IH 806 battery question

[Naber]

My 806 has the two 6 volt batteries. Once again they do not have enough juice to turn over the engine. I use a trickle charger to keep the batteries up but I seem to have regular problems with low or dead batteries. I charged both batteries and they both have 6 volts or more according to my battery charger. Yet, they will not turn the engine over. I have checked all the connections and the ground and all seem good. I see that the batteries are 2 years old. I am assuming I need new batteries again unless someone can give me an idea of what else could be wrong.

It's not very convenient to get at the batteries with the cab on the tractor. Would an alternative be to switch to one 12 volt battery? What are the pros and cons?

 

[wore out]

Static voltage at the battery terminals doesn't mean much. Load test them.

 

[Brownie450]

On our 1066 [similar batts. & starter wiring], intermittent
starting problems were caused by the hot batt. cable end at
the solenoid getting eaten out around the stud.
I put 2 star washers front & rear on the connection to make
good contact.

You might want to check this connection.
You could have the contact disc surfaces in the solenoid
getting chewed up.
Jim

 

[caterpillar guy]

First charge them up then check voltage should be close to 6.8 to 7 volts fully charged. Then check the starter check the amp draw cranking. Then prbably need to look inside starter for cruddy commutator, worn brushes,loose bushings and armature rubbing field coils in case. All these things will kill starting in any weather. Also look at the cables if they have swelled spots near the ends or bad looking ends probably need to be replaced.
As for the single 12 volt we have been using the group 31's with the stud on top with little problems. We put it right on the righthand side with a plate for it on the old battery tray. Sets good there with short cables. We have them in the 806,1466,H,574,674 and 2940. Been doing this for about 20 years now.

 

[rvirgil_KS]

replace the trickle charger with a float charger/battery maintainer. As others have said check battery cables and connections.

 

[DeltaSteve]

One 12v battery wont have as much poop as two sixes.You have other issues. Take the batterys out and have them load tested. One may have a waek cell. Your starter could be worn and dragging. That
can 'mimic' a low/weak battery. There may be a slight draw that drains the battery when sitting.Have the alt/gen checked to make sure it provideing a full rate of charge.

 

[Donald in MN]

my dads 706 had the same problem took the starter to a repair shop. turns out the strap from the solenoid to the starter had gotten hot and corroded
and wasnt conducting current

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

(quoted from post at 08:41:34 01/06/21) One 12v battery wont have as much poop as two sixes.

It's amazing how this myth will never die.

The "poop" you speak of is essentially the Cold Cranking Amps rating of the battery. CCA is CCA whether you've got two 6V in series, two 12V in parallel, or a single heavy-duty Group 31 battery.

The CCA rating of two 6V in series is the LOWEST CCA rating of the two batteries.

The CCA rating of two 12V in parallel is the CCA ratings of the two batteries, ADDED TOGETHER.

Your average 3EH / 4EH skinny 6V tractor battery has around 900 CCA.

Your average commercial Group 31 battery has around 950 CCA, PLUS it has the advantage of not having an extra two connections and 3' of battery cable in between, where you can get some pretty significant losses, especially if the cable or connections are corroded.

IMHO the best solution is a single Group 31 battery. Does it look "factory?" No, but it WORKS! The tractor will start better and the battery, and starter, will last longer.

When our 756 got converted to diesel, the mechanic that did it put a big Group 31 on the side instead of hunting down the factory battery trays for the two battery setup. It started like nobody's business.

The dual 6V batteries on the 856 had been giving us trouble for the last year or so. Dad finally said "bag it" and put a single Group 31 on the right side. The tractor has never cranked over better. Even with two brand new 3EH's and cables, it didn't crank this good. Should have done it years ago.

If you can get past it not looking "original" then go with a big Group 31. Do what it takes to hang it on the right side where the original battery was.

 

[henryv11]

Is your charging system on the tractor working properly?

 

[gene bender]

Get a hydrometer to make sure the batts are charged fully and all cells are
good

 

[Russ from MN]

Have you tried jump-starting it with a known good battery? Connect straight to the starter, to eliminate other possibilities. If it still
cranks slow check out the starter, brushes, bushings, etc. There are many things that could cause this, don't run out and buy new batteries
until you have done some troubleshooting. Clean all connections, hot side and ground.

 

[caterpillar guy]

I believe the 4EH is a 12 volt battery. The 3EH is a six. Poorly done batteries.

 

[Jim Naden]

(quoted from post at 06:02:18 01/07/21) Get a hydrometer to make sure the batts are charged fully and all cells are
good

Better yet, get a refractometer, faster, easier to read and will also test anti freeze protection with great accuracy.

https://www.amazon.com/Robinair-752...V6W&psc=1&refRID=WN77AJ0KZWGSRKTCFV6W