NOCO LifeP04 in lawn mower

[alldodge]

I remember discussing this before but unable to find my thread. If someone finds it we came merge it to keep together

Had problems with lawn mower Bat staying charged so I installed a Bat cut off switch and then a NOCO LifeP04 Bat. All worked good until one day I forgot to turn Bat switch off. Was not able to cut grass for over a week and Bat was dead with only maybe 2V.

Put on charger and in a in a few hours it was fully charged. Checked the charge a few days and it stayed up. Today it fired up and cut grass. Slowed it down after about a 1/2 hour and got off for a moment. Got soon as I tried to throttle up it backfired and stopped. Measured and again about 2V. Figuring the motor when running fast kept everything going putting out 14V.

Pulled the Bat and it was hot, not hot enough to burn fingers but it was hot

Most likely @bruceb58 was right and you cannot use these types of Bats in lawn mowers

 

[Scott Danforth]

The charge circuit on lawn equipment is just a step above a plastic rod and a pair of silk panties. No where near good enough for LiFeP04

 

[alldodge]

The charge circuit on lawn equipment is just a step above a plastic rod and a pair of silk panties. No where near good enough for LiFeP04

Same as 2 cycle outboards, right?

 

[cyclops222]

LIFEPO4 batteries......MUST ...... have the correct charging and... COMPLETE CUT OFF... voltage in the charger.

No trickle charging after battery is fully charged.

 

[tpenfield]

I'm scratching my head over the backfire . . .

 

[matt167]

Same as 2 cycle outboards, right?

If it has an electric PTO then yes, it has a regulated system that puts out 10a or so much like an Outboard. Not all small engines have that good system. Some just use a few diodes with no regulator

 

[cyclops222]

All types of batteries have a ...........IDEAL voltage ...........when fully charged..

And a .... possible........ Trickle Charge Voltage based on air temperature it is in.
No trickle charge or too high..... that is wrong voltage ? Is death of batteries.
Winter or summer.
Keeping a battery at the correct voltage is SUPER CRITICAL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why cars all have a voltage regulator in the alternator. To save the battery, ALL light bulbs and electronic systems.
Voltage regulator is just as important in a boat !!!!!!!!!!

Edit
I just checked all 5 of my trickle chargers on equipment I have. All should be at about 13 .5 vdc. Plus or minus .2 vdc. ...........1 is at 14. 5 vdc. Pulled the trickle charger off and the battery is slowly going to about 13.6 vdc. Might have caught the defective trickle charger in time. Size # 24 car battery is 4 years old.

Will check battery volts at lunch time....... All the batteries passed a ...Load Test at NAPA yesterday by the experienced electrical person.

 

[alldodge]

I'm scratching my head over the backfire . . .

My thought is it fires from heat and weak spark. Spark was weak and didn't burn the fuel fully and intake started to open

The NOCO Bat said it had an internal regulator which managed the charge. Every thing was fine for all year until it went dead the first time

 

[Scott Danforth]

I'm scratching my head over the backfire . . .

the hickup when the E-PTO coil pulls in is enough to cause the backfire. Briggs do this more than Kaw's do

 

[dingbat]

Same as 2 cycle outboards, right?

depends….The EFI Kohler on my Lazer (zero turn) has a fully regulated 25 amp, 14.5v charging system. Came OEM with AGM battery

 

[alldodge]

Mine is a 20hp Honda, forget model but it's about 25 years old

 

[alldodge]

Just checked the Noco Bat and it reads 13.2V so when it read 2V must have been in protection mode

 

[cyclops222]

I am reading it as the generator can not keep up with the current being pulled out by the engine while running.
Is there a chance the battery is supplying current to other things ? Running the engine too slow ? Lights on whenever the ignition is on ?
Or the fact that both batteries are not being charged enough.
I would not be depending on anyone remembering to turn on and off the battery. Find the charging circuit problems.

 

[alldodge]

It's a zero turn, no lights or anything else, not even a hour meter

 

[dingbat]

Mine is a 20hp Honda, forget model but it's about 25 years old

Mine is a 29 HP Kohler Command Pro - 2015, 1925 hours

Have you checked the amp draw on the PTO?
I had to replace mine when it started throwing misc sensor codes when I engaged or disengaged the PTO. Kohler said the electronics are designed to run down to 6 volts. Never saw anything that low, but was throwing Crank Position Sensor and random fuel pump faults because of it

 

[alldodge]

Mine is a 29 HP Kohler Command Pro - 2015, 1925 hours

Have you checked the amp draw on the PTO?
I had to replace mine when it started throwing misc sensor codes when I engaged or disengaged the PTO. Kohler said the electronics are designed to run down to 6 volts. Never saw anything that low, but was throwing Crank Position Sensor and random fuel pump faults because of it

No I haven't but can give it a look.

 

[matt167]

You can adjust the air gap of the PTO if you need to. It effects the draw

 

[bruceb58]

Remind me what battery you bought. LiFePO4 batteries have a built in BMS that should protect them but there are a lot of cheap batteries out there that may have less than stellar BMS.

If the battery was discharged too far and the BMS didn’t cut it off properly, the cells can get damaged.

 

[alldodge]

Model NLP14