# newbie need help



## fancygirl68 (Jun 9, 2010)

i have a craftsman 17.5 hp 6 spd keeps dying not holding charge just put new fuel lines ,filter,battery and solenoid worked for a couple days now wont start again please help gonna have to bale the yard soon


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## Wolfcub (Jun 8, 2010)

Hi, I'm new here and guessing so take this with a grain of salt.
Perhaps in the process of doing all this fine work on your tractor you've been cranking the engine over quite a lot in the process and not running it long enough after to get the new battery charged back up.
If you have a battery charger, I'd put it on a slow charge over night and see if you can get that battery topped off. A volt meter should give you a good indication of how it's doing but you want to take it off the charger and leave it for an hour or so before you take a reading.
It should read at least 13 Volts.
Once re-charged, it should get you going again so you can run the machine long enough to maintain that charge.
Can you list what battery you have, it should say how many Cranking Amps it has which will help others figure out if it's rated for this model.
If you can get it running again this way, take a Voltage reading after running the tractor for a while (an hour or so after it's shut down). Should be over 13 Volts again, if lower then you can assume that perhaps the charging system is not working and proceed from there.

Hope this helps.

Dave


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## wjjones (May 28, 2010)

If you got a new battery like Wolfcub said it is most likely not charged. I got one from Walmart last year that would not even start the mower when i installed it. I had to jump the mower off with my truck and during the mowing of the yard it charged up. It will need a good deep cycle charge though if you have a charger.


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