2nd New Dead Battery help

[rbcsaver]

My B7610 HST is less than a year old. In the Fall, I put three 55 W additional work lights on the tractor for occasional use. I wired all of the work lights into th rear lights. My understanding from posts were that the light switch could handle them with ease, and taking the dash apart apparently is a PIA that I didn't have time for. The battery draw with all the lights "on" was at the dynamo limit. I did buy the alternator upgrade kit, but it is still in the box. The tractor ran fine all winter. 2 weeks ago, the battery was dead, with selenoid clicks only. No lights were on or used. After a jump start it would run OK, 14.67 volts at the terminals full throttle, but dead and would not restart without a jump. Selonoid clicking only. I was sure it was a bad battery. Dealer picked up the tractor, 3 days, full "testing and diagnosis" later, they agreed and put a new battery in it. my wife mowed for about 4 hours, full throttle. Tractor sat unused for about a week. Switch off, no keys in the ignition. Today, the "new" battery is dead, just selonoid clicks. Any thoughts?? I'm also recovering from a fractured humerus when the ladder in the barn tipped with me on it 6 feet up so my diagnostic capabilites are currently limited.
regards,
Steve

 

[MrBigNose]

Is it a ground problem possibly? Since you're getting solenoid clicks there must still be a little juice left in the battery. Can you disconnect both battery cables from the terminals and check the voltage of the battery? I would then check the other end of the negative battery cable. Where it connects to the frame (or engine or where ever) make sure there is no rust or corrosion. And make sure the connection is tight. It sounds like it can draw enough current to activate the solenoid but not enough to turn the starter.

 

[wushaw]

Check the voltage in the battery with a VOM first to make sure it really is dead. If not then keep your VOM on the battery and turn key to start position and check what kind of voltage drop you get, if it falls below something like 10v then put a charger on it and charge it up and check the electrolite levels in the battery to see what condition the battery is in.

After you determine the status of the battery and if it all checks out good then remove the negative terminal and put a 12v test light in series with the negative cable to see if it lights, if it does then you have a voltage draw on the battery that is enough to drain the battery.
It could be a defective switch, soloniod or relay causing a drain.
With a little troubleshooting you should be able to track it down.

 

[MarkLeininger]

If it were a car, I'd tell you to put someone small in the trunk and slam the lid so they could tell you if the trunk light was staying on and draining the battery.

You have something draining current to ground, I'd start with the worklights you added. Put an ammeter right at the battery terminal and you can see how much current is flowing with the switch off. Now start pulling fuses. When the current draw goes down, you have the circuit you're interested in. Then try to zero in on the component on that circuit.