[Hexa Fox]

Hey guys so ran into a problem with my Ferris today. Firstly I had one of those Deka batteries 350 CCA and believe the group size is U1 (same as many other small batteries). This Deka battery came with the mower and I used it for five full seasons. Well at the beginning of this season it died a couple times and I replaced it.

I wanted to replace it with an exact one from Lowes but they said it was not in stock and there has been a line in front of our Lowes because of Corvid 19. Anyway I replaced the battery with one from my local Battery Mart about a week ago. It kind of seemed like a cheap experience so it is possible the battery could have been sitting back there or something. So when I got up today I noticed it strained starting the Ferris. I got one of my yards completed and when I got to the next one it would not start. So I jumped it, got about halfway through with that customer and it died right in the middle. Now I cannot even jump it.

I am thinking about buying one of those battery testers. It will probably take a week to get here with the Corvid 19 stuff going on though. Anyway does this ring any bells for you guys? Like is it more likely to be the battery or the alternator? My engine is a Vanguard 810cc if it matters. I know on most lawn mowers I have seen the alternator thing has been under the flywheel. Not sure if that will be true for this one or not. Anyway any advice would be greatly appreciated as always. I will leave it at that before this gets to be more of flood than it already is,

 

[JoeRagMan]

Guess you might want to start checking connectors, fuses and fuse holders, all ground connections including at the voltage regulator. Have you tested voltage at the battery with a multimeter when the engine is running at full throttle? should be somewhere between 13.5-14.0 VDC. Good luck

 

[BigFish]

You need to get that battery load tested. Take it back to the store or any of the auto parts places near you.
As was mentioned, check the cable connections including ground.
Check the running voltage at the battery.

 

[Hexa Fox]

Thanks for the responses guys.

So I got the blower housing torn apart today so I could check the Voltage Regulator. I talked to my dealer today before they closed and said that would be a good place to start. So I was going to use my multi-meter to check the DC current going to the battery and notice a wire disconnected/broken.

It is the red wire that comes off the voltage regulator and guessing has to go to the battery. So before that wire goes to the battery it goes into a coupler with five other wires. The confusing thing is where the wire seems to be disconnected or broken off there is no wire on the other side. What is more confusing is that there are no metal connectors inside this coupler like there are for the other wires. Even if it broke apart it would see that the metal would still be trapped in there.

I like doing things myself but might be a job for the dealer. I will post pictures as soon as I can so you guys can see what I am dealing with.

 

[Hexa Fox]

This is the broken wire. The top end goes into the voltage regulator and the other end is the one that has broken off from said coupler.

The one empty slot on this coupler is where this wire came from or where I believe it came from.

 

[Hexa Fox]

This is looking at the opposite end of the same coupler as before. You can see there is no metal connector like the other slots have. It is confusing to me.

This is looking at the complete opposite side of the coupler, that the other half plugs into. I should have taken a better picture but there is no wire coming out of this end where the wire seems to fit on the other end. I have no clue if the system was meant to work like this or if I am missing another wire.

The worst thing is that reliable Deka battery that has been with me five seasons was probably still a good battery.

 

[JoeRagMan]

Here is a wiring diagram, not sure it's the correct one as each engine is different.
https://www.ferrismowers.com/na/en_us/product-catalog/zero-turn-mowers/is-2100z-zero-turn-mower.html

 

[Hexa Fox]

Here is a wiring diagram, not sure it's the correct one as each engine is different.
https://www.ferrismowers.com/na/en_us/product-catalog/zero-turn-mowers/is-2100z-zero-turn-mower.html

Thanks, I should have thought about looking on the website. Unfortunately, it still does not make sense to me personally. I cannot tell if there is a connector missing or broken. I am just going to have to wait until Monday to talk to someone and more than likely take it to them. I am sure they will be fair if it is only a wire they have to replace.

 

[BigFish]

Look, it's actually pretty simple.
The red wire from yer voltage regulator doesn't go into that connector block.
It goes directly to the starter/batt. cable lug. If you remove the nut you should see the remains of the ring terminal. It charges thru that wire via battery terminal lug on the starter/solenoid.
Crimp a new ring terminal on the wire and put it on the terminal post, tighten nut.
Cut grass.

 

[Hexa Fox]

Look, it's actually pretty simple.
The red wire from yer voltage regulator doesn't go into that connector block.
It goes directly to the starter/batt. cable lug. If you remove the nut you should see the remains of the ring terminal. It charges thru that wire via battery terminal lug on the starter/solenoid.
Crimp a new ring terminal on the wire and put it on the terminal post, tighten nut.
Cut grass.

Thanks for the input BigFish, you have helped me out on problems before. Unfortunately, unless I am completely mentally challenged there is no way for this particular wire to reach the battery. I should have left the wire the way I found it and then took pictures. I just put it back and will update now.

