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Battery Drain

R

Ron7000

Member
I have 2 tractors: a 2N and an NAA.
When I bought the 2N the owner told me Disconnect the battery terminal when not in use or it will drain down
When I bought the NAA the owner told me Disconnect the battery terminal when not in use or it will drain down
I have had both for a number of years and followed the advice.
I know there is a procedure to determine the cause but never had the urge to do it. Easier to just remove the cable.
Does anyone know what part of the electrical system is the main culprit of this phenomenon and why it is so common?
I had a 1939 Ford Sedan with the same basic system with no such trouble.
 
Put a test light Between the disconnected battery cable, and the battery terminal. If it lights up there is a drain. to find it start by disconnecting the ARM connection at the regulator. if still there, put it back, and disconnect the F terminal. if still there, put it back. Now disconnect the light switch from the source voltage. Still there replace the wire. This process eliminates one circuit at a time to find the drain. Once found, the actual drain may need more analysis, let us know. Jim
 
A parasitic drain is easy to measure.
After you remove one wire from the battery,
Use a digital ammeter. Connect one wire to the battery and the other side to the wire you removed. Use digital because you don't need to worry about polarity.

Then by process of elimination, start disconnecting wires, one at a time. Sooner or later you will find the drain..

I always check for a drain when I install a new battery or new alternator. I've found some Alternators have small drains, that over time if you don't use the tractor often, will drain your battery..
 
If they still has a generator, good chance it's the cut out relay in the regulator.

Or it could be old, degraded insulation or a corrosion bridged switch or terminals, especially if stored outside.

Disconnecting the battery is not a bad idea anyway, especially if the wiring is not the best, and there is always the risk of rodent chewing.
 
I did mine the easy way. I put a battery isolation switch on the battery ground wire and mounted the switch in the dash near the ignition key. No more dead battery. TDF
 
An electrical parasistic drain is like, you have a slowing running faucet in the house which keeps reducing the pressure. Anything in the elecrical system which is continually drawing current with the switch off, is considered a no-no, - and is drawing current from the battery. Use your multimeter in the amp setting across every circuit. This is easily accomplished measuring across every fused circuit (remove the fuse and test across) until you see an amperage reading. If you see amps, there's your draw.
 
I too put a battery disconnect on our Farmall C, it seemed to have a parasitic drain, I never really did any serious troubleshooting. I run it in the shed after it cools down a little, shut the gas valve off, turn off the battery disconnect, and when it dies I can just shut the door, and 2 weeks later it will start.
 
Dont know about the drain but I have a disconnect on the Case for fire safety. Lost a 50x100 barns years ago. I wasnt home at the time but neighbor said it started at the end where the 8N was parked. Also just happened to be working in the shop and noticed flames starting up the block of the DC. I know that was an electrical short in old wiring.
 

How long does it take to drain the batteries?

If still 6 Volt with a generator a SLOW battery drain is unusual.

If cutout or VR points are stuck/welded as other posters have suggested the battery drain at shutdown will be HEAVY, resulting in a HOT generator and cutout, and a quickly drained battery.

If the battery is good/strong the generator, cutout/VR and wiring may get hot enough to be damaged.
 
I did the same thing on my 8N. Flip a toggle switch on when running, off when shut down. No more slow drain on previous owner's 12-volt conversion.
 
I rewired the NAA and have not tested it for drain. I just disconnect it'.

From the replies I am not so far from the truth that it is a common problem.

No one commented on my 1939 Ford and the same system that had no such problems.
 
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