Boosting question.

[jigs_n_fixtures]

Yes, I turned it over and it cranked then slowed down as the battery lost its charge. The ground did have corrosion but I got it all cleaned up.

I checked all the fuses and fusible links and relays and all are good.

Removing 2 bolts and I can get access to my starter, I’ve never boosted off of a starter so I’m not sure how it works and what the connections are. The John Deere mechanic managed to boost it via the starter but I wasn’t around when he did it so I couldn’t see what he did.

You would connect the negative to the frame or block near the starter, or a starter mounting bolt. The positive goes on the solenoid positive where the lead from the battery connects.

 

[MossRoad]

Question is what’s the problem that even John Deere Mechanics aren’t finding?

It’s a IVT so as long as it’s in park it’s ok and all the safety switches are working. It starts just fine on warm days and when the battery is charged, it’s just when the battery dies and needs a boost that it acts like there’s no booster attached.


That makes sense but if I connect to the cable ends that connect to the battery then shouldn’t my booster pack or truck basically become the new battery while connected?

The mechanic said I do need a new battery and that’s a $1400cdn installed.

But with this cold snap -45c (-49f) and I don’t have shelter for the mechanic to do the replacement so they want to do it when it warms up and I need to keep boosting it when the battery acts up (but not easy when I have this issue)

I will grab my multimeter and see what voltage is going to the starter solenoid, is it a live wire or do I need someone cranking the ignition to test it?


I definitely agree, they have gone backwards when it comes to “smart” and detecting voltage, the dual chargers is a really good idea to get it started.


I have a tech coming on Friday to install a new battery but I need to boost it in the meantime and trying to figure out why it won’t even take a boost.

Well, you never gave that info in the original post, so we were just taking shots at it with "most likely" options for investigation.

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

You might be able to get it turning over by towing if it has a manual transmission. Hook it up in high gear and tow it a little ways to get the block warmed up. Then do it again with the fuel on.

 

[dodge man]

I still think you can get a battery for less, that’s probably a JD price. Yes they would be heavy so I understand needing someone to do it for you. I’m not sure though why the problem with jump starting is going on. There are some good ideas presented.

 

[mjw357]

That makes sense but if I connect to the cable ends that connect to the battery then shouldn’t my booster pack or truck basically become the new battery while connected?

If you are removing the cables from the tractor battery and attaching external battery/jump packs, yes. If the tractor battery is still attached to the tractor’s battery cables, the bad battery is still in the circuit.

 

[Hoss710]

sounds like you're tractor battery has a internal short. so it's killing the the jump source . I'd disconnect the tractor battery and then try jumping it.

 

[corey9212]

You might be able to get it turning over by towing if it has a manual transmission. Hook it up in high gear and tow it a little ways to get the block warmed up. Then do it again with the fuel on.

It’s an IVT transmission so sadly that won’t work as far as my knowledge.

I still think you can get a battery for less, that’s probably a JD price. Yes they would be heavy so I understand needing someone to do it for you. I’m not sure though why the problem with jump starting is going on. There are some good ideas presented.

I’m definitely doing some testing today to see but like Hoss710 said I’m sure it has an internal short which like mjw357 mentioned the bad battery is still in the circuit so it’s basically a big resistor, my truck had the same problem and once I replaced the batteries and I had to boost it boosted easily.

If you are removing the cables from the tractor battery and attaching external battery/jump packs, yes. If the tractor battery is still attached to the tractor’s battery cables, the bad battery is still in the circuit.

Ok that makes sense, thank you for clarifying that for me.

sounds like you're tractor battery has a internal short. so it's killing the the jump source . I'd disconnect the tractor battery and then try jumping it.

I have to fire the tractor up today so I’m going to give that a try today, my truck had a short in its battery but it was intermittent so when it was tested it wouldn’t fail the test but when put to actual use it would never work and when it was removed from the circuit it instantly failed the test and the truck was able to be boosted, I was glad it worked but it had me scratching my head for a long time trying to figure out why it worked that way.

 

[dodge man]

If you Ram is a diesel it has 2 batteries also, just one can be bad but they say replace in pairs.

 

[grsthegreat]

I just looked up the specs for that tractor. Specs show a 1400 CCA battery. I crossed ref that battery spec, and that battery sells for about $285 US .

 

[WM75Guy]

If you Ram is a diesel it has 2 batteries also, just one can be bad but they say replace in pairs.

I have never had any luck just changing 1 battery. Before long I have to change both the new and the old battery. The charging system charges both equally, so they need to be the same strength.