Battery keeps discharging between uses - Simplicity Broadmoor

[ge66]

I've been fighting my Broadmoor for a while now. For each use, I need to charge the battery, then the tractor starts and runs fine. Occasionally, we need to stop in the middle of mowing to move stuff, or weed or simply get distracted, and the battery is dead. Charge it, everything is great. Out of desperation, I bought a new battery, checked that it had a good charge - that was 3 days ago. Today, battery is dead. Contacts are all clean and tight. Key has not been left on, lights not left on.

Please help!!
Thanks!

 

[DT86]

It sounds like a parasitic draw some where on the mower. Until you find it you can disconnect the positive battery terminal when you are not using it.

Do you own a multimeter?

 

[ge66]

yes, have multi-meter - how would I position the leads?

 

[DT86]

Test between the positive post of the battery and the disconnected positive cable. There should be very little draw with the key off, less than 1 milliamp for a mower. (I had to look up the 1 milliamp figure.)

If there is more draw than that you can start eliminating components by disconnecting them one at a time and retesting the draw.

 

[flusher]

I've been fighting my Broadmoor for a while now. For each use, I need to charge the battery, then the tractor starts and runs fine. Occasionally, we need to stop in the middle of mowing to move stuff, or weed or simply get distracted, and the battery is dead. Charge it, everything is great. Out of desperation, I bought a new battery, checked that it had a good charge - that was 3 days ago. Today, battery is dead. Contacts are all clean and tight. Key has not been left on, lights not left on.

Please help!!
Thanks!

I have the same problem with my old Huskee riding mower. There's a high resistance short somewhere in the circuit and I don't feel like tearing into the wiring. I just disconnect the ground wire from the battery when I park the mower and attach a trickle charger to keep the battery fully charged. Reconnect the mower ground wire when I need to use it. Takes about 60 seconds. Problem solved.

 

[The kid]

Use your DC voltmeter across the battery to see if it's being charged would be the first thing I'd do. If it's not, then you have a decision to make. Keep charging it before each use and buy a battery twice a year or more.. OR troubleshoot your charging circuit. Fix it and forget it. I had that problem. I mow about 4 acres. The PTO would quit sometimes before I finished which led me to discover a more serious charging problem.