John Deere 3520 replacement battery

[cuemark8]

I own a 2009 JD 3520 that I need to replace the battery on. The original battery was replaced 14 months ago and was replaced with the OEM battery from JD. Now it is dead/bad.
The tractor is in a garage throughout the winter it is insulated but not heated. It stays decently temperate inside during winter. Back in the winter the battery went dead because the tractor is seldom used during winter unless it's needed for snow removal.
I charged the battery and it seemed to work for awhile. Lately the battery is weak. If the tractor sits more than few days it goes dead. I work as an electrician. I have checked for electrical drains and shorts and nothings seems out the ordinary. Alternator seems to be working properly.

Yesterday the tractor barely started after sitting a few days. it was used a lot yesterday and shut off and restarted multiple times. This morning it would not turn over. The battery wont take and hold a charge. I assume it is bad. I have not yet taken it to be tested somewhere.

Now, my reason for the thread. I am not going to JD to replace the battery. It is just over a year old and out of warranty. I am looking for an automotive battery that will fit the JD 3520. I read somewhere before that a 51R battery is very similar dimensionally to what I need. It is the correct CCA of 500. It has reverse post which is ideal. It is a very common battery, used on Honda CRV's, Accords, and Civics.

It's not quite the same dimensions so the brackets for holding the battery wont work. I could create something using allthread and a bracket to hold it in place.

Any suggestions? Who else replaced the battery? What did you use?

I also recently spent the money for a trickle charger to use during winter months on various equipment. Still in the box. Haven't put it to use yet.

 

[dickfoster]

I own a 2009 JD 3520 that I need to replace the battery on. The original battery was replaced 14 months ago and was replaced with the OEM battery from JD. Now it is dead/bad.
The tractor is in a garage throughout the winter it is insulated but not heated. It stays decently temperate inside during winter. Back in the winter the battery went dead because the tractor is seldom used during winter unless it's needed for snow removal.
I charged the battery and it seemed to work for awhile. Lately the battery is weak. If the tractor sits more than few days it goes dead. I work as an electrician. I have checked for electrical drains and shorts and nothings seems out the ordinary. Alternator seems to be working properly.

Yesterday the tractor barely started after sitting a few days. it was used a lot yesterday and shut off and restarted multiple times. This morning it would not turn over. The battery wont take and hold a charge. I assume it is bad. I have not yet taken it to be tested somewhere.

Now, my reason for the thread. I am not going to JD to replace the battery. It is just over a year old and out of warranty. I am looking for an automotive battery that will fit the JD 3520. I read somewhere before that a 51R battery is very similar dimensionally to what I need. It is the correct CCA of 500. It has reverse post which is ideal. It is a very common battery, used on Honda CRV's, Accords, and Civics.

It's not quite the same dimensions so the brackets for holding the battery wont work. I could create something using allthread and a bracket to hold it in place.

Any suggestions? Who else replaced the battery? What did you use?

I also recently spent the money for a trickle charger to use during winter months on various equipment. Still in the box. Haven't put it to use yet.

Geez yet another battery thread. Oh well here goes.
You're battery is probably sulphated, that's (plates coated in crystals of sulphur. That's how most of them go. They become sulphated from disuse and from allowing them to die. A battery will discharge just sitting there on a shelf doing nothing, how fast they discharge depends on the type of battery it is. Wet cell types like you have now and those in most cars are the worst. Better are the more expensive AGM types but all batteries will eventually discharge just sitting around. That's why it's a good idea to connect a maintenance charger during long periods of inactivity. This will prevent the battery from discharging itself and becoming sulphated from infrequent use and partial charging like running the tractor for only short periods of time after starting.

Of the AGM types I currently prefer Odyssey batteries, for a few reasons but be forewarned they are not the cheapest battery out there. That said you, usually get what you pay for so bear that in mind too.
There is a lot of information on the web about batteries, sulphation and the rest if you look around you'll find it, if interested.
You'll also find info on chargers that use pulses that can sometimes recover a sulfated battery by breaking down the crystals that insulate battery plates. However it does take some time to pull off and you never quite get back to new battery performance.
In the end I suggest installing an AGM battery and keep a maintenance charger on it when the tractor is not being used for a long time. I just put one in my tractor and leave it mounted then simply plug into an extension cord when I park the tractor.

What kind and brand charger did you get? Does it automatically cycle on an off?

Sorry I forgot to mention that an Odyssey AGM battery the same size as your current battery will weigh more simply because there is more and purer lead in it. That also means more stored power in the same volume of space.

 

[beenthere]

I have good luck (better than your one experience) with the JD OEM battery. Sorry to hear yours didn't hold up, but maybe should have taken it back to dealer when it first showed disappointing results.

I never have used a trickle charger, and am on my second battery in this JD 4300 since 1997.

One never knows with battery's. Your next one from a different source could do exactly the same thing.

 

[cuemark8]

To answer a few questions. I bought a Schumacher battery charger. It is a trickle charger and it is automatic and it switches on and off and switched to a maintain setting when fully charged.
I took the suspect battery today to Walmart and wanted to have a load test put upon the battery. It failed! Voltage is good but it only produced 228 cranking amps. It is rated at 500CCA. I believe too the battery is suphated from infrequent use.

As I mentioned earlier a 51R model automotive battery is almost identical in dimension and the same CCA rating as the OEM JD battery . I purchased a new 51R EverStart Maxx battery today from Walmart. Significantly less than JD price. It has 3yr full warranty. Prorated after that for 5 yrs. I looked at some car battery reviews the Walmart brand EverStart batteries are very good rated.
The only tweaking I needed to do was remove the feet thay held the OEM battery and used all tread Roda and a bracket to hole the battery in place.

All is good now and I will be using the trickle charger for sure.

 

[Spindifferent]

I have an Interstate battery from 2008 that is still working today in my 3520. Maybe I'm lucky because my tractor does sit for long periods of nonuse.

Interstate battery models that will work in the 3520:

MT 51R

MTP-75DT

Interstate Batteries | The Search For Batteries Ends Here ™

 

[oosik]

I replaced my OEM battery with an Odyssey. The same size as the OEM but with considerably more CCA. I keep a Battery Tender connected all the time. Keeps the battery at full charge during periods of non-use.

 

[thatguy]

my OEM battery lasted only 3 yrs.. I ended up getting one from Autozone - it has a 5 yr warranty (vs 1 i think for oem) and was only $20ish more than oem.. I did have to modify the battery hold downs though

Brian

 

[MF283]

I just replace a 635 CCA with an Interstate 1000 CCA, tractor is running before it knows what happened. I have trickle connections set up on mower, tractor & gator, use them mainly during the winter, some during the rest of the year if i don't have something to do, which is rare.

Ronnie

 

[pmsmechanic]

As I mentioned earlier a 51R model automotive battery is almost identical in dimension and the same CCA rating as the OEM JD battery . I purchased a new 51R EverStart Maxx battery today from Walmart. Significantly less than JD price. It has 3yr full warranty. Prorated after that for 5 yrs. I looked at some car battery reviews the Walmart brand EverStart batteries are very good rated.
The only tweaking I needed to do was remove the feet thay held the OEM battery and used all tread Roda and a bracket to hole the battery in place.

I'm thinking this would work for 4X00 and 4X10 series JD tractors too. I'll keep it in mind the next time I need a battery. Thanks for the tip.

One thing I noticed that helps my battery live longer is to keep it idling at a higher speed and for a longer period of time after starting. I think the alternator is undersized for the job it needs to do. If I ever need to replace it the base alternator will be replaced with a higher amperage alternator.