battery not charging

[smileyspaint]

hi , i have a DLT 2000 craftsman . the battery is not charging . i have to jump it every time . the shop told me it could be three thing but they want me to bring it in so i thought i would try this .
Thanks in advance

[buckshot721]

First start with the easy stuff, clean and tight connections. Two, have battery checked for condition. Three, try a multimeter on the tractor with engine running to check for charging. Also try putting the battery on a charger for a while to see if that helps.

[Soundguy]

ditto on the battery. bad bats won't take or hold a charge. lawnmower bats have a hard time lasting more than 3 ys.. that 'setting during winter spring and fall' is hard on them...

[mostly_gas]

The battery needs to be known good before checking the voltage of the charging system. If the battery is bad, you can get low voltage reading because of the low power output of the alternator.

[DieselMonk]

Maybe something is draining the battery flat? My dad's lawn mower battery just does not want to give up. It is over 10 years old!

[Soundguy]

i'm quite impressed!

[The kid]

hi , i have a DLT 2000 craftsman . the battery is not charging . i have to jump it every time . the shop told me it could be three thing but they want me to bring it in so i thought i would try this .
Thanks in advance

Is this a lawn tractor? If so pull the magneto shield off and look for rust. There is a permanent magnet that pulses a charge to the battery at every rotation. The same will make one hard to start as well. I use paper folded use gauge distance setting that clearance,

[Jim Thompson]

Is this a lawn tractor? If so pull the magneto shield off and look for rust. There is a permanent magnet that pulses a charge to the battery at every rotation. The same will make one hard to start as well. I use paper folded use gauge distance setting that clearance,

The coil outside the flywheel is for the magneto. The stator for the charging system is underneath the flywheel. My suggestion would be to get a repair manual for your engine and trouble shoot the charging system. Its quite easy and can be done with very little dis-assembly. A multimeter is your friend.

Jim

[5030tinkerer]

It also might be worth a shot to put the battery on a desulphating charger, like a BatteryMinder to see if that might bring the battery back. Check out batterystuff.com for dramatically more information on batteries than you ever wanted to know.

Of course, it might also be good to pop the caps off if it is not a maintenance free battery to ensure that the water level is high enough.

Good luck!

[Mark Page]

I think I'd be disposed to replace the battery and see what happens. If it still won't charge you know who the culprit is. As I recall those lawn mower batteries are only around $50.00. Try Wally World.