790 won't crank

[Charlie_in_WV]

I joined this board last Saturday but couldn't post until now.
I'm posting this as a HEADS UP! for everyone in case it happens to them.
The problem is now solved, I'll tell the solution after this post.

Here's my story ...
JD 790 slightly more than 3 years old, 498.9 hours, bought it new.
Was tilling up with a 5' KIng Kutter an area for a food plot after ripping up the sod with a cultivator. Had chopped all (I thought) the roots out of the plot.
I hit a wrist thick root and stalled the tractor. No big deal, put in neutral, PTO off and started it up. Raised tiller and moved past root and finished up.
Decided to go up to my building and cut away any roots/weeds in tines of tiller before refueling at old barn.
Shut off tractor and there she sits.
Checked gear shift. Checked PTO. Checked fuses. Checked (with ohm meter) the neutral switch and PTO switch, both are working alright.
Thumped starter with hammer. Thumped starte solinoid with hammer handle.
The "battery-brake-oil" lights light on the dash, you hear the clicking of ignition on but NOTHING when to start position, NOTHING!
I've even tried grounding out the solinoid, nothing.
Any ideas?

I kept my old outdated multi-meter when I retired, a Western Electric 145A meter which since it's designed for telephone work has a voltage scale up to 100.
Looking at the small face and telling if it's reading 12VDC (or 10VDC) means really peering over the top of your glasses and looking very carefully.
Seems one cell in my battery shorted out.
No warning signs, started okay 15 minutes before then the problem.

 

[ChuckinNH]

Thanks for passing along the heads up! I might drive myself a little crazy before thinking to check that under similar circumstances.

 

[sunnyside360]

I would check the battery cable connections for corroded or bad connection.
Cleaning the battery posts and cable clamps will fix this if that is the problem. Also, make sure you have a good battery. I suspect the engine stalling due to overload was just a coincidence prior to having the problem.
Of course there are more things to check but only after doing the above mentioned items.

 

[Charlie_in_WV]

What I believed happned was that hen I hit that root and stalled the machine, a chunk of oxidation build up on one lead plates in the battery was jarred loose.
It started oky but then the shaking of the machine using the tiller caused the chunk to short out that one cell.
Anyway, back in the saddle again!
Put on over 7 hours yesterday brush hogging, mostly floating the rough cut mower about 4" over my clover to knock down the weeds and hope for fresh clover growth, also on my Alpha Rack fields and a field I haven't cut in two years.
There's this bush down here the locals call Olly Molly that was planted on strip mines that's really evasive and just takes over fields. In the two years some of these bushes had to be 7' tall and 1ｽ" diameter.
Today I spread lime and fertilizer on some plots that I putting in Winter Greens. Last fall and winter the deer couldn't resist that stull.