This situation is still strange because it seems like it did come from this coupler I mentioned, but it does not make a lot of sense unless I am completely missing something. Because there are no connectors inside the empty coupler slot where I think this wire seems to go. So I have it snaked back around, exactly the way I found it and I cannot really see anywhere else it would go.

 

[Hexa Fox]

Okay so here you can see where it came from. It snakes into the blower housing, past the starter and comes out on the other side of the oil dipstick.

Here you can see what I am referring to. It comes out past the oil dipstick and seems like it goes directly into this coupler.

By the way this is a Ferris IS2100z with a 26HP 810cc Carburetor Vanguard and believe it was manufactured in 2015. The same year that they moved them from Hydro Gear 5400's to Hydro Gear 4400's. It also have a 52" mower deck. Cannot remember how much of this helps or if I already mentioned it.

 

[JoeRagMan]

Are you sure that is the same red wire on both ends? Try attaching an ohm meter on each end and see if there is continuity?

 

[Hexa Fox]

Are you sure that is the same red wire on both ends? Try attaching an ohm meter on each end and see if there is continuity?

Yes 100% sure. If you go back and look at the very first picture I posted it is the same wire. I just pulled it out to inspect it and try to figure out what was going on. I already checked it for continuity with my multi-meter so if I found the problem I would know whether or not I could use the same wire. The wire is good.

Stuff like this always and I mean always happens to me at the worst possible times too. This happened Friday evening like ten minutes after five.

 

[hal]

You know where it comes from and where it should go right? IF you do get a new wire and run it.

 

[Hexa Fox]

You know where it comes from and where it should go right? IF you do get a new wire and run it.

That is my problem. As I mentioned before it seems more than likely it goes into the missing port on this coupler. However, nothing else makes sense to me personally. Because in the empty port there is no metal, it is just a hollow plastic slot and the other end is the same. Additionally, it looks like there is no wire coming from the opposite side of the coupler.

So if it does power something it looks like it is shared to one of the other lines or something. The schematic I looked at does not make much sense either because it says the wire is green. So this setup might have changed between 2015 and current models.

I am hoping if I go to the place where I bought it from I can find one that is similar to mine so I can figure it out. Then maybe the dealer can explain it to me. If not I am probably going to have to drop it off and let him do it.

Another thing is regardless of how this gets fixed how can I check to see if my battery is charging? Maybe drain the battery very slightly with the starter, then start it and see if the volts are holding or dropping on the battery with engine running?

 

[hal]

No need to drain it, get the volt meter, run it you should be north of 13+ on the battery (14+ would be ideal)

 

[Hexa Fox]

No need to drain it, get the volt meter, run it you should be north of 13+ on the battery (14+ would be ideal)

Yep that is what I thought. In hindsight I guess it would have been better for it to be the a faulty voltage regulator rather than this mysterious wire.

 

[Breezmeister]

This is what "I" would do..... Make a jumper wire, you can add a 20 amp fuse in it if you feel the need. Typically B&S voltage reg only put out 5 or 9 amps, depending on which one you have. Connect the jumper wire to the red wire coming off the VR, then connect it to the Pos + side of the battery.

Start your engine. run it at WOT. With your multimeter verify that you have 13+ volts at the terminals like @hal said.

All things being equal, if the battery will hold a charge and it's charged up, you can cut grass tommow.
Then when you have time, you can fix it...or not.
.

 

[JoeRagMan]

Okay, first the several images that you first posted I can not view. Second, I think I gave you the wrong link for the wiring diagram, the one I posted is for EFI engine. Third, did you separate the gray connector and check to see if there are male/female connections in all of the positions? It would help if you posted the 7 digit part number for your unit.

 

[Hexa Fox]

This is what "I" would do..... Make a jumper wire, you can add a 20 amp fuse in it if you feel the need. Typically B&S voltage reg only put out 5 or 9 amps, depending on which one you have. Connect the jumper wire to the red wire coming off the VR, then connect it to the Pos + side of the battery.

Start your engine. run it at WOT. With your multimeter verify that you have 13+ volts at the terminals like @hal said.

All things being equal, if the battery will hold a charge and it's charged up, you can cut grass tommow.
Then when you have time, you can fix it...or not.
.

I appreciate that, I might just do that. I just hate not understanding issues like these. I like to know what is going on here, I mean I am trying to figure out how this coupler feeds back to the battery but that does not make sense either. I think Big Fish might have said something? Because the red line of the other side runs back to the starter and then up to the battery. From what I am looking at this broken wire does not run directly to the battery even if the red wires on the other side connect to it.

Okay so I checked the voltage on the battery before starting it was holding around 12.60 volts. Now I started it and checked again, it was just slightly under that, maybe 0.10 or 0.20 less. So if the stator and voltage regulator were charging the battery it would most definitely be 13.00 or more correct?