Ride-on mower - Reverse Polarity battery

abnormalnorman

not a very successful day today!

battery was flat on my Countax D18-50 ride- on today.

i took the 12v battery from the car and connected up. the mower battery was 12v also.

so the fuses started smoking and i took it off after a few seconds

i thought first it was because wrong battery. i charged the correct battery and put it back in but engine won't turn.

a 20a fuse had blown and i replaced it but no joy.

Only thing i can think of is that when i connected the car battery i must have had it in reverse polarity.

have i sh"t made of everything?

if it was reverse polarity it would have made a crazy blinding flash when you connected it.
Have you got a multi meter ?

abnormalnorman

BrownFinger wrote: »

if it was reverse polarity it would have made a crazy blinding flash when you connected it.
Have you got a multi meter ?

ya no flash or many sparks. only a bit a smoke from the fuse that blew . didnt think i had put it on wrong.

i can get a multi meter ya??

I'd be checking the voltage on the battery for a start but even if it reads 12v (or a touch more) it might not be good.
The fact it was letting the smoke out says that something is/has short circuit.
have you got any lights on the dash at all?

abnormalnorman

BrownFinger wrote: »

I'd be checking the voltage on the battery for a start but even if it reads 12v (or a touch more) it might not be good.
The fact it was letting the smoke out says that something is/has short circuit.
have you got any lights on the dash at all?

are you saying the battery could be damaged?

smoke came from the fuse that blew, which i replaced. all lights in dash working. everything else working just engine not turning

mickdw

The larger 12v battery shouldn't have caused any issues in itself.
I'd remove plug and see can engine turn freely.
It has been know for an engine cylinder to fill with petrol meaning it won't turn giving impression of flat battery.
Loading up a big battery and asking starter to turn locked engine would cause alot of heat and fuse issue.
This happened myself years back after turning mower on its side- it allowed petrol to enter cylinder.

abnormalnorman

mickdw wrote: »

The larger 12v battery shouldn't have caused any issues in itself.
I'd remove plug and see can engine turn freely.
It has been know for an engine cylinder to fill with petrol meaning it won't turn giving impression of flat battery.
Loading up a big battery and asking starter to turn locked engine would cause alot of heat and fuse issue.
This happened myself years back after turning mower on its side- it allowed petrol to enter cylinder.

thanks but dont think its that. mower was goin fine beforehand battery died as the mower not charging with a good while

fryup

knackered solenoid ?

abnormalnorman

fryup wrote: »

knackered solenoid ?

if twas a knackered solenoid would it not be making some sort of a noise . . .although maybe not turning the engine?

abnormalnorman

abnormalnorman wrote: »

if twas a knackered solenoid would it not be making some sort of a noise . . .although maybe not turning the engine?

iv tried connecting both main wires into the solenoid with a wrench. . . . . but it just spins on its own. not turning the engine.

but shud it not be doing this with the key, if thats the main problem???

johnayo

Is there a small wire at the solenoid coming from the ign switch? If so check if you have power there when you try to start with the key. Also have a good look around for any other fuses that might be blown.

fryup

abnormalnorman wrote: »

iv tried connecting both main wires into the solenoid with a wrench. . . . . but it just spins on its own. not turning the engine.

do you have the ignition key turned to on when arcing the solenoid with the wrench?

watch this video it may help

abnormalnorman

fryup wrote: »

do you have the ignition key turned to on when arcing the solenoid with the wrench?

watch this video it may help

i do ya.
well iv followed the video and put the voltmeter on the Solenoid and turned the key. . .nothing showing up. Zero volts

johnayo

abnormalnorman wrote: »

i do ya.
well iv followed the video and put the voltmeter on the Solenoid and turned the key. . .nothing showing up. Zero volts

Firstly verify that you are getting a good ground with the black meter connection. Leave the black wire connected as it is and connect the red wire to the positive of the battery. You should have full battery voltage. Recheck then for voltage at the small connection at the solenoid with the key in the start position. You may need to be sitting on the machine for this as there may be a safety switch on the seat. If no volts, you best check at the ignition switch for voltage. And of course ensure there are no other fuses blown. (sorry for repeating).

abnormalnorman

johnayo wrote: »

Firstly verify that you are getting a good ground with the black meter connection. Leave the black wire connected as it is and connect the red wire to the positive of the battery. You should have full battery voltage. Recheck then for voltage at the small connection at the solenoid with the key in the start position. You may need to be sitting on the machine for this as there may be a safety switch on the seat. If no volts, you best check at the ignition switch for voltage. And of course ensure there are no other fuses blown. (sorry for repeating).

Thanks very much johnayo.
Iv checked all the smaller fuses i can find ( 4 20A fuses, a 30A fuse, and 2 10A fuses on the PCB board) . One of the 20A had blown but i replaced that.


How would i go about checking the ignition switch?

Would it be any of these, whatever they are?!

abnormalnorman

would it be any of these gone faulty . . .whatever they are?!

abnormalnorman

would it be any of these gone faulty . . .whatever they are?!

fryup

abnormalnorman wrote: »

How would i go about checking the ignition switch?

video

can you upload a pic of the way you have the cables connected to the battery terminals

johnayo

abnormalnorman wrote: »

would it be any of these gone faulty . . .whatever they are?!

Yes it's possible one is faulty. They are relays.

abnormalnorman

fryup wrote: »

video

can you upload a pic of the way you have the cables connected to the battery terminals

can send pic tomorrow . . but the connection to the battery is very good.

abnormalnorman

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abnormalnorman

abnormalnorman wrote: »

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battery connections

abnormalnorman

abnormalnorman wrote: »

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battery connections

abnormalnorman

is this the only solenoid of this mower? looks different to to others on internet.

this is the starter solenoid ya? is there a fuel solenoid as well??

fryup

your terminals are different to mine...but everything looks fine in the pic

if you tried everything else solenoid, ignition switch, battery etc...all i can suggest is spraying all electrical connectors & terminals with something similar to this

*do you get any kick at all when you turn the ignition?

**btw - looking at your battery pic again..have you got the black negative cable going to the + positive terminal?

abnormalnorman

fryup wrote: »

your terminals are different to mine...but everything looks fine in the pic

if you tried everything else solenoid, ignition switch, battery etc...all i can suggest is spraying all electrical connectors & terminals with something similar to this

*do you get any kick at all when you turn the ignition?

**btw - looking at your battery pic again..have you got the black negative cable going to the + positive terminal?

no kick at all. all that happens is yellow light comes on in ignition.

both cables are black. iv the neg terminal connected to a cable which is bolted to the chassis. Iv the positive terminal connected to cable which runs to the solenoid

fryup

abnormalnorman wrote: »

both cables are black.

really well thats a first (for me anyhow)

and you're certain you know which is which?

no kick at all. all that happens is yellow light comes on in ignition.

and what does that yellow light indicate?

abnormalnorman

fryup wrote: »

really well thats a first (for me anyhow)

and you're certain you know which is which?



and what does that yellow light indicate?

ya 2 black cables. connected as i described above. i cant imagine the other way being correct

fryup

are you 100% sure that all the safety switches are deployed? seat, blade, handbrake, neutral gear, collection box closed

abnormalnorman

hi all. Sorry but im still stuck on this one !!


got the starter solenoid done . . .. still no joy.

checked all switches . .. .all seem good.

all thats left really is that i blew main board but dealer tells me if this is the case id see a black burn mark on the board. no burn mark in my board.

do i need to spend €120 just to eliminate this , or can i check the board somehow?

the dash dial and all seems to read fine.

🀕😧😩🀢🙈🙈

johnayo

Do you have a multimeter at your disposal?