Snapper Battery Woes

[marcusmerritt]

28" Snapper Riding Mower; 9 hp B&S Engine; 12v small battery; 230 CCA......This mower is an electric start which is very nice but I've been having problems with getting it cranked lately. When trying to crank, I get clicking like you do with a vehicle with a weak battery. This battery is tagged 10/17 so, at least to me, it doesn't seem too old. Today, I cleaned the terminals good but no joy. My question: can I hook this 12v battery up to my regular charger or to my trickle charger and give it a good charge (assuming it will take it). And, how would I test the battery to see if it's good or not. Thanks.

 

[old-9]

Use the small charger. Those small batteries only last a year or 2.

 

[Russ from MN]

We get 5 years out of lawn mower batteries, and some of them have been as cheap as $17. If you have a bigger charger/booster (100A) try boosting it with that, if it works fine then maybe it is the battery. Otherwise try jumper cables from a known good battery. If it still just clicks then it's probably the solenoid. There is a way to bypass/troubleshoot them but it involves some sparks, so if you're not comfortable with sparks don't do it! Our son just had to change the solenoid on his Husqvarna Z-turn, it has been clicking on and off for a couple of years. there is a separate board down lower for lawn equipment, you might get better response there.

 

[old]

Most any auto parts store will test a battery for you for free

 

[rvirgil_KS]

Did you clean the battery ground cable connection to the frame? That is often a forgotten point.

 

[kcm.MN]

Sounds like the solenoid. Very common problem.

I asked one time what the life expectancy was on these things. Was told they might last several years, or might quit working the next day.

If not sure what it looks like, look here:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=riding+mower+starter+solenoid&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images

There are slight variations, which is why I posted a link to all of 'em.

 

[old]

To prove it is the solenoid is easy just by jumping across the 2 big terminals if it spin over then it is the solenoid. If it doesn't then it is a connection or the battery

 

[tech4]

I have an old Snapper that I bought about 1990 and I have had some batteries last 4 or 5 years and some that have lasted only 2 years. It sounds like your battery. You can charge it up with a standard auto 12-volt charger. It may start right away but not hold the charge very long. I don't know if you have lifted the Snapper up for blade work, but always remove the battery before lifting up or it will shorten the life.

 

[Dusty MI]

If it's not a sealed battery, have you checked the water in it?

 

[OliLt]

As part of your post, you asked how to test a battery to see if it's good or not. There are three basic ways to test a battery: load test it, measure the internal resistance, or measure the voltage alone. Load testing
places a high amperage load on the battery and compares it against the voltage. There are specialty testing instruments / meters that measure the internal resistance of the battery and provide a readout of its
condition. A general, somewhat unreliable test is to measure the voltage of the battery with a volt / ohm meter. A volt / ohm meter reading of 12.6 volts on a fully charged battery is considered good. But, a
voltage test alone cannot tell you how many amps the battery can provide under load. Unless you want to invest in the testing equipment, take your battery to an auto parts store and have them test it.

 

[marcusmerritt]

Thanks for everyone's replies. I pulled the battery out this afternoon and tested it using my multimeter and it read about 12.85. With any luck, the battery is still good. But, I'm gonna pull out the solenoid next and test it and also make sure all the electrical connections are secure and grounded, where required. I put a new kill switch in the seat couple of weeks ago and it cranked on the first turn of the key, made me think I had solved the problem. Turned the mower off and then got just clicking when I tried to recrank. From what I've read here and elsewhere the solenoid is a likely candidate or a poor connection. Stay tuned.

 

[Hobo,NC]

Yer voltmeter will diagnose it I know voltage is a new thing to some folks maybe in the next 100 years it will catch on.. : (

 

[Stephen Newell]

I keep a automatic float charger on mine. Here in North Texas normally the grass stops growing all summer long so I go months at a time without cutting the grass.

 

[Dean]

Haven't read all previous posts.

The very first thing to do is fully charge the battery. Have you done so?

Yes, you can use any decent 12V charger.

Dean

 

[MJMJ]

Exactly, good grief there's no need to make things harder than they have to be. Charger the battery and see what happens. IF that doesn't work, then get a new one. If you've never charged the battery before there's a pretty good chance it's due.

 

[marcusmerritt]

Snapper 28" rider; 9 hp B&S: circling back around to let you know that the solenoid was bad. Installed the new one, connected the battery and the mower fired right up. I was curious to see what the problem was so disassembled the solenoid and one of the copper legs was severely pitted. So, contacts were not making a connection. Interesting to see what's inside one of those devices. Anyone else disassemble stuff to see what's inside?

Thanks for everyone's help on this fix.