# John deere mower wont keep a charge



## bblount (Jun 26, 2010)

For the past few years I have noticed that my mower becomes more and more difficult to crank. Eventually it got to the point that it wouldn't turn over so I went and got a new battery. It worked like a charm for a few times and then one day I went out to crank the mower and the battery was dead. I took it to the local repair man and he checked everything to see if there was something draining the battery and he couldn't find anything and told me to get a new battery. I go the new battery it worked twice and then it was dead. I can jump off the mower and it will work but the minute I turn it off it won't crank on its own. I live a good bit away from the nearest John deere dealer and I was wondering if anybody had experienced anything like this? If so, can you tell me what I can do.


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## 30yearTech (Sep 14, 2006)

Did you check the charging system, is it recharging the battery? A faulty voltage regulator can drain a battery overnight.


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## hpmaxim (Jun 26, 2010)

Agreed, there are two possibilities: You are discharging the battery while its not running, or you are not charging it. It should be pretty easy to distinguish which is which. Take an ampmeter and a fully charged battery, and find how much current is being drawn when its off. You can also try starting it while watching the voltage on the battery (it should increase while you are running). Thats the first thing to check.


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## bblount (Jun 26, 2010)

When I took it to the local service person here in town he told me that he checked everything for a drain and he couldn't find anything. He assured me that it was the battery so I bought a new battery from him and it worked twice before it wouldn't crank anymore. This was over a span of two weeks.


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## bblount (Jun 26, 2010)

I couldn't get the battery to charge because it was completely dead so I ended up buying a new battery. I hooked everything up and used an ampmeter to check for the drain while the mower was off. The ampmeter read .004 which is in the normal range from what I've been told. That should mean that the problem lies with the battery not being charged while its running. Please tell me again how and what to check while its running so I can figure this thing out once and for all.


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## richieb (Jun 3, 2010)

With the engine running use a volt meter and check the voltage at the battery terminalsit should read at least 13.5 volts.


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## Maytag (Dec 10, 2007)

Just to ask the question.........you did hook up the ammeter in series with the battery right? Basically ...Out of the battery into the meter, out of the meter, into the mower, out of the mower to the other battery terminal? Just askin'. If you didn't then make sure the ammeter can handle about the same as your main fuse. If your main fuse is about 30Amps then the meter needs to handle at least about 20amps, prefereable 30 (you should fuse a circuit at 20 to 40% over what it will normally draw through the fuse to avoid premature fuse failure yet still protect the device and wiring from meltdown)
And watch the polarity if your meter doesn't auto switch.


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