B2620 dead battery

[Denm]

so I went to use my B2620 today and found the battery dead, checked it and it had less than 3 volts. When I used the tractor yesterday everything seemed fine and when i put it away nothing was left on. Is it possible it is just a bad battery

 

[85Hokie]

so I went to use my B2620 today and found the battery dead, checked it and it had less than 3 volts. When I used the tractor yesterday everything seemed fine and when i put it away nothing was left on. Is it possible it is just a bad battery

Inside the battery the "lead" will gather on the electrodes and short out that cell. I had a 12v lawn mower battery that was perfectly good, started the mower fine - took it out and placed it in any mower 20 miles away and came up only 6.5 volts.....damnist thing......but it happens!

stole this from wiki :

"One of the problems with the plates is that the plates increase in size as the active material absorbs sulfate from the acid during discharge, and decrease as they give up the sulfate during charging. This causes the plates to gradually shed the paste. It is important that there is room underneath the plates to catch this shed material. If it reaches the plates, the cell short-circuits."

 

[Tooljunkie]

That is why i buy batteries that are not the highest cca rating for group size.
Example 24c 1000. It may pack a whallop when new, but fails sooner than a 650 or 800 cca battery. No room for buildup on the plates.

Batteries that fail like yours are common.
Replace with reccomended cca's or only slightly higher.

Running a machine with a weak/shorted battery is hard on starter as well as charging system.

I will usually test by charging at 15 amps for 10 hours and letting it sit for a few hours. Then check voltage. Should be over 12 volts.

A really good battery will be near 13 volts.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

so I went to use my B2620 today and found the battery dead, checked it and it had less than 3 volts. When I used the tractor yesterday everything seemed fine and when i put it away nothing was left on. Is it possible it is just a bad battery

Yep! They can just die that quick
But get it load tested, as a bad alternator can kill a battery too!

 

[Stubbyie]

You may want to consider mounting a ride-along battery maintainer on your machine. We've got on by Schumacher on every machine. Every time we park we plug it in. Batteries definitely last longer, much longer. I've had more than one--several in fact--go into the 8-10-year range and still work fine. I date every battery when installed.

Make a thick paste like peanut butter by mixing baking soda and water. Glop it on both terminals thick. Wash it off once a year and do it again. Really works well keeping corrosion under control.

Please post back with your experiences so we may all learn.