Ride on lawnmower battery questions

deadl0ck

Hi all,
I have a 20 year old Westwood 11hp ride-on (It's an S1100 I bought second hand last year) and I'm looking for some advice on the battery. The mower itself is great working order, and my only real issue is starting it with the key.

If I check the battery charge with a multimeter it's around 12.5 V.

If I try and start the mower the voltage directly on the battery drops to 2 - 3V and it won't turn the engine (or will just about manage a few spins).

Also - if I turn on the lights (wired direct to battery) the voltage drops to about 10V.

Up to now I have been using the pull cord to start the engine (very easy to start - 1 pull does the job) but I'd like to try and sort the battery issue.

I have charged the battery a few times, but it does not seem to make any difference really.

I'm thinking the battery is just knackered as even just turning on the lights drops the voltage.

Is my battery just knackered or could it be something else ?

jimmyw

Get the battery checked first and check the connections from the batt positive to the motor and on the motor itself.Also check the earth is making good contact.Other than that the motor might be bad.

deadl0ck

How would I get the battery checked ?

jimmyw

I am sure any place that can check a car battery might be able to do it.Some car accessories stores maybe or what about a lawnmower repair shop?

It looks like a cattle prong thingy,

Shotgun_TEXAS

might be the solonoid try crossing it see what happens.
just bought an 86 S1100 myself fiddling with the carb at the moment

deadl0ck

It's the battery - I connected it directly to the starter motor with jump leads and it asn't able to turn the starter motor.
I can turn the starter motor by hand, so it's not jammed, and the jump leads prove there's no issue in the connections between the battery and it.
Boo !

Anyhow - I can start it fine with the pull cord.

Since I got my S1100 last year, I've :

• Cleaned and re-did the carb with the proper B&S kit
• Reinforced the grass box
• Cleaned and repaired the deck
• Put new head gasket on engine
• Fixed the pull cord clutch
• Fixed the brakes
• Fixed the handbreak
• Put lights on it
• Repaired the PCB in the electric circuit

It runs great now and starts with one pull of the cord (Would bloody well want to with the work I've done !)
It can be difficult get it into reverse sometimes, but I ain't going to go near the gearbox. It doesn't look fantastic but it cuts the grass great

I knew nothing about engines before this so it's been a great machine to start learning with

Reason I was asking about the battery is that it's the one thing left that doesn't work well...

BTW - I have the Mower manual, the engine manual, and the gearbox manual all in PDF so just let me know if you need a copy !

Also - I've found eBay.co.uk to be a great source of spare parts.

CJhaughey

The battery is borked. Thats what batteries do when the get old they show a surface charge but they can't supply any current under load.
If you can pop the filler holes open try putting 1/4 tsp of epsom salts in each cell, it might get you a few months more out of the battery, the battery is junk anyway so it doesn't matter if it doesn't work.
When you buy your new battery, buy a 1 amp trickle charger at the same time or better yet an optimate battery tender and keep it charged.
Letting a battery go flat is the best way of ruining it.

deadl0ck

If you can pop the filler holes open try putting 1/4 tsp of epsom salts in each cell, it might get you a few months more out of the battery

I've actually just put some EDTA in it and it's about 30% better - it actually managed to start it once. I'm not holding out much hope for it thought...