Agage1 83 #1 Posted August 15, 2014 My 73 14 auto has drained 2 fresh batteries in as many weeks. On of my sons is finally ready to cut grass on his own. So a few weeks ago I pulled the 73 out to get it ready for him. I went through the wiring, installed a new clutch switch, new battery, exhaust, etc. It started up and runs great. It sat for 2 days and when he went to start it nothing. The battery was dead and wouldn't take a charge. So I figures I got a bad battery and went and got another new one. It started up first time and he ran it everyday for about a week. We got some rain so it sat for a few days. He tried to start it today and nothing. Dead battery and it won't hold a charge. I know I gave to break out the tester and go through everything but has this happened to anybody else. With the motor on the battery is charging. He does have a habit of leaving the lights on but they aren't on for that long before I notice and turn them off. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Geno 1,929 #2 Posted August 15, 2014 Do you have anything that will test for amp draw? I have a couple of multi meters that do this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squonk 43,432 #3 Posted August 15, 2014 Get a 12v test light. Unhook the neg cable from the battery. And connect the light in series. If there is a draw the light will glow. Start disconnecting things until the light goes out 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Agage1 83 #4 Posted August 15, 2014 That was my plan of attack for this weekend. I'm no electrical wiz but I've made several wiring harnesses with no issues. I was doing a preliminary check earlier and nothing struck me as out of place. The only significant thing I did electrically was install a new clutch switch. The thing that confuses me is it totally killed 2 new batteries in 2 weeks. They won't hold a charge now. I don't have enough electrical know-how to know what would have caused this. When the tractor is running it runs great and the charging system is working as it should Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Geno 1,929 #5 Posted August 15, 2014 Get a 12v test light. Unhook the neg cable from the battery. And connect the light in series. If there is a draw the light will glow. Start disconnecting things until the light goes out Depends on the amount of draw whether you will be able to see the bulb glow. If you do this and don't see a glow you can try again in very low light conditions. It is a valid test but I don't use it much with 6,000 watts of light in the shop. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hodge71 665 #6 Posted August 15, 2014 (edited) That was my plan of attack for this weekend. I'm no electrical wiz but I've made several wiring harnesses with no issues. I was doing a preliminary check earlier and nothing struck me as out of place. The only significant thing I did electrically was install a new clutch switch. The thing that confuses me is it totally killed 2 new batteries in 2 weeks. They won't hold a charge now. I don't have enough electrical know-how to know what would have caused this. When the tractor is running it runs great and the charging system is working as it should When you say working as it should....whats the output voltage at the battery terminals? If you dont have 13.75 or higher you're not even charging the battery. The reason I asked is my Dads 12 auto just went through the same scenario this spring and it was a bad voltage regulator. Putting out 12.5 volts at 3600 RPM, battery always dying when mowing. I threw a brand new regulator on it and now its running 14.2 volts. haven't had a problem since.... Good luck Edited August 15, 2014 by hodge71 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
