another dead battery on my 2000

Mike(NEOhio)

Well-known Member
Location
Newbury, Ohio
Back in June I posted about a dead battery and possible bad regulator on my 72 2000. The battery was bad, would not charge to more than 10.5 volts. I replaced it with a
$100 Walmart battery due to the cost of the 17TF and got a new regulator from Brillman. I didn't use it much all summer but it was OK when we baled in late August. Got
on it yesterday and the battery was stone dead. Wondering where I should start looking for a problem. Any suggestions?
 
(quoted from post at 11:53:35 09/25/21) Back in June I posted about a dead battery and possible bad regulator on my 72 2000. The battery was bad, would not charge to more than 10.5 volts. I replaced it with a
$100 Walmart battery due to the cost of the 17TF and got a new regulator from Brillman. I didn't use it much all summer but it was OK when we baled in late August. Got
on it yesterday and the battery was stone dead. Wondering where I should start looking for a problem. Any suggestions?

For a machine that often sits more than a few days unused, get in the habit of disconnecting the battery or install a good quality battery disconnect switch.

You will be amazed at how long batteries last and how few "bad" batteries you will have.

In my experience probably 90+% of "bad" batteries were not defective but were ruined by being drained to death and left sitting uncharged, much less frozen if you are in an area that experiences winter.
 
Start by putting a charger on the battery. If battery take's charge,see if charging systen is working or if there is a load on battery while tractor is parked. A smart charger is a good investment. I reccomend Deltran Battery Tenders,I have 3 hooked up on something 24/7 365 days a year. In addition to seldom used equipment being ready to go,keeping battery at full charge and running desulfate cycles will double battery life on average. Full charge,not over charged which is worse than siting partly charged. Unless it's an emergency and booster cables are not an option,NEVER quick charge a battery. Ideally charge rate should not exceed 6-7 amps and 2-3 is preferable.
 
Disconnect the negative battery cable at the starter and then charge up the battery fully with a battery charger, preferably overnight on a slow 2-amp charger. Lightly touch the negative cable to the starter post and see if you can observe a spark. A spark means that you either have a regulator that is not opening up the cutout relay, or something in your key switch circuit is not shutting off. Differentiate between these two possible issues by disconnecting the wiring at the generator and trying again.

No spark at the starter post likely means you have a bad battery. Leave the cable disconnected overnight and see what the battery voltage is in the morning. Anything below 12.5 - 12.6 likely means an internal short in the battery itself.
 
Instead of the spark test connect a test light between the cable and the battery post. If the light illuminates something is draining your battery.
 
One thing I learned: if the cutout does not work the generator field remains hot and drains the battery. I found this once because after I put in a new battery and fooled around a few minutes, I leaned my arm on the alternator and it was warm, but the engine had not run in several days. The field was energized and warm, draining my new battery. Aha, as they say.
Test light will find that there is a drain of some sort, so it is a great item to have.
 

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