What'a we do about the battery?

I would imagine was the cry by many engineers when putting the final touches on designing a tractor. Having just cleaned every cable end on my 986 I can say that it sure was not fun and would have been nice that I did not have to crawl under the tractor for some of it. The Farmall M and the JD 4250 that we have are pretty good about battery location for servicing. So is the Ford 860. The 4010 Diesel would be good if the tires were not set in for 30 inch rows. For servicing the 8430 is not bad at all but requires a step stool to lift the batteries out for a guy like me. I don't really like the battery under the hood on the Oliver 88 but that is one of very few complaints I have about it.

Seems like we have most of the some tractor,8430,4250, M. I have a 4020 so close there and dad bought a 986 brand new but sold it to the neighbor. The one I have the least trouble with on batteries is the 8430, they are 2012 rural king batteries and still working great.

When the engineers at JI Case said that about a DC Case they only had about one choice as to where to put it...easy to get at. Right in front of the steering wheel.

case , i guess could not figure out what to do with the battery either ,,.except for on the 800-730-830 eagle hitches ,love the slide out tray ,... the Dc has it rite in your face,. the 430 have it under a bolt ed hood , with a removeable cap ,,,.far safer to jump start to the starter ,btw ... that area is best suited with a plastic fertilizer bag and awaterjugand a coffee canister of smalltools ,,.

WHite finally go it right on the 2-85s on up. It was right under the step. Flip a latch,take the cover off and there you are. That Fiat built Oliver has to be one of the worst. You have to take the grill off.

Just replaced the battery in a JD 320D skid steer about a month ago. One of the first things the book says to remove the battery is to start the engine to raise the boom to allow clearance. Really? My battery had a short and wouldn't take a boost so wouldn't start. It will come out with the boom down but you have to lift the battery up with just your fingertips then tip it over on it's side. I was wishing whoever designed this was within arms reach of me right then.

Yes, CAse mostly got it right with their battery placement although the later 930s were a bit of a lift to get them out from under the platform. But put a front end loader on any tractor and battery service, and most other things, becomes a bit more awkward. My Super 90 Massey has everything packed in pretty compact. Thank goodness the battery rarely needs any service. Battery is under the fuel tank and behind the engine.

lift the hood on my ford 2000,its right there,,and a tray ,loosen the wing nut and slide the tray out,no problem

Well a lot of cars you need to rip out the back seat. I have also seen GMs better idea where you need to remove the brace rods. Change an oil filter on a new VW. Need to take off all of the air sheilds. Remember jacking up the engine to change the spark plugs on GM cars. We are so lucky.

My wifes Chrysler convertible a 1999 model, you have to remove the right front tire to get to the battery.

Manufacturers design their products to meet the expectations of the people who are buying their products brand new.

When buying a new piece of equipment or a new vehicle, now long does the average buyer expect to own the machine? Do very many guys take the time to check things like: battery access; how to change the belts; brake replacement; water pump replacement; computer re-programing, etc. on a brand new machine? I doubt that battery, belts, etc. are top considerations for buyers of new equipment and vehicles. That type of maintenance is a minimum of five or more years in the future for the guy buying new. They are looking closer at: function; capacity; fuel economy; flexibility; comfort and ergonomics; initial cost; and financing or lease terms. Their expectation is the machine will hold up for five to ten seasons before much maintenance is required, and that the new machine will have paid for itself by then. The cost of maintenance five or ten years down the road is small compared to the work a machine is expected to get done in those years. Often the machine will be: out of lease or obsolete before much maintenance is needed. By that time the majority of new equipment buyers are ready to replace the machine with another new one.

Guys buying used equipment and used vehicles are much more likely to check ease of maintenance because a used machine is more likely to need that type of maintenance very soon. Ease and cost of maintenance affects the demand and resale price of used machines much more than it affects the demand and price of new machines.

I have had similar discussions many times with my Dad. He is a retired farmer and I am an engineer. In the end he just doesn't know what he doesn't know. When designing something the placement of any one part effects the placement of other parts. Not every part can be top and center for easy access. The part you want to access today could have been top and center but then the part you easily accessed last year wouldn't be. Very few machines are 100% new designs. Parts are used from previous models. So engineering decisions made 10 years ago are effecting the design on the new model. Very often engines are reused on new models. That is to keep costs down because the tooling to make the engine are already paid for. So now the engineer has to make the best of it and use that engine and locations of other things are impacted. At the point of repairing a 30 year old machine you just do not know the constraints placed on the original design that the engineer had to make do with. So my standard response is here is a blank sheet of paper. You design the entire machine and show me how smart you are. And by the way that machine has to be able to made at a cost competitive price. It doesn't work to design the perfect machine and it cost twice as much as the competition. Hind sight engineering is like hind sight farming. It doesn't work very well.

Allis Chalmers 185 right under the left foot rest,flip the latch pick up the step and there it is.

While it seems a less than ideal location zero no battery is more accessible than on a DC Case.

Glenn

Zero?? Crazy auto correct!

Engineers have their constrictions as to how to design or redesign all pieces of equipment. What really gets me though is that a test port could have easily been designed into the machine for various hydraulic trouble shooting but instead you have to remove pipes or hoses and insert a variety of fittings to get some readings. Five minute job, no, give me a couple hours, so, lot of checking is just not done properly. I argued with company reps many times and all they would say, never going to happen. I think a little pressure from inner circles would have accomplished the changes. Of course it cost, but adding that fancy Decal on the hood costs also. As far as the battery and the FUEL tank, I always said they should just put them on a trailer and pull them behind if they can't figure out a reasonable place and shape to install them. I'm no engineer but if I was I probably would not have lasted very long because I would have been at odds with management.

You should look at where they are placed on most skid steers...

Usually several inches of manure on it if used on a dairy farm.

The 06and 56 series tractors were real aesy to get to. Just the batteries were not the best designed. Those 3&4 EH ones didn't last the best. We changed them to Group 31's From the semi since I changed them as a set with 4 of them not all would be shot.

I've come to the conclusion that to be the designer of any equipment or automobile they first have to be a mad at the world sociopath, then an engineer. I've never worked on anything new or old that was built well. The newer they are the worse they are though. I won't buy anything made in the 21st century.

Allis Chalmers 7010 is fantastic, pull pin and the tray of batteries swings out on the right side. Best design I've seen.

Took me 6.5 hours to change the drive belt on a JD hydro lawn mower. By the time I was done, even the dog wouldn't come close.

Just put a new set in a Case 970 this morning.
To do it right you would have to remove the loader frame to slide out the battery box.

Proceed at your own risk but this is what works for me.

-Pull plate in cab floor and disconnect cables
-Remove steps
-Remove lock bolt from tray
-Put front of floor jack on loader frame under battery box
-Use pinch bar to disengage outer slide rail then inner
-Lower jack and box down low enough to replace battery's
-Jack up box and use screwdriver's to help slides pop back over rails.
-Hook up cables and floor plate

Turns an an ugly job into a 1 hour job with minimal swearing