Put in a new Battery, got nothin' - I am not dumb, but maybe I'm not bright?

[FredBarber]

I had a similar problem with my Kubota L48 -- battery seemed to be failing, eventually wouldn't start, all dash lights went out when I tried, etc., etc. Replaced the battery and no joy. Cleaned up the battery and ground connections, including the ground connection to the battery tray. No joy. Did some (obviously incompetent) multimeter testing. Some of the readings didn't make sense, but it was clear that sufficient power to start the thing wasn't getting to the starter. Replaced the starter relay. No joy. Bought and installed a new main harness. No joy.

Finally checked the resistance from the battery ground to the engine block. Voila! The battery tray's connection to the tractor frame is obviously rusty (I haven't actually checked that), so the battery was effectively floating. Used a random piece of 12 gauge wire to connect the battery ground directly to the block (promising to do something better at a later date, which I haven't done yet) and everything came right back up.

As others have said, using the battery tray as the grounding point is a bad idea. The main harness on the darn thing goes right to the solenoid on the starter, so there's no reason they couldn't have included a proper ground there, too. (Well, no reason other than $$.) I can't help but wonder if the original battery was actually fine, even though it was the "obvious" problem when things first went south. At least I saved the old relay and harness, just in case I need them some day -- and to remind me of what an idiot I am.

Bottom line, even if this isn't your problem now, it probably will be some day. Go ahead and fix it before it bites you.

BTW, if you really do need to charge that battery, just disconnect it and carry it up to your garage.

 

[Fxfymn413]

Common sense says it has to be at the only thing you worked on. I'd vote a broken, or more probably, a heavily internally corroded, battery cable you broke when you changed out the battery. That may be why the old battery didn't work properly as well.

 

[camshawn]

Just going back to the start, did you remove the wires from the battery terminal clamps and if so, did they all get put back on? Often there is a big positive power wire as well as a separate control wire or 2 or 3. I have never (honestly) missed a wire when changing a battery. We have already addressed those pesky plastic caps over the battery posts that I have always removed before installation. Good luck.

 

[TORQUIN]

I have not seen, and perhaps I missed it, that you cleaned your battery terminals, on the battery AND on the cables, when you changed the battery. That is something you always do, since the cable terminals develop corrosion over time, and the battery, while fairly unlikely, does corrode the terminals slowly while sitting on a shelf.

Chris

 

[lman]

If the tractor doesn't have a home under a roof, corrosion is a more likely factor. We got 10" of snow here so hopefully the tractor will be running and plowing snow soon.

 

[JBF43]

Common sense says it has to be at the only thing you worked on. I'd vote a broken, or more probably, a heavily internally corroded, battery cable you broke when you changed out the battery. That may be why the old battery didn't work properly as well.

I vote for this as I have had this happen on my tractor and also a tilt bed trailer using a 'starter motor hydraulic pump' system to raise and lower the bed. The battery was new and fully charged, and tested well in all respects, including load testing. But nothing happened when trying to tilt the bed or run the attached winch. Even got voltage at both ends of both battery cables. But no amperage was available to run the motors. Closer inspection of the cables revealed that the cables were internally corroded inside the insulation, starting at the battery end of the cable and working toward the other end. I found both the positive and negative cables to be this way and corroded inside as far as halfway up the cables. replaced the cables, and everything was fine. Note: There was no indication that anything was wrong at all by looking at or handling these cables. But stripping back the insulation revealed the damaged wire inside. Looked as if they were acid-eaten. As mentioned earlier, I have seen this happen on my trailer and my tractor several times now. No clue what causes it, as I keep my batteries clean and no acid or corrosion at any of the connections. Just a thought and something very easy to check.

 

[Jaygyver]

How old is your LS? I have a 3 year old MT2-35e and I did notice I had a plastic battery pan but assumed it was also grounded to the frame. Mine is actually indented so the battery sits down farther. Doesn't block the radiator as much? Maybe check the battery ground bolt at the pan just to make sure? I kinda think it may be the main fuse likes been mentioned.

I only checked the LS as I had just had to replace the battery pan and everything near it on my 27 yr old JD 770. The battery now lives in a marine battery case.

 

[garry1p]

I think Freddy found the problem and did not want to share.

 

[SPYDERLK]

I think Freddy found the problem and did not want to share.

Workweek distractions maybe?

 

[Avenger]

In the event of not having a load tester which most people don’t all you need to do is hold the volt meter on the battery while someone attempts to start the tractor. I keep some alligator clips in my toolbox so I can preform this step by myself. I like to do the test once measuring straight from the battery terminals and again measuring from the starter terminals. If it drops a lot from the battery then you know the battery is the problem. If the battery holds above 12v but it drops a lot at the starter then you know the cables or more likely the cable ends are the problem. There is a 3rd option that for some reason the starter could be drawing too many amps but a dead battery is much more likely than that.

Absolutely! This will work. And if you have a second person to help turn the key, will work just fine. It has been my experience that the leads on multimeters are not long enough to reach from the battery to the cab. Or from under the hood to the cab of pickups, cars, boats, etc. I've made longer leads to get me by in a pinch, and is possible, but is the readings accurate at that point?

Alternatively, you could spend less than $40 for a little digital load tester from Amazon (link) that you can use yourself without ever needing to turn the key. The one I linked is the one I use. I keep it with my electrical testing equipment, and if I ever suspect a battery, its simple to grab and use.

Just a thought while we wait to see what happened to this particular tractor.