jamis

Early on with my RM480e, the charger was displaying a low voltage code. My call to Ryobi customer service was immediately diagnosed as a failed charger. A new charger was overnighted to me. It displayed the same low voltage error. A second call to Ryobi support finally got me connected to a riding mower specialist. Turned out my original charger was fine, the replacement charger was the wrong one and should never be used with my model mower. The problem turned out to be a failing battery, but Ryobi's first line of support was not able to properly diagnose my problem.

I haven't found any reported issues like this. I'm going to suggest some SWAGs to try, but no assurances. 1. Try disconnecting the master fuseable link under the seat that connects the battery pack to the mower for a minute. The plug it back in. 2. If all other things work, make sure the parking brake is fully released. 3. The right control lever mechanism and wiring should be inspected for broken or frayed wiring. This may require assistance from Ryobi. 4. Can you rock the mower forwards and backwards to see if it frees up the stuck drive? I know of one user who had an issue like this and his mower went off to a service center, but he never updated any resolution. 5. Again, does changing the low speed drive button have any effect? 6. Can you check the battery pack voltage at the master plug? It should be above 50 volts. Voltage should be around 52 volts when the charging cycle is complete. The system will run until the pack voltage drops to 36 volts and then the system shuts down to protect the SLA/AGM batteries. 7. In any event, call Ryobi at the number listed on the under seat label and don't take "I don't know" for an answer. 8. One last suggestion, go to the HD web page for your mower and open a new question with your problem. You might get an answer from another owner and the Ryobi rep there may respond also. Hope this helps

wait a minute? Ryobi had no help for a product under warranty? Call back and ask for an electric rider specialist. Have your model number, manufacturer number, and serial number from the label under the seat available. Can you push the mower by hand or is it completely locked up? Does everything else work, headlