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I have an old JD rider and left the key on and didn't need to mow for about 4 weeks. Now the battery is dead. I don't know if it's from sitting a month or leaving the key on. I can't see why it would matter if the key is on since there are no lights or anything.

Anyway now the battery that I bought this summer reads 5 volts. Am I going to be able to charge this thing or is it shot?

I don't have charger this is my first lawn equipment with electric start. What should I buy for a charger? Am I going to need to keep the battery on a trickle over the winter or will disconnecting it be good enough?

msaeger said:

I have an old JD rider and left the key on and didn't need to mow for about 4 weeks. Now the battery is dead. I don't know if it's from sitting a month or leaving the key on. I can't see why it would matter if the key is on since there are no lights or anything.

Anyway now the battery that I bought this summer reads 5 volts. Am I going to be able to charge this thing or is it shot?

I don't have charger this is my first lawn equipment with electric start. What should I buy for a charger? Am I going to need to keep the battery on a trickle over the winter or will disconnecting it be good enough?

Click to expand...

A one-time deep discharge like that most likely won't ruin the battery and it should charge easily(if it's not "sealed" top it up with distilled water first). I usually put a charge on my battery 2 or 3 times over the winter(and yes, I disconnect the negative cable when I store it). I bought a Schumacher charger at WalMart for $49 that has 15/10/2 amp charging output and has a setting specifically for lawn & garden small batteries. I use it for my boat batteries and the lawn mower. It is a VERY nice charger for $50 and even has a desulfation cycle that "cleans" the plates inside the battery!!!!

Desulfating a battery is a sales pitch, so don't even look for it in a charger. Once the plates get a sulphate coating there is no way to remove it. You don't say how old YOU are, but if you are a young person, I would recommend the best charger you can afford. They last for ever and you will be glad you did.

msaeger said:

I have an old JD rider and left the key on and didn't need to mow for about 4 weeks. Now the battery is dead. I don't know if it's from sitting a month or leaving the key on. I can't see why it would matter if the key is on since there are no lights or anything.

Anyway now the battery that I bought this summer reads 5 volts. Am I going to be able to charge this thing or is it shot?

I don't have charger this is my first lawn equipment with electric start. What should I buy for a charger? Am I going to need to keep the battery on a trickle over the winter or will disconnecting it be good enough?

Click to expand...

Batteries are just not worth a crap these days. I remember back in the 90s you could buy a cheap $30 automotive battery that would last for five years. Now batteries are over $100 and have a 2 year pro-rated warranty. So they are getting more expensive and lower quality.

I currently have a 4 year old Craftsman riding mower and the battery went flat over the winter. I recharged it and it held a charge for about a month (2 mowing cycles) then two weeks later, the next time I mowed with it, it was deader than a doornail. As of right now I jump start my mower with a battery charger. And it's so bad now if shut the engine off, the battery won't hold a charge for more than an hour.

I'm not going to replace the battery until next spring in case the replacement battery doesn't make it through the next winter. Like that piece of crap I bought from Advance Auto i put on my Snapper. It lasted one year!

I'm currently trying to rig up a solar panel trickle charger in my yard barn. I have the solar panel placed against the window and my plan is to run wires to two 12V light bulb sockets I have mounted to the ceiling then run two drop cords down from the sockets to the batteries on both of my riding mowers. That way they should stay charged over the winter. And I can use the batteries to power my light bulbs if I need to look for something in the dark.

Stay tuned for photos once I get it setup!

PS. A guy I know who works on mowers says Autozone Duralast are best batteries. He hasn't had any customer complaints about these batteries.

msaeger said:

I have an old JD rider and left the key on and didn't need to mow for about 4 weeks. Now the battery is dead. I don't know if it's from sitting a month or leaving the key on. I can't see why it would matter if the key is on since there are no lights or anything.

Anyway now the battery that I bought this summer reads 5 volts. Am I going to be able to charge this thing or is it shot?

I don't have charger this is my first lawn equipment with electric start. What should I buy for a charger? Am I going to need to keep the battery on a trickle over the winter or will disconnecting it be good enough?

Click to expand...

If the battery is not bad and to old, I would jump start the mower and cut the grass, I don't know how big a yard you have, but it will need about an hour of fast engine speed to charge the battery. If after you do this, hopefully the battery will hold a charge and you will not have to replace it. If it will not hold a charge, get a new battery and try to remember to turn off the key. If you leave the key on you are energizing the coil or electrics and that will drain the battery. if you want to keep your battery fully charged they make a battery maintainer that will keep your battery charge up without over charging it. You can get the maintainer on Ebay cheap. But thats just me.