Cub Cadet LTX 1040 Won't Start without Charger Connected

[speckledpig]

Hi all,
I'm trying to fix a Cub Cadet LTX1040 for my dad, who is elderly and can't work on it anymore. I'm stumped, so I'm reaching out for help to diagnose the issue.

The mower seems to be draining the battery rapidly on starting. It will fire and run with no problem if I have the battery charger connected. When I disconnect the charger and try to start, it doesn't have enough juice to turn over.

At first, we took the battery to walmart where he bought it, and they tested and insist it's fine. The starter is new. He had bought that before I got involved. 

Could some of you suggest some further troubleshooting steps? Thanks.

[jteneyck]

I might suspect a loose or corroded connection between the battery cables and battery.  If something is draining the battery rapidly I think you would see the voltage drop off on a volt meter when you disconnect the charger.  

John

[speckledpig]

I might suspect a loose or corroded connection between the battery cables and battery.  If something is draining the battery rapidly I think you would see the voltage drop off on a volt meter when you disconnect the charger.  

John

I've removed the battery and reinstalled it, so I'm fairly certain the connections are tight. I'm going to take my multimeter and will check the voltage when I pull off the charger. Thanks.

[crokett™]

how old is the battery? what's the voltage on it without the charger connected?

[daddo]

Charge the battery well. When you buy them, they have been sitting on the shelf a long time.

Read the voltage- anything below 12.6v dc means the battery isn't fully charged or it is weak. Don't trust wallymart to test the battery.

If you have a charger connected to the terminals of the battery, the only thing different is the higher voltage/amps of the charger or the connections of the cables to the battery- clean and check those connections- shiny new.

[R Clark]

I've removed the battery and reinstalled it, so I'm fairly certain the connections are tight. I'm going to take my multimeter and will check the voltage when I pull off the charger. Thanks.

Here's what I experienced on my ATV a couple of years ago; it may be applicable to your situation.

A few years ago, I left the ATV master switch in the "ON" position.  Predictably, it drained the battery dead; the battery was toast, never to charge effectively again, but I didn't know that then.  A couple months later, I tried to start it by hooking up the charger.  It started, but it died within 15 seconds of disconnecting.  I learned a couple things:

- Batteries can be drained so far that they can never recover.

- Many engines need a minimally functioning battery in place to keep running

Now, your battery might be OK, and I'll second what has been mentioned earlier, and that is to check all connections.  Not just at the battery, but at the other end of that cable.  You could be hooked up correctly at the battery, but where the ground cable connects to the frame, for instance, may have some corrosion preventing a good connection.  The engine doesn't care what's causing the problem, it's just dying as if there's no battery hooked to it.

Presuming the battery is a 12V battery, I think you should be able to register 12.4 - 13 volts with no load on the battery.

[Robert Adams]

That mower has the 19hp Kohler courage. It has it's issues like any engine. Most can be alleviated by only running synthetic oil in it to keep the plastic parts from failing nearly as fast.  

      With any of these overhead valve engines once they start to get harder to crank that usually means either a starter that is getting weak from a dirty commutator etc or the big issue with them as they age is the valve clearances. The valve clearance will get bigger over time and this causes bad valve timing and makes cranking harder and reduced performance. These engines use 1930s style solid lifters.
        
          There are lots of videos and info on how to adjust the valves. Funny thing is I have a similar engine with 100 hours on it and I need to do the valves on it before they become a problem.

[Cub_Cadet_GT]

At first, we took the battery to walmart where he bought it, and they tested and insist it's fine. The starter is new. He had bought that before I got involved. 

My money is on a bad battery. a L&G battery is only $40 I would give it a try.

[Roly]

My money is on a bad battery. a L&G battery is only $40 I would give it a try.

I second the bad battery,   Roly

[Stwood_]

I second the bad battery,   Roly

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