On Jul 20, 3:27*pm, clouddreamer wrote:
I have had a JD ride on mower for a year now (LA165 I believe) and find
that every time I go to start it, the battery is dead or nearly dead.
Surely, this is not normal. Any idea what the problem could be?

snip

With the battery fully charged, disconnect one terminal. With engine,
key off, connect an ammeter between the terminals and measure the
current flow. If it is over 30 milliamps, you may have a bad battery.
If it is 150-500 milliamps you probably have an alternator with a
shorted blocking diode or similar malfunction. If you lack the test
equipment, take the alternator and battery to Autozone or other store
that has test equipment and have them check it for you.

Joe