445 Battery Light On

[BBO]

And...

:wrench:

:drink: Well, the light has not been on since.
All I done was to take the regulator off, pull the connector off and clean everything.
Before & during all this no water was involved, so it was not moisture.
I did clean all the blades on the connector, but nothing looked corroded!
No signs at all of heat problems!

I did clean out a fair amount of dust which is always there.

So I am befuddled as to why the light was coming on.
And for now I am still running the JD battery that I added the acid to.
Remember earlier it would not crank the mower, when I found the level low.

 

[Spanner]

Clean connections and set to go! Good news BBO.
Thanks,
:wrench:

 

[Dave M7040]

This is a post I made to the owner with the identical problem

On many lawn tractor models the wiring is a bit different than you would expect.
Yours is likely the same. The dash light signal is not coming from the charging system itself rather is is just a simple voltage sensor connected to the dash light

For the pto electric clutch, +12 volts is supplied to it all the time the key is ON.

When you use the switch to engage the clutch, you are providing a path to ground so that safety switches etc can easily be in the ground circuit. Also, the relay that shuts down the mower deck when you back up, cuts the ground thus disengaging the electric pto clutch.

The dash display is just a simple low voltage electronic sensor and is stupid.

It has a need for a ground and a power wire. If the overall ground for the many things on the tractor is using a corroded connection to the frame, and the low voltage indicator is likely using the same ground, then when you engage the pto clutch, the grounding of the clutch may be enough to just engage but it is also providing some voltage to the ground for the dash indicator causing it to illuminate.

Check for a green wire attached to the tractor fame or a green wire connected to the negative battery terminal. It will be a light gauge wire.

This cub cadet wiring diagram is not an exact image of what will be where on the tractor. Its purpose is to show the function of various circuits so it does not show the voltage sensor ground and the pto clutch ground being tied together and connect to the frame or negative battery terminal.

If you have a cheap, less than $10 multimeter to measure the battery voltage, you will find it around 14 volts when the engine is running and the pto engaged but the dash light will be on which is why I say it is a stupid device.

Dave M7040

 

[Spanner]

The system Dave is describing/illustrating is peculiar to Cub Cadet (MTD). "Everything-powered, Apply Ground-to-operate."


JD, and most conventional systems use: "Everything-grounded, Apply Power-to-operate."

:wrench:

 

[BBO]

Another update to my original problem, because it's NOT fixed...
When this 1st started on this I found the battery almost dry, & corrosion was all around the battery.
So with another battery I started working on all this.
Remember my 1st thought was that it might be OVER charging??
So last week the charging light finally came back on.
I find this battery with almost all the acid gone again, after only a few weeks.
I think the voltage regulator is simply cooking the battery.
Is this possible? Has anyone had experience with a voltage regulator overcharging?

My 445 service manual states 12.2-13.8 vdc regulated voltage. I had measured like 14.4 vdc.
This does not sound that high to me, but something is cooking my batteries.

A new VR is ~ $65, with aftermarket on E-Bay for $45 or so. Maybe Stens brand.

 

[Deere Dude]

And for now I am still running the JD battery that I added the acid to.
Remember earlier it would not crank the mower, when I found the level low.

Don't mean to side track your problem but the last time I saw anyone add acid to a battery was 50+ years ago and I may have even been mistaken about that. The only thing that should be added to batteries is distilled water. I have gotten JD batteries and they always come filled and ready to use. Am I missing something?

 

[BBO]

... The only thing that should be added to batteries is distilled water. I have gotten JD batteries and they always come filled and ready to use. Am I missing something?

This 1st JD battery that failed was only 3 years old.
I know all say to never add acid; I keep acid for my 4-wheeler battery.
I know this dealer once failed to fill a new battery completely full.
When you fill a new battery it takes a few seconds to settle in, needing a final top-off.
So I 1st thought they had just failed to fill it full; thus why I added acid.
But now with visible acid on top of the battery I know it's boiling out, for whatever reason.

 

[Richard001]

Another update to my original problem, because it's NOT fixed...
When this 1st started on this I found the battery almost dry, & corrosion was all around the battery.
So with another battery I started working on all this.
Remember my 1st thought was that it might be OVER charging??
So last week the charging light finally came back on.
I find this battery with almost all the acid gone again, after only a few weeks.
I think the voltage regulator is simply cooking the battery.
Is this possible? Has anyone had experience with a voltage regulator overcharging?

My 445 service manual states 12.2-13.8 vdc regulated voltage. I had measured like 14.4 vdc.
This does not sound that high to me, but something is cooking my batteries.

A new VR is ~ $65, with aftermarket on E-Bay for $45 or so. Maybe Stens brand.

You said that you are measuring 14.4 VDC. Is that with the engine running at like half throttle?

Are you measuring across the battery terminals or from the positive to some ground point?

I agree, 14.4 volts should not be harmful for your battery.

Richard

 

[BBO]

You said that you are measuring 14.4 VDC. Is that with the engine running at like half throttle?

Are you measuring across the battery terminals or from the positive to some ground point?

I agree, 14.4 volts should not be harmful for your battery.

Richard

Full Throttle, right across the pos. & neg. battery terminals.
And the light was on when I was reading this.

I plan to check the main engine ground & I will use another Fluke meter to verify this.
So far no one has agreed it's possible for a VR to be putting out too much voltage.

I don't see how it could be related, but the engine is fouling the left spark plug after only 5 hours time.
Compression on the left is ~180 compared to ~210 on the right, so I think it's a cylinder problem

 

[Richard001]

Well this may be way out there, but I suppose it's possible that you are getting a lot of AC across the battery terminals from the alternator. Battery's don't like AC.

Check for AC on your battery terminals.

Also check the current going into the battery while running the engine at full throttle.

Richard