Winter Batteries.
 

So I bought a new battery for my 1450. It is rated at 340 CCA. Yet is seems to be no where near enough. Still won't turn it over more than a couple times. Tractor is stored in my garage, but is only about 20 degrees in there. Any suggestions on how big I need to go or any recommendations?

I am having the same problem, but I am unsure of my CCA because the hold down bracket was blocking the tag.

two things you can do to help, old trick for winter starting is to keep battery as warm as possible so keep a light next to or on the battery and not an eco friendly squiggly type. use an old fashion 75 or greater watt bulb or a heat lamp, you will be suprised at the difference with a bulb and even a blanket over it makes, note do not let the blanket rest dirrectly on the bulb!!

other thing to do is keep a trickel charger on it to keep it as strong as possible. you can even do a combination of the two

also remember batteys have hydrogen gas build up so be carefull when connecting or disconnecting the leeds, best way to do it is connect then pulg in the charger so as to lessen the chance of sparking and being directly over it if it were to pop, have never had one blow up on me yet but that is not saying the chance is not there.

All: Ground Circuit!! Ground Circuit!! Ground Circuit!!

Did I mention Ground Circuit??

I totally agree with Myron. You could have a 75° environment and a 1000CCA battery and if your battery cable connections are poor.....you will have little to no starting power.

Battery Cables and connections must be CLEAN and TIGHT. Bare metal & polished connections are a must...!!!:ThumbsUp:

You don't need that big of a battery...when I had a 1450 and used it in the winter, I had a 230CCA battery in it. It was always about 25-30 degrees in the garage, and I never had a problem starting it. So clean your grounds like everyone is saying and it'll be just fine.

Just a thought, if equipped with a compression release, is it working fully?
Is the starter in good working order?
I don't remember if you have a starter/gen or a pm starter.
A p.m. starter can have a cracked magnet and it will not have full power, but start it in warm weather.
Been there done that.

I havnt had troubles like what your mentioning but as far as batteries. I've noticed interstate batteries last quite a bit longer then a walmart or fleet farm batteries

My last Trac battery lasted 6 1/2 years in my 149.
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...149battery.jpg
It has 310 cold crank amps. It got to the point where I had to jump start the 149 when it sat over night. After the first start it would start. That battery is now in my 70. It will start the 70. I paid $41.95 for the battery at my local ACE hardware store.

Since that picture was taken I've added another ground wire from the battery to the back bolt on the starter.

I sanded all the paint down for the negative cable to the frame. Everything is clean bare metal, and no difference. I've tried starting it with a booster also, and it just won't crank over more than 2 times.

And my connections to the battery are perfectly clean also.

How about the ground strap from the frame to the engine?

If that's not it, it might be time to pull the starter and see what the brushes and commutator look like.

My 149 has a ground strap as Matt G. posted.

Lucky for me that my s/g system proves to be working A-1. I made doubble suer my ground connections are clean with grease smeared over the batt. terms. I have a Husky 300cca. and had no problem starting up in the 19-25 deg. weather the past week. It starts at about 3-4 turns of the grank. I keep the choke and throttle cable sprayed with wd-40 to the rescue. Did have that freeze up a little. Make sure the batt. is charged fully and try again.:beerchug:

Today I started my 782 with its 230cca and it started fine that 340cca should turn it over fairly easily.

First year my son acquired his 1650 It was hard to start all the time, tried starting with a car battery same thing, checked valve settings and new points still hard to start, finally pulled starter out started to disassemble, cracked and broken pieces started falling out everywhere that were burnt looking, bought new starter installed it, never new they were supposed to start that easy.

My 1450 always cranked slow in the winter temps and tough to start. I changed all the cables to 4 gauge wire and never had an issue again. I did not see in the post if your cables were still factory or not.

Ground wire from the engine to frame connection is good also. I do have all original wires. The engine seemed to crank pretty slow even in the summer time, but always started. So I guess my next move is to replace all the battery cables?

woh
 

I just started my 127 and 105, they both have new battries that are fully charged. They are out in my shed and its cold, they took a few tries to get them fired......Kinda slow cranking but finally fired over. I might try and get some better battery cables for them and put an additional ground wire. My grounds are all clean and have new wire harness too on both of them. Once they are running and get a little warm they fire right up..........

this may sound stupid but it worked for me. I had the same problem with it not wanting to turn over. Old man down the road said to get a 250w heat lamp and put it near the oil pan and let it heat. 4 and a half hours later the engine was turning over like it was in the middle of July. Worked great, give it a try.

Seems to me you are dancing around a compression release or a starter issue.
as most other things you have checked.

I tried putting a small space heater under the engine for about 2 hours. Turned the key and it fired right up. Thanks everyone for all their input and suggestions!! :beer2:

Just for curiosity's sake what weight oil are you using? I use Rotella 15w-40 in the winter and a 320cca battery and have not had any trouble starting my cubs. It was 7deg the other morning and they all sit out in an unheated barn. The 124 with the shaved head was a little hard starting but the other 2 started nicely. All of my ground connections are sanded and coated with di-electric grease. Never any corrosion problems. You know the old saying an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I have never had to use a heat lamp on any cub of mine and it gets blistering cold here in central N.Y. Just a thought.

release
 

how do you tell if your compression release is working correctly?

I also have Rotella 15-40 in my Cub. I plan on replacing all my battery cables in the spring. It should start with a new battery since it's stored in my garage. Either way, a little heat seemed to do the trick for getting it started for now.

You can either take the head off or take off the breather cover and spin the motor over by hand. While doing so watch the exhaust valve on the compression stroke and it should pop up roughly a 1/16th of an inch or so. If it pops up it's working if not the spring could either be broken or have come off the cam weights. Also there is a little tab on the cam that can be bent up a little, never had to adjust one so someone else might be better able to explain that procedure.

hard starting.....
 

if timing is offf.... hard to start even in july or august. mine started today with low battery in 25 degrees temperatures about 2-10 cranks no choke.
i may have a fuel loose carb needing rebuild helping, but since it responds to any choke lever addition, i doubt carb is a help or hinderance. I also still have 10-40 weight oil in engine.