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Multiple stops and restarts killing bathery?

B

Bill from MA

Member
Is it at all normal for multiple stops and restarts an hour to cause a battery to go dead quickly or do I have some other problem?

Machine is question is a 20005 TH Gator but that probably does not matter.

Do I have a bad alternator r some other problem?

Thanks,
Bill
 
If it is 20 starts I would say yes it will. If it is run for 5 minutes between starts I would say it is not charging well or at all. A volt meter on the battery will tell the tale. with it running well above idle it should be making 14.2 to 14.5 volts.. If not it has issues. A bad or going bad battery will do the same thing on starting. Jim
 
Like a barrel full of water. When you use the starter it is like dipping it out with a pail, but the charging is like putting it back with a teacup.
 
Like a JD Gator? I just worked on the neighbors. The alternator is behind a shroud. This one was packed with dry grass. I am surprised that it didn't get hot and fry it. Check it out They also use a little mower size battery. Wouldn't be surprised if it cooked it, either. A voltage tester will be your friend.
 
(quoted from post at 02:29:18 09/22/13) Like a barrel full of water. When you use the starter it is like dipping it out with a pail, but the charging is like putting it back with a teacup.
Click to expand...
Great analogy.
The alternator doesn't have time to recharge the battery. The frequent restarts will shorten battery life.
 
(quoted from post at 18:59:33 09/21/13) Is it at all normal for multiple stops and restarts an hour to cause a battery to go dead quickly or do I have some other problem?

Machine is question is a 20005 TH Gator but that probably does not matter.

Do I have a bad alternator r some other problem?

Thanks,
Bill
Click to expand...

What's multiple? The biggest thing is run time between cycles. If you are only running a couple of minutes then you could be discharging (starting) more than you are charging. I've seen brand new vehicles do it. Had a guy in Germany that lived about 6 blocks from the Co area. He would just start and drive because he was told that with the low speed on post he really didn't need to warm it up. After about 2 months he new car would not start. Just wasn't running long enough to fully recharge the battery each time. He was making 2 trips a day like with going home for lunch. He was also about the same distance from the PX and commissary. Guy was so broke after making payments and insurance on his new car he couldn't afford to put gas in it.

Rick
 
You need to put a voltmeter on it and monitor the charging voltage. If it doesn't quickly recover to between 14 and 15 volts after starting, you have an alternator or regulator problem.

If you have a lot of electrical accessories, that could affect charging. Most small engines have limited charging capacity.
 
If you can use a hydrometer on the battery check for a weak cell.If you need a new battery dont mess with the cheap ones.Dont buy a sealed battery.Uneven hydrometer readings will let you know when a battery is failing.
 
Yes multiple stops/restarts can drain a battery fast. They use to say on a car it took 7 miles to get a battery back up where it was when you started the car. That was just from starting the car. Now days I'm sure it's more since there are more electrical items and gadgets on a vehicle that are used when it's running.
 
Do what Mark B suggested and check your charging voltage with the engine at 1/2 throttle or better at the battery.
If you only see about 12 volts either the stator
or rectifier/regulator is the culprit. Get a wiring diagram. You can check the AC voltage from the stator at the rectifier should see about 30 volts with the engine running. Hal
 
Insufficient information to diagnose.

Repeated engine starts without sufficient recharge time will certainly drain the battery.

More significantly, repeated engine starts add, perhaps unnecessary, wear and tear to the starter, starter drive and flywheel ring geat.

Need you shut the engine off as frequently as you do?

Dean
 
Would also add that it may not be a charging deficiency - but a discharging issue. As in the starter's drawing more current than it should.

An old starter - corroded connectors - corroded battery terminals - an engine out of tune that takes 20 cranks to start - etc. All can increase the amount of juice being pulled from a battery on each start - thereby quickly outpacing the recharging of it.
 
>>>Like a JD Gator? I just worked on the neighbors. The alternator is behind a shroud. This one was packed with dry grass. I am surprised that it didn't get hot and fry it. Check it out They also use a little mower size battery. Wouldn't be surprised if it cooked it, either. A voltage tester will be your friend.

Yes. A Gator. It would not start one morning so I assumed my son left a light on or the key not truly off. Charged the battery and it was fine for a week or two.

Used it at my sisters yesterday and after 5 or 6 (or maybe 10 tops) on off cycles as they moved firewood and stones it would not start.

New battery and starter and I didn't want to just replace the alternator without other ideas first.

Bill
 
Since we had trouble that one day with lots of stops and starts and it has run okay since I will get a voltmeter but not consider it a crisis.
 
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