bobcat will not start

[griffin37]

Howdy. Ihave a 753 bobcat . I have recently changed the battery but it seems as if it is not charging like old battery. If i boost it , it will run as long as i don't turn it off. But if i do turn off it will not start again without a boost.

 

[George2615]

Next time you get it running use a voltmeter on the battery to see if the reading is at least 13 volts while running. If not, the alternator may not be working or the belt that drives it may have broken or is loose.
I am assuming the battery is hooked up correctly with the negative terminal to ground. I say this because some generic batteries have the negative and positive posts reversed and it would have been easy to hook up wrong.

 

[griffin37]

Thanks george ill double check my battery tomorrow. Will something run with a bad alternator once it is running? The lites are brite and everything is good but just won't restart. Also it looks like a tricky alternator to change. Thanks for your advice .

 

[JoelD]

Some motors will run without battery and some will not if alternator is dead, I'm thinking most gas will not, diesels with electric pre-pump probably will not, my riding mower will. Depends on fuel delivery and the like. Best thing to do is hook up volt meter and see what you are getting when she's running as instructed prior.

Good luck,
Joel

 

[banjodunn]

G'day why did you change the battery in the first place is it because you could not start it ? Is it possible you have a starter problem? You may just have a dirty terminal or dirty contact on one of the leads i would check the power at starter when you are trying to crank you should have no less than 10 volts. Best of luck



Jon

 

[George2615]

It will probably run with a bad alternator since it's using the battery voltage for power. Checking the voltage on the battery like I said before will tell you if the alternator is working. If the lights are bright when running as you say its probably good which indicates the starter may be at fault.
When you try to start it without jumper cables to another battery does it crank real slow or not at all? Requiring 2 batteries to get it to crank could indicate either the armature, brushes, bearings or field winding that has gone bad in the starter. My guess
would be the starter bearings (bushings) have worn causing the starter armature to bind when cranking. This will also cause excessive current draw while cranking.

 

[jimmysisson]

Major dimming of headlights when cranking (even with booster battery) indicates high starter draw, in the absence of a test meter. Starters do wear, especially if the beast has been hard to start for a while. I second the bushings diagnosis, unless you've a bad cable connections. Start with the simple-to-fix things - wires.
Jim