Ferris 810cc 26HP Vanguard Battery Constantly Dying?

[Hexa Fox]

I will have to look. I cannot remember if it has a fuse block or not. Another thing worth mentioning is that I did replace the wire going from the voltage regulator to the battery. I was confused because that wire that went from the regulator to the battery did not go directly to the battery. It went to a wire harness coupler. I called the dealer and he said they just run a wire straight from the regulator to the battery. I have had issues ever since then but the battery has always charged fine according to my multimeter.

 

[tomplum]

I will have to look. I cannot remember if it has a fuse block or not. Another thing worth mentioning is that I did replace the wire going from the voltage regulator to the battery. I was confused because that wire that went from the regulator to the battery did not go directly to the battery. It went to a wire harness coupler. I called the dealer and he said they just run a wire straight from the regulator to the battery. I have had issues ever since then but the battery has always charged fine according to my multimeter.

A pic of the coupler?

 

[Hexa Fox]

Well it has been almost two months. We had a pretty nice drought through August and September at which time I probably should have been working on the Ferris but I opted to park it and forget it. I started mowing again recently. The same weird symptoms persist. Sometimes I can mow an entire yard no problem and other times it dies constantly. Even more weird it seems to not like having the PTO disengaged. Specifically, if I get off the mower to pick up a stick or something and get back on sometimes the PTO will not engage until I turn the machine completely off and jump it.

Anyway I think I mentioned this before. I decided to take off the instrument panel today and look for a ignition replacement. I already ordered one that is suppose to be an OEM part. However, it is clearly different from what I have now. I looked around and it seems to be the new OEM part. The only thing that held mine on was a piece of threaded plastic. The new one seems to use metal.

Anyway here is the instrument cluster, it was extremely straight forward. Upon looking at it I thought more stuff was going to have to come off before I could access it. There are only three Torx screws and plenty of slack in the cables to turn it to the side.

 

[Hexa Fox]

A pic of the coupler?

Again sorry it has been awhile. Like I mentioned we got a small vacation and I sort of just put it out of my mind during that time lol. I looked all over the Ferris and could not find a serial number tag. However, here is a picture of the coupler that the regulator originally ran to that charged the battery. It is now bypassed to go directly to the battery. It is the black wire you see that also contains a glass/tube fuse in the background. I also found the fuse block you asked about before.

I am still highly considering taking a jumper wire and trying to figure out which wires go to what and wiring up a push button starter. For now though I am hoping the new ignition switch confirms my suspicion that it is what is causing the machine to slaughter batteries.

 

[tomplum]

While you are there, I'd service the connectors @ both the key switch and PTO switch. Do you know if the PTO normally starts w/ the brake engaged?

 

[Hexa Fox]

While you are there, I'd service the connectors @ both the key switch and PTO switch. Do you know if the PTO normally starts w/ the brake engaged?

I just installed it an hour ago and tested it out. The new one came in a OEM looking Briggs bag so that was nice. It works fine and I was surprised that the starter turned without being jumped. So I think the old key switch was likely my culprit. I am charging the battery now too.

Even though the new ignition switch works it does not fit through the hole on the instrument cluster. I'm certain that I have a step bit somewhere but I could not locate it.

I didn't notice a lot of corrosion on the connections. I thought about putting a little dielectric grease on the connections but decided against it because of the amount of crap that collects under the cluster. I feared it would cause a lot of dirt and stuff to stick to it.

How would you go about servicing the new ignition switch and old coupler? Spraying some contact cleaner on it and wire brushing it?

 

[tomplum]

You could do something like that. I have a terminal service kit which is essentially a little file that fits inside the terminal and can do the outside of the male terminals. Terminals that can be under higher stress will fatigue and break, so you have to look close that the spring tab is in place and effective. Some CRC and dielectric grease are helpful here.

 

[DMW]

Attach a lanyard to the ignition key and hook it over the throttle. Replacement switches don't seem to hold the key as well as the original. Lost a couple while cutting around pine trees. Didn't notice until I tried to shut off the mower. Thought it was a fluke the first time, but was actually the start of a trend.

 

[Hexa Fox]

Attach a lanyard to the ignition key and hook it over the throttle. Replacement switches don't seem to hold the key as well as the original. Lost a couple while cutting around pine trees. Didn't notice until I tried to shut off the mower. Thought it was a fluke the first time, but was actually the start of a trend.

You could do something like that. I have a terminal service kit which is essentially a little file that fits inside the terminal and can do the outside of the male terminals. Terminals that can be under higher stress will fatigue and break, so you have to look close that the spring tab is in place and effective. Some CRC and dielectric grease are helpful here.

Thank both of you for all the help. I really appreciate it. The key is fitting really tight right now but I will take the advice and attach a lanyard to it and wrap it around one of the other switches.

So my kit came with a bare key that does not have the hard plastic shell on it. So I bought these cheap little ignition caps off Amazon to help cover the ignition switch. The bare key fits into it perfectly and this is the result. I am going to try to leave the key in the machine as much as possible and hopefully that will also help it last. However, I am guessing just the action of turning it plays a role in wear and tear on it.

Also it may be too soon to comment but it seems like it has completely resolved my issue. So it looks like even when the old key ignition was off it was still somehow drawing from the battery. I have not done any mowing though but will in the next couple of days. So that will be the true test but I fully expect it to work fine.