John Deere 212 - Starter or battery

[joe z]

I have a John Deere 212 from the mid-eighties. I bought it used. The battery has a sticker on it that says it is two years old (3/11). I been having issues with it holding a charge and thought I may have something draining it when the tractor is off like a short, or I'm having issues with the charging system. The ammeter sometimes shows it is charging, and other times looks like it s discharging while the tractor is running. Yesterday, the tractor wouldn't start, it just clicked. No problem, I thought, I'll just take the battery out and charge it again. However, now the starter just make a whirring noise, but doesn't engage. Is it likely the starter or the battery or something else? I priced the starter at a Deere dealer, and the battery would be the cheaper thing to try first, but any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Willl]

Got a volt meter ?

 

[Ed of all trades]

I spent the price of a battery on a load tester, it has saved me many times that price over the years just with a car, truck , tractor and lawn mower. I used to sell auto parts and many good batterys has been replaced.

 

[joe z]

Have a volt meter, not a load tester.

 

[Tx Jim]

Have a volt meter, not a load tester.

OK how many volts does battery have before & after attempting to start engine? Low voltage or dirty starter gear engagement mechanism can cause starter to spin but gear not engage flywheel gear.

 

[sox3]

hook volt meter to battery, read voltage, try to start unit and watch voltage, if drops to 9 volts or less, replace battery.
You could also remove battery and take to a shop and have it load tested. Also need to check cables and connections to ground too.