truck 10,000 times at least in 15 years of use before I finally replaced it, well it seems to me that starter on this mower should be good for more than a few hundred that it has had to do the job.

Anyway, thanks again.
 



























tractor supply . I bought three @ $29 each. The better one go to $35 I like their Exide Batteries. Best 6 Volt on the market
 
It sounds like the grindy noise is the solenoid. A good battery and solenoid with bad starter usually gives a strong clunk. Try cleaning all the terminals. Do both battery ends and then the opposite ends of the cables if necessary. Then jump if you get nothing or the same. Even if battery is smaked a jump (with good cables) should crank it right over.
J
 

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