Hi,

Like so many, I have a John Deere 260 mower. Battery does not charge. Replaced the $62 regulator. Then the $100 stator today. I put in a new John Deere battery exactly one year ago. I looked at it today. I see whatever the problem is, smoked the battery, as in one cell dry and the rest low. I am not sure where to exactly test anymore. Is it possiable my stator was bad last year and it evevtiually cooked my battery? Is there anyway to test the charging system with crappy battery? If I jump start it, it will run, but can't engage electric clutch to blow snow etc... lost

Hi,
You will need to begin with a known good battery. You should check its voltage to get a starting point. Then check the AC output of the stator. Generally between 26 and 36 VAC oulput. Then chack the DC output going from the regulator. It can be measured at the battery terminals. It should be 14.5 to 16 VDC with the engine revved.
The likely scenario is that the stator was feeding AC to the battery before to ruin it.
Peace,
Clarke