Need help with my 122

[thadscub]

Hi guys,

I have an issue with my Cub Cadet 122. I went out to plow snow yesterday, and when I went to start the tractor, all I got was a click. I turned the starter generator pulley and the tractor started right up and ran great. I started plowing with the headlights on and after about 20 minutes or so the headlight dimmed. Then I stopped the tractor, checked my connection, as I could tell good. I shut the tractor down and when I went to start the tractor up, no go. I jumped the battery with the battery charger it fired right up so I have a charging issue. Could the voltage regulator be at fault?

[olds45512]

It could be the voltage regulator or it could be the starter/generator or a bad wire, do you have a volt meter?

[thadscub]

Yes, I have a handheld volt meter. Here is what I know, I have 12.45 volts on the battery. I can hear the starter relay click but the starter generator turning.

[R Bedell]

Here is what I know, I have 12.45 volts on the battery.

With the engine at WOT, you should have ~14.7VDC at the battery.

[olds45512]

The first thing I would do is look over the wiring good, look for broken wires, loose connections and corrosion on the connects. If that all checks out I usually like to check the s/g first to make sure its working , if it checks out good I work my way to the battery till I find the issue. To test the s/g you need to loosen it and slip the belt off, you also need to remove the wires from the field terminal which is the terminal closest to the tractor. You will need a small jumper wire you can hook to the field terminal, hit the key and the s/g will start to spin and then take the other end off the jumper wire hooked to the f terminal and touch it to a bare spot on the body of the s/g. If the s/g starts to slow down when you touch the jumper wire to the body then its charging, if it doesn't slow down then that's your issue.

[DoubleO7]

Also check wires where ever they are touching metal.
The original wiring harness used cotton covered wiring which if yours is original, might be rubbed raw some place.
I say cotton covered because my 127 has it and it is a newer tractor than yours.

[mortten]

I believe the 1X6 1X7 were the only ones using that cotton covered wire. My 122 had plastic covered wires but checking all points is a good idea.