It is the battery - Quick advice please!!!

[r0GuE]

I have a sealed battery. The little window appears to show a green dot, but it was certainly low on charge (am I right in my thinking that the dot indicates overall viability of the battery, but NOT the charged status of the battery). The tractor was having trouble just turning over so certainly the battery did not have a good charge. am just VERY surprised that the battery charger indicated that it was charged so quickly (2 hours). Of course this is a smaller tractor battery and not a massive SUV battery.

 

[Pks]

Rogue,

Two things to remember about batteries: First, they need to be kept clean. That means no corrosion on the terminals or battery case. Second, when they get real cold, they lose power.

Since you mentioned having to remove the corrosion from your terminals, I'll ask if you cleaned the rest of the battery with a baking soda and water mixture. I put together a mix that is a little like a paste. The cable clamps are removed and then I scrub everything clean. I take a wire brush and then emry paper to dress the terminals and clamps.

To offset the cold, my B2400 lives outside, I keep my battery hooked up to a 2 amp trickle charger. Also, adding a blanket or towel around the battery will also help keep the battery warmer. The fan on the B2400 pulls cold air past the battery and into the radiator. So this battery is always cold.

My battery is six years old and still starts things up at -4 degrees F. Any colder then that and I'm the one who won't start. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[hogboy]

I have had excellent results using a Battery Tender on both my tractor and motorcycle batteries for the past several years. I just hook them up after each use and the battery is always ready to go. It also has stopped all corrision on the terminals.

 

[Junkman]

To me, it sounds like it might be a combination of poor connections, cold temperatures causing a loss of cranking amps, and a slightly discharged battery. The green dot shows the overall condition of the battery and if the charge gets low enough, then the green dot will change. The question is, did it start this morning?

 

[LarryG]

The green dot just shows the condition of that one particular cell. I had the same conditions on my Tahoe about a year ago in warmer October weather. The starter would sound like a machine gun going off. Just bang, bang, bang, etc. It would not start with a jump either. I called the local Chevy dealer and talked to one of their mechanics who said that it sounded like the battery was bad but generally the starter would slow right down. Mine kept banging at a fast rate. I called my garage mechanic who told me right off the bat to get a new battery. When I asked about the green dot, he told me that it only indicates the one cell. He said that any of the other cells could have an internal short and the green dot would still show green. He told me that if I was unsure about the battery due to the green dot then take the battery out of my truck and try it. I did and it started right up. I bought a new battery and have had no problems since. I would say just forget the green dot and get a new battery. Like anything else, some things last forever and some things screw up when they are brand new. Save yourself the aggreviation and get a battery.

 

[r0GuE]

Well, preschool was canceled so I just left the driveway icy (3 to 6" of solid ice!!!). My Jeep Rubicon has no issues with snow and ice. When I get home tonight I'm going to give it a shot. I may try to clean the terminals a little better and I have those felt washers (hey, they were only .99 /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif) to put on.

 

[rbarker]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Rogue,

Two things to remember about batteries: )</font>

I will add a third thing. Sometimes batteries aquire a condition that my Grandfather used to call sulphated. This a condition where the battery shows full voltage but has no real capacity to deliver amperage. This fools trickle chargers and vehicle charging systems into thinking everything is fine but as soon as there is a load the battery goes flat.

I know you will all laugh, but he used to have some success reviving a battery like this if it wasn't too far gone by dropping it from about 6" onto a cement floor. Something about jarring the scales off the plates, I think was the explanation. It was a lot of years ago! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

The upshot is when having problems like this you need to load test a battery, a simple voltage test doesn't always show what's going on.

BTW, Gramps was an auto mechanic specializing in electrical and carburation for more than 50 years. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Junkman]

Bob...... I am not as old as your grandfather is or would be, but I have heard of dropping the battery. That was done with the old hard rubber battery cases to jar the sulfated metal from the plates to fall away from the bottom of the plate. If the sulfated metal is in contact with the bottom of the plates, it will cause them to short out. If you can jar it loose and get it to settle a little lower, it will help the battery to continue to put out voltage and amperage. If the battery is sulfated and it isn't too badly sulfated, then they can be brought back to life by adding a bottle of a product called Electro-Start. You add about 3/4 of an ounce to each cell and then put a slow charger on the battery for a couple of hours to days. The chemical will cause the sulfation to go back to a liquid state and will re adhere to the battery plates. This is the simplified explanation, and there is a more technical one, but I won't go into it now.. This product can be purchased at many auto parts stores for about $4.00....
another brand....
I was not able to find any information about electro start on the www, but I did run into a article that suggested wrapping the battery with a strand of the small Christmas tree lights and plug them in to warm the battery... Seems like a bright idea, but I don't know if it will work.. Just passing it along.. Any one care to try and report back to us???

 

[5030]

Junkman:

This Rogue guy has his priorities mixed up. He want s al 'el cheapo battery and drives a Jeep Rubicon. What gives??

 

[frank_f15]

a 3 yr old battery should not be gone(unless it was a cheap battery to start with) but if it is get the best heavy duty battery with the most CCA u can. any good name brand will do fine.