Mower Voltmeter in red

[NoTrespassing]

This spring my Walker mower voltmeter has been running in the red at about 14 volts. The meter is red from 8-10 volts, white from 10-14 volts, and red from 14-16 volts. Would you assume that it's a bad battery in this scenario?

The battery is several years old, it was still charged this spring but I ran it down trying to start the mower the first time. The mower started right up with the charger on it and a little starting fluid to prime it. The meter was at about 15 volts and probably dropped down to 14 after an hour of mowing but was still in the red.

Kevin

 

[davesl708]

I would put a volt meter on the battery and see what is being delivered to the battery. Next with a fully charged battery load test the battery to eliminate that possible problem.

If the alternator is putting out high voltage the regulator is bad.

 

[k0ua]

I would put a volt meter on the battery and see what is being delivered to the battery. Next with a fully charged battery load test the battery to eliminate that possible problem.

If the alternator is putting out high voltage the regulator is bad.

+1 on this. ^. Get a good digital voltmeter and see what is really happening. Overcharging by an alternator with a defective regulator will boil a battery dry or even build up enough gas in the battery to rupture the case of the battery. I have had it happen on my old Long 2360 tractor. It was charging at near 17 volts and cracked the case of the battery and with the resulting acid spill I fought the corrosion of the battery tray or a long time.

 

[NoTrespassing]

I would put a volt meter on the battery and see what is being delivered to the battery. Next with a fully charged battery load test the battery to eliminate that possible problem.

If the alternator is putting out high voltage the regulator is bad.

Done & Done, All is well and it's charging perfectly @ 14.3 volts with no change regardless of rpms. Voltmeter on mower reads 12 volts when not running and 14 when running just like it should. I think I'm just getting old and always finding problems that aren't really there.

Kevin

 

[JimRB]

A wet cell battery in good shape should read 12.6 when things are not running. 2.1 volts per cell. Now you have something to look for again. ;-)