Disconnect cable prevent battery drain ?

[redka]

Does disconnecting the negative battery cable slow down or prevent battery drain? Through the winter months I may not use the tractor for 5-6 months. The battery will discharge in that length of time. I don't have electricity at the property to use a battery tender. Will it help to disconnect the negative cable from the battery terminal? Thanks

 

[oldnslo]

Yes, it will prevent residual draw from draining the battery.

 

[George2615]

Not necessarily. Disconnecting one lead from the tractor may not make a difference unless something on the tractor is drawing power with the key off. To test this, disconnect one lead and connect a voltmeter between the battery post and the disconnected cable. If you get a reading something is drawing power.
I think there is more chance for battery drain across the surface of the battery. If the surface is neutralized with baking soda and water then dried a stored battery will usually hold a charge better.
Take a voltmeter and put the red lead on the positive terminal. Take the black lead and run it across the surface of the battery from neg. to pos. and see what readings you get. If the surface hasn't been cleaned you will get a reading. That reading is a battery drain and the surface needs to be neutralized.

 

[bigdeano]

Yes, I routinely disconnect batteries not used over winter. Alternators leak a little current through the diodes and voltage regulator, some worse than others. It only takes a few milliamps over several months to drain a battery.

 

[BobRip]

Good replies here. Obviouly it could not hurt. Could you pull the battery out and take it somewhere that you could keep it on a float charger? A little more work of course. I keep all my low use batteries (trailer, Generator, tractor) on battery maintainers.

 

[AGRIMAN]

Yes, most newer systems have some level of parasitic drain. Most are acceptable and never cause a problem during normal use, but when stored for long periods can cause drain your battery.

 

[Threepoint]

Not necessarily. Disconnecting one lead from the tractor may not make a difference unless something on the tractor is drawing power with the key off. To test this, disconnect one lead and connect a voltmeter between the battery post and the disconnected cable. If you get a reading something is drawing power. [snip]

George, do you literally mean a voltmeter, or a multimeter set to read amps? I don't see how you'd read volts that way, since there's no electrical potential across the battery post to it's disconnected cable.

 

[tcreeley]

Solar powered trickle charger?

 

[skyhook]

George, do you literally mean a voltmeter, or a multimeter set to read amps? I don't see how you'd read volts that way, since there's no electrical potential across the battery post to it's disconnected cable.

Set to read amps, usually, milliamps. The meter will show "if any" drain such as a clock on the radio etc.
A battery will loose it's charge over time, depending on how long it sat will determine the amount of loss. Sometimes turning on the headlights or trying several times to start will "wake-up" a dead battery.
These trickle chargers keep the battery "awake".
I've never heard of the "baking soda" theory.

 

[Gunny]

I've always read that a lead acid battery will naturally loose voltage over time, some say that even while not hooked up the losses can be from 40 to 50% over the course of a year, older batteries even more, so I always take them off for winter storage if I don't have a battery tender on them.

 

[George2615]

George, do you literally mean a voltmeter, or a multimeter set to read amps? I don't see how you'd read volts that way, since there's no electrical potential across the battery post to it's disconnected cable.

Yes, A volt meter. Try it sometime. Of course if you put the probes on the plus and minus terminals you'll read battery voltage. Then try one probe on the top of the battery. If the top of the battery is not clean and dry you will read voltage drain across the surface.

 

[redka]

Solar powered trickle charger?

I'll look into that. Thanks.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I use a solar charger on my gate opener battery. It puts out 14 volts so it keeps my battery charged fully as long as it doesn't remain cloudy and raining for several days.
You don't need a big one to just trickle charge a tractor battery. Face it south for winter use and it should work fine.

 

[meos1]

Disconnecting will help. The cold winter months have a tendancy to reduce the cold cranking amperage output. You may have voltage but not enough current to turn the starter over enough to get started. You can try the solar powered battery tender to aid the battery. Northern tool has a bunch of those solar panels available.

 

[Soundguy]

Yes, A volt meter. Try it sometime. Of course if you put the probes on the plus and minus terminals you'll read battery voltage. Then try one probe on the top of the battery. If the top of the battery is not clean and dry you will read voltage drain across the surface.

using a voltage setting is not the best way, as it only shows potential.

the other posters have it correct. inline / series amp/milli-amp setting tells the tale of flowing electrons.. not just a potential difference between 2 locations like a volt meter will tell you.

 

[CobyRupert]

Not necessarily. Disconnecting one lead from the tractor may not make a difference unless something on the tractor is drawing power with the key off. To test this, disconnect one lead and connect a voltmeter between the battery post and the disconnected cable. If you get a reading something is drawing power.
I think there is more chance for battery drain across the surface of the battery. If the surface is neutralized with baking soda and water then dried a stored battery will usually hold a charge better.
Take a voltmeter and put the red lead on the positive terminal. Take the black lead and run it across the surface of the battery from neg. to pos. and see what readings you get. If the surface hasn't been cleaned you will get a reading. That reading is a battery drain and the surface needs to be neutralized.

You're right. (theoretically, I haven't tried it yet. )
I had to think this through, draw diagrams, and consult the oracle, as I'd never thought of this before and would of said, as others, that you need a ampmeter.
The leaking device will pass voltage through it, (although there's no current flowing; and thus no voltage drop), the battery's voltage will show up across the disconnected lead and the battery (because basically you're measuring the battery voltage from terminal to terminal, but through the leaking device which is normally suppose to interrupt this path by an open switch somewhere.)

 

[k0ua]

Good replies here. Obviouly it could not hurt. Could you pull the battery out and take it somewhere that you could keep it on a float charger? A little more work of course. I keep all my low use batteries (trailer, Generator, tractor) on battery maintainers.

Yes, most newer systems have some level of parasitic drain. Most are acceptable and never cause a problem during normal use, but when stored for long periods can cause drain your battery.

Solar powered trickle charger?

I use a solar charger on my gate opener battery. It puts out 14 volts so it keeps my battery charged fully as long as it doesn't remain cloudy and raining for several days.
You don't need a big one to just trickle charge a tractor battery. Face it south for winter use and it should work fine.

All of the above. here is a link to one that is inexpensive and I know works.. I have had it on my lawn mower battery for years

1.5 Watt Solar Battery Charger

 

[Soundguy]

The problem is,the voltmeter with megaohms of input impedance, may I'd 'leaks' that are not much more than potential difference , and would account for no milliamp drain, but instead son mucroamp drain akin to self discharge.. Which is why the ammeter will show you quantitative results about the size of the draw.

You're right. (theoretically, I haven't tried it yet. )
I had to think this through, draw diagrams, and consult the oracle, as I'd never thought of this before and would of said, as others, that you need a ampmeter.
The leaking device will pass voltage through it, (although there's no current flowing; and thus no voltage drop), the battery's voltage will show up across the disconnected lead and the battery (because basically you're measuring the battery voltage from terminal to terminal, but through the leaking device which is normally suppose to interrupt this path by an open switch somewhere.)

 

[bigbull338]

to keep a battery up the tractor needs tobe cranked once or twice a week and ran atlest 30mins.

 

[CobyRupert]

to keep a battery up the tractor needs tobe cranked once or twice a week and ran atlest 30mins.

That's not just true for batteries!! :laughing: