Case IH 385 starter issue after new battery

   / Case IH 385 starter issue after new battery #1  

CypressJeff

Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2015
Messages
28
Location
Louisiana
Tractor
John Deere 5100E
So, I have a 1985 Case international 385 and last week the battery went dead so I replaced it. The old battery was small and was purchased by the previous owner. I replaced it with a larger Deka 950 cranking amps.

While starting after instaling the new battery, the starter made a new sound and today I guess it gave out. When I turn the ignition key on I get dash lights but no spinning in the starter.

I am guessing The new battery is too powerful for the old starter. Is there a new starter that will handle the 950 cranking amps or do I need to buy a smaller battery and a new starter?

Thanks!
 
   / Case IH 385 starter issue after new battery #2  
There is no such thing as a battery that is too large. If the battey has more amps than required,the starter will only pull what it take's to do the job and leave the remainder in reserve. The teeth might be worn on flywheel and/or starter gear. If so,it might lock from time to time. Before taking anything apart,TURN IGNITION OFF AND PUT KEY IN YOUR POCKET. Now,put tractor in high gear and rock tractor till you see fan blade move a couple of times. Now try and start as usual. If that doesn't help,does lights go out when attempting to start?
 
   / Case IH 385 starter issue after new battery
  • Thread Starter
#3  
There is no such thing as a battery that is too large. If the battey has more amps than required,the starter will only pull what it take's to do the job and leave the remainder in reserve. The teeth might be worn on flywheel and/or starter gear. If so,it might lock from time to time. Before taking anything apart,TURN IGNITION OFF AND PUT KEY IN YOUR POCKET. Now,put tractor in high gear and rock tractor till you see fan blade move a couple of times. Now try and start as usual. If that doesn't help,does lights go out when attempting to start?


Well, that's exactly what I thought about the large battery. The guy at the JD place (closest to me) told me there are some instances where the starter cannot handle the large batteries. In my mind I thought BS and I went ahead and purchased the large battery. The smaller battery (JD Brand and 750 CA) was like $270 and the large battery (Deka 950 CA) was like $120. It is raining cats and dogs right now and my tractor is in back of the barn so I will Rock it in a couple of days when it dries up a bit.
 
   / Case IH 385 starter issue after new battery #4  
I never heard of a too-big battery --in many decades--so I'm going with the starter was just worn out and you happened along with, at last, a solid connection on a new battery and blew off the slag metal that was previously helping make contact. You probably already had both a weak starter and a weak battery and you just found the battery first. Have a starter shop take as look and rebuild it to be HD.
 
 
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