Cub Cadet 102 - problem: draining battery

Posted this in garden tractors... but don't usually post there - so will put here on Talk too.

Problem with freshly overhauled Cub Cadet 102... it is draining the battery.

Can get it started, runs good and mows good. Then it is dead next time you go to use it.

Any thoughts? Thanks if you can help.

1.Battery is brand new - 1 week old.
2.Combination starter/generator were rebuilt/fixed this winter by a professional... ALSO new regulator put on.
3. Not relevant to the electrical problem... but this winter we also put new piston and sleeve, clutch repaired (or replaced, not sure - would have to ask my husband).

Possibly a bad regulator cut out stuck closed.

I will second that the regulator is more than likely bad. It is real hard to find good ones these days. Most are imported JUNK!!! I have had to go through several to get one that works correctly.

If the one he has is not still under warranty he can take the cover off and clean the contacts on the cutout part. They maybe burnt together.

If it is not under warranty then take some pictures of the regulator with the cover off and we maybe able to walk him through trying to make it work.

I also had one several years ago on an old motor that would work fine but the cutout was burnt up. So I put a heavy switch in the battery supply wire to it. I just cut the current to the regulator when it was not running. Ran it that way for a few years until I found a NOS US made regulator. It was on a Wisconsin motor on an air compressor.

Use a volt meter and check the charging voltage across the battery terminals. Should see 14-14.5 volts at 1/2 throttle or better. It it's charging ok I would remove the ground cable at the battery when not used. It doesn't take that long to reconnect the battery cable. Hal

If it is regulating well when running, a solution not found in the book is to put diode out of an alternator in the wire hooked to the generator's A terminal. This acts like a cutout, and doesn't wear out. This allows a regulator with welded stuck cutout points to be used just as a VR Make sure the diode (one of 6 in an alternator) is the one that passes voltage only out of the GEN not into it. Jim

It's been many years since I fooled with a mechanical VR. But one thing is for sure. Current into your battery from the regulator only goes one way....into it normally.

Starting with the + battery terminal, following the wiring. First is the large wire that goes to the starting solenoid. That is your high current wire and you don't want to mess with that.

What you are looking for is the smaller wire (12 AWG) from the VR that connects to either the battery + or to the input terminal on the solenoid.....solenoid terminal used as a junction post .

I don't know how much charging current a mower generates, but it's not much as the battery isn't all that big nor is the load.

For an outside number say 10 amps. Probably more like 5 but use 10. Go to Radio Shack and buy a stud diode rectifier of 15-20 amperes. Tell the salesperson how you want to install it and get some adapter terminals. If you want to just cut the wire and insert it, tell him. If the VR wire goes to the solenoid tell him that one end of the diode will be attached to a (3/8" I think is the dia) stud and the other will be to a bare wire, or the terminal you took off the solenoid.

Position the diode so that it does not touch anything metal. If attached to the solenoid that will take care of that.

The diode has a symbol on it consisting of an arrow attached to a horizontal line. This shows which way you turn it to hook it up. Install it so that the arrow is pointing towards the battery.

That will drop your charging voltage to the battery a little but it won't be all that much and you probably will never know it.

Then whatever your charging circuit decides to do in the off period won't matter.

Mark

First thing I would do is remove ground connection at battery. Hook a test light or volt meter between that battery terminal and to ground cable. If it lamp lights or meter reads 12 volts then you know for sure you have a drain. Then I would unhook the two wires from generator armature terminal. One is for the starter circuit and other is for charging through regulator. If light goes out you know problem is either regulator or leakage from starter wire circuit. You can then hook back up one at a time to find out which one it is. If you do not get a lit lamp or voltage reading, take the battery back. Or possibly, the battery hold down might be too close to battery terminals and dirt and moisture is causing leak across battery draining it. Careful movement with a good analog volt across top of battery to ground will show up that drain.

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I will pass them along to my husband.

(quoted from post at 22:12:33 06/04/13) First thing I would do is remove ground connection at battery. Hook a test light or volt meter between that battery terminal and to ground cable. If it lamp lights or meter reads 12 volts then you know for sure you have a drain. Then I would unhook the two wires from generator armature terminal. One is for the starter circuit and other is for charging through regulator. If light goes out you know problem is either regulator or leakage from starter wire circuit. You can then hook back up one at a time to find out which one it is. If you do not get a lit lamp or voltage reading, take the battery back. Or possibly, the battery hold down might be too close to battery terminals and dirt and moisture is causing leak across battery draining it. Careful movement with a good analog volt across top of battery to ground will show up that drain.

Click to expand...

Only five replies before someone suggests finding the problem instead of just throwing parts at it.