I have a weedeater WE1236 lawn tractor, got it from my dad, had a dead battery in it and it was connected up, replaced the battery with a new one, yet when you place the battery back in the plastic bucket where the wireing comes up the cables don't match, I need to know is this a positve ground system, red to the negative terminal and the black to the positive terminal?

Never heard of anything but a negative ground system. Perhaps you have the wrong model battery.

Hk: Positive ground did exist on some 6V car systems.

I suppose it's 12 V too. RED cables usually mean positive, BLACK means ground. Normally lead acid batteries have different size terminals for the + and - sides of the battery, so they don't get mixed up.

The electrical diagram is useless for this model. It's not a schematic either.

Hi! debchief, welcome to AMHD :)

Pull the battery tub, check which cable bolts to the frame (should be nearby)
Black its negative ground, red its positive ground, I suspect you'll find its black.

Like hk said, sounds like you have the wrong model battery, not that it's wrong per se, but built wrong for the way your tractors wiring is laid out.

You could try turning it around, but usually the cables are still too short.

K

Hi,
The two most common batteries in the OPE industry are the U1L and U1R, which ar 12V with posts reversed. To know your battery's designation, stand on the side of the battery neares the posts, look to see which side the positive (+) is on and that determines left (L) or right (R) in the model.
I have seen + ground systems, but not in this industry; probably just the terminals reversed.
Peace,
Clarke

Mornin' Clarke,
I knew there had to be an easier way! Thanks Clarke, That tip's a keeper!

K