# battery corrosion



## cajunh2s (Apr 19, 2007)

hey guys

have a question for you fine fellows,...decided to work on my snapper riding mower...model 288707...type 1153-E1....code 020326Z0...30'' cut

i could start the mower by rope but not by electric start.....so i pulled the battery today....the positive wire on battery terminal was so corrosioned up
that it had ate the end of the wire some....and ate the bolt on the terminal..

so i went to two hard ware stores in town...neither one had a red type electric clip for my battery....both had yellow type....so against my better judgement...cause i didn't know if the color really mattered i bought a yellow one....came home...put it on positive battery cable and connected hooked it up to lawn mower....same way the old one came on mower terminal's.....and all i got was a clicking noise when i turned on the key.......the battery has a fresh charge...so my question is......would this yellow terminal work....or does the red ones have a certain alloy that can only work with a positive side of a connection or something? can corrosion fry my positive line all together?

i'm going to pick up another red terminal from wal-mart tonight after work and try again.....but if its the solenoid or something different....i need to pick up a multi-meter and learn how to check for that...is there a lesson on electrical components for beginners on this forum...

thanks a bunch for reading and any help is appreciated

cajun


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## Petebre (Apr 9, 2007)

Color should not have any effect.
My guess you need to clean battery post.
Be sure you clean end of wire also, I would cut
a inch or two off the wire if you have ample length.
Also make sure both connections to battery and ground to frame of mower are clean and secure.

Are you a deep south Cajun ? I lived in New Iberia, Sunset and Alexandria Years ago.


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## 30yearTech (Sep 14, 2006)

The color will not make a difference. As was stated earlier make sure the battery posts are clean. Just because the battery has a fresh charge does not mean that the battery is any good.

It could just be a bad connection, or it could be a bad battery, or possibly a faulty starter solenoid.


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## cajunh2s (Apr 19, 2007)

thanks for the replies guys....yea pete i'm deep in cajun country...i'm from morgan city...but now live in kaplan la....met and married a gal from here loaded up the truck and moved...lol

i was surprised to hear what tech said about the battery could be dead showing a charge.....i got one of those new fancy pansy battery chargers.....it reads full when its done....but hey the world of these little machines can be strange sometimes...

i'll try hooking up...and re-cleaning everything again...hope it works this time.....
if its the solenoid are some kind of relay....i'm in trouble...cause i don't know how to multimeter this stuff...

thanks again guys
cajun


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## Petebre (Apr 9, 2007)

After you clean things again an it still refuses to start.
Try jumper cables from your car battery this will tell you if the solenoid is good.


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## cajunh2s (Apr 19, 2007)

update on todays tinkering with snapper riding mower....
i put new positive terminal on after cleaning positive and neg post's on battery....clean all electric lines on solenoid and put back together...
i tried to loosen the negative wire from the engine but it was so tight i was afraid i'd break it....it actually had me thinking it was left hand threads....so i tried it the other way and it was just as tight....so i left it alone till i could get some liquid loosener of some type...

after i got it together...tried to start with the key....nothing...just a humming type noise like power trying to go through components....so i stopped....and cranked it off by the pull rope......after running a bit....i decided to give the key a try again....still humming noise....so i went back to pull rope....cranked several times....wouldn't crank by rope.....so i cut the ignition key off....then turned on again.....and it was like it re-set something....in then cranked by rope again...

pete you mentioned putting battery cable's on to check the solenoid.....my battery charger has an 80amp cranking start sequence on it....do you think this could work instead of the jumper lines?.......i don't have room to put jumper cable's on it.....but wanted to ask about the 80amp jump start before i tried and maybe fry some components or explode a battery......any thoughts so far guys?

cajun


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## Petebre (Apr 9, 2007)

I sounds like your battery is gone but it should start using your charger even if the battery is bad. 

If this don’t work.

Another thing to try. Remove the battery set it near engine.
Jumper cables positive from battery directly to the lug (bolt)on starter. Clamp the ground to any metal surface on engine. Then just touch the ground jumper cable to battery ground. This is a positive test.
Your starter will run or the battery is probably dead.


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## cajunh2s (Apr 19, 2007)

Pete
haven't tried the battery cables to charger yet......but will do
something i want to mention and get some input....i was looking at the wiring schematics to this mower and found it has a fuse in the ignition wiring....if this fuse was to blow......what would happen if you tried to start with electric starter....what would components sound like i wonder......when i try your idea next day or so( have work out of town).....i'm also going to check this fuse.....who knows it might keep this thing from cranking if the fuse is bad...
any thoughts?

cajun


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## hdman97 (May 25, 2006)

Get a new battery! It's not the fuse.
Now old is the battery? Most last only 3-4 years if your lucky.
Get one with the largest CGA rating.


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## cajunh2s (Apr 19, 2007)

hdman

we have had this mower about 3 to 4 years now...and still the original battery....so this falls right into the area of time you mentioned..
thanks for the reply

cajun


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## hdman97 (May 25, 2006)

Your battery may show 12 or more volts,but can't handle the amps required for the
starter.
Most places will test the battery for you,and dispose of it also.
Most lawn tractor batteries are only $25-$35 less if on sale.


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Hdman's right on the money! Wet cell batteries are about volts and amps. Amps is where you get your grunt. You can always top off the voltage. The amps are like the sand in an hour glass. Once the sand runs out dat's it! 

The proper battery test is a comparative volt/amp test under load. The "load test" is all knowing and all seeing. 

Where wet cells are concerned. The clock is running from the time the electrolite hits the plates. It's a use it or lose it proposition so to speak.


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## cajunh2s (Apr 19, 2007)

well guys.....ya'll were right on the money....replaced battery today....cleaned all cables and connections....and she fired right up......i'm so glad it wasn't some other electrical components i had to chase out...

i really learned a lot about batteries from you guys i never knew before...i always thought if a battery could take a charge she was good to go....boy was i wrong..
the way bill explained how amps where like the sand in an hour glass really sunk in and made sense to me....

so thanks bill, hdman and pete on this troubleshoot of my snapper electrical system...
you guys are great..

cajun


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## hdman97 (May 25, 2006)

Great! Glad you got it going


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