For a few months now, this pattern has repeated itself. Husqvarna YTH2454 fails to start. Battery appears to be discharged. The first time it happened, I just assumed it was the battery and got a nice new SLA to replace the battery in there. All is fine for a few mows, then it happens again. I know the battery is nearly new, so I charge it up. Hey! Works great. For a few mows, then low battery, no start.
So yesterday I finally decided I would make some progress on this situation. Fresh charge on the battery. Mower starts and runs great. I take my trusty multimeter and check the voltage at the battery terminals. Just over 12 volts--12.09. Shut tractor off, battery voltage rises to 12.13 volts. This tells me that whatever system the tractor has for charging the battery is flat not working.
Engine is Briggs Intek 24 HP V-twin. I understand it uses a stator in the area of the flywheel to generate current, and that some sort of voltage regulator is involved. The stator seems like it would not be prone to failure, so I'm inclined to suspect the regulator.
Anybody have any experience with these?
I'm doing this repair this week to a customer's mower.
Go online and you can find Utube videos to show you how to test stator and rectifier. Fairly easy steps with a multimeter that reads both AC and DC and ohms.
Sometimes if you are really lucky the magnets just got rusty on the flywheel. But, don't bet on it.
Parts for this job online are about $68.
In reply to Purple Frog (Forum Supporter) :
Thanks!
I'll check that out.
Check out taryl fixes all on you tube. Helped me fix my intek that slipped a valve guide.
mikeatrpi said:
Check out taryl fixes all on you tube. Helped me fix my intek that slipped a valve guide.
Hey, I've seen some of his videos. He's that sophisticated dude. Knows his stuff!
Look at the tag on the engine that identifies it. There is a 6-digit number that identifies the engine, IIRC the first two number is the displacement (cu inches) and the next is variant in that model, and the rest are more details than are needed for this issue. I had a similar issue recently with an old Cub Cadet garden tractor. The engine is a 401XXX.
Look at https://www.briggsandstratton.com/content/dam/briggsandstratton/na/en_us/Files/FAQs/alternator_id.pdf and find out what charging system/regulator goes with your model engine. There were a couple possibilities for my 40XXXX engine, and I matched based on when my tractor was made and what the regulator looks like. For me it was the "10, 13 and 16 A DC Regulated or Quad Circuit Alternator". Then I measured ~8 VDC output from the regulator (disconnected from the battery) with the engine running, and 22VAC from the two wires coming from the stator (where the diagram said 20VAC). I deduced the regulator was bad and replaced it, now it works.
