Not the battery

tman1020 · Oct 11, 2015

The leak only occurred when the tractor was angled up or down steep inclines.

MoPops · Oct 12, 2015

Thanks for the info gents. I will grease the wires and clean the terminals. The new clamps should be here today. Hopefully, I'll be able to remove the old one (pos) and get the new one in place without soldering.
I'll keep an eye out for the battery leaking also. I've got plenty of hills, and mowing around the pond always puts the tractor on an incline.

MoPops · Oct 16, 2015

Running great. Got the new clamp on, and cleaned out some debris from under the hydro drive pedal. I'm pretty sure it was just the pos battery clamp. I will say, there is no extra pos wire. Whew. The new one is very tight.

tman1020 · Oct 17, 2015

Nice job.

MoPops · Oct 17, 2015

tman1020 said:
Nice job.

Thanks. FYI, I can see evidence around the the battery of corrosion. It must be leaking. Not sure how long I'm going to stay with it.
If a new battery is 1/4" taller I'll never get that positive terminal hooked up. I need to find a smaller battery. Ha

Threepoint · Oct 17, 2015

MoPops said:
Thanks. FYI, I can see evidence around the the battery of corrosion. It must be leaking. Not sure how long I'm going to stay with it.
If a new battery is 1/4" taller I'll never get that positive terminal hooked up. I need to find a smaller battery. Ha

Well done. That should hold you for awhile. :thumbsup:

If you eventually have trouble hooking up to a new battery, just replace the positive cable with one a bit longer. Easy to do.

MoPops · Oct 18, 2015

Threepoint said:
Well done. That should hold you for awhile. :thumbsup: If you eventually have trouble hooking up to a new battery, just replace the positive cable with one a bit longer. Easy to do.

Ok, basic mechanical ignorance question here. It's a bit embarrassing. I tracked the positive cable back to a cylindrical object. It looks like it's just bolted to that.
Is that the solenoid? Not sure.
Thanks for the info though. I may have to get a longer one if this one pulls loose. It's under a bit of stress. Pulled that tight.

davesl708 · Oct 18, 2015

MoPops said:
Ok, basic mechanical ignorance question here. It's a bit embarrassing. I tracked the positive cable back to a cylindrical object. It looks like it's just bolted to that.
Is that the solenoid? Not sure.
Thanks for the info though. I may have to get a longer one if this one pulls loose. It's under a bit of stress. Pulled that tight.

That would be the starter.
The solenoid is usually attached to the starter and smaller. The main red cable supplies power to the starter. Make sure the connection is clean and tight.

Threepoint · Oct 18, 2015

MoPops said:
Ok, basic mechanical ignorance question here. It's a bit embarrassing. I tracked the positive cable back to a cylindrical object. It looks like it's just bolted to that.
Is that the solenoid? Not sure.
Thanks for the info though. I may have to get a longer one if this one pulls loose. It's under a bit of stress. Pulled that tight.

Yes, that's the starter solenoid (or "starter relay"). Have a look at it and you'll see a second large terminal on the solenoid with a short, heavy-gauge cable running to a terminal on the starter itself, which sits right next to the solenoid.

When the solenoid is triggered by the low-amperage current from the ignition switch to a third, much smaller terminal on the solenoid, it closes the gap between those two large terminals, allowing current to flow directly from the battery to the starter. That way you don't need to run all those amps through the ignition switch. Smaller relays are used elsewhere on your tractor to similar purpose, e.g., to power work lights without having to run all the current through a rocker or toggle switch.

MoPops · Oct 18, 2015

Hey. I knew more than I thought.
Thanks!

flyerdan · Oct 18, 2015

The top of that battery terminal shows a black, almost epoxy-like corrosion that forms on leaking posts; if you didn't scrape it off to shiny lead where the clamp goes around you'll soon have the same problem. If you do change batteries, I'd think about going to a side post rather than the top post models,if you have clearance on the side. I haven't seen near the leakage/corrosion issues on side posts; I'd be interested in hearing other peoples experiences with them.

PILOON · Oct 18, 2015

Old time mechanics favored 'petroleum jelly' which is also known as vasoline to coat and smear on battery posts.
No reason to re invent wheels.

tcartwri · Oct 18, 2015

Did mine today too...

tman1020 · Oct 18, 2015

If you are going to try to keep that leaking battery for a while consider putting some baking soda around it to help protect the metal from any acid leak. It can cause damage in a hurry.

MoPops · Oct 19, 2015

tcartwri said:
Did mine today too... <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/files/bobcat-tractors/444405-not-battery-img_20151018_184020-593x800-jpg"/>

Yep, mine was maybe a little worse, but not much. That's the cheapest battery connector I've ever seen.

MoPops · Oct 19, 2015

tman1020 said:
If you are going to try to keep that leaking battery for a while consider putting some baking soda around it to help protect the metal from any acid leak. It can cause damage in a hurry.

I'll put some around it. (Lots if it) next week, when I'm back up there. I moved a fair amount of gravel with the tractor on Saturday, but didn't get it done. With the drought we've had since 8/1, I haven't really needed to do much mowing. Fall food plots never came up. Not as much to do as earlier with all the rain.

MMagis · Oct 19, 2015

flyerdan said:
I haven't seen near the leakage/corrosion issues on side posts; I'd be interested in hearing other peoples experiences with them.

I had one in my truck that disintegrated from the inside. Couldn’t tell anything was wrong, then one evening it wouldn’t start at the bank. I grabbed the positive cable to check if it was loose, and the whole thing pulled out of the battery in my hand. At least when a top post battery is leaking, you can tell.