(ET) Trouble with battreis, speed control, and mower???

["G McPherson" <lifesmith hotmail com>]

Greetings,

We have an eco centre where we endevour to demonstrate eco technology at 
work.  However I am still very much a student when it comes to the care and 
feeding of the technology.

I do love our ET-15 but it has been laid up for a year waiting for some 
parts and it did get rained on a couple of times before I stored in our 
shed. Over the winter I charged the batteries a couple of times and put a 
light bulb under its cover to keep it cosy during the coldest months.

I am afraid that the dampness or the cold got the better of it.  When did my 
repairs and started to prepare to put it to work I discovered a few things 
that concerned me.  I found no referance in the owners manual that 
enlightened me on these issues.  Please share with me any insights you may 
have into its issues issues.

1. The power pack appeared to be fully charged but when I checked the cells 
their specific gravity would range from 1125- 1175.   The spread concerned 
me a little but the low level concerned me more.  No plates were exposed but 
the electrolite was generally low.  I charged it for a few hours with no 
appreciable change in the ?fuel level? meter.   When I started to use the 
tractor I noticed that it seemed listless and under powered the fuel level 
meter immediately ?full? to ?low ? and it seems to struggle under load.  So 
I stopped and checked for undue friction. However  the wheels were free and 
the brake was not dragging so put it on charge again and toped up the cells 
with distilled water.  After a ?6 to 10 ? year? charge (7 hours) it only 
showed 85% full.  I do not want to over charge the pack.  But something 
seems amis.  Are my batteries toast or just out of shape?  Do I continue to 
charge them or  am I facing replacing them?

2. The Speed Control lever would shift from forward to reverse normally but 
would not accelerate to a higher speed at all just ?on or off?  All the 
graduated speed control had disappeared.  Could this be related to the low 
battery level or are there switch contacts that need to be cleaned?


3. When I inspected the mover I discovered that one of the blades was a 
little stiff and when I tried it under power the motor would heat up.  Is 
this a lubrication issue (if so where do I lubricate?) or could  the shaft 
or bearing be worn or damaged?  What are the possibilities and how should I 
approach it.?

Help!

Garnet McPherson ? lifesmith hotmail com
Green Planet Foundation ? Eco Centre
Colborne Ontario
(ET15 & Commuta-Car)

________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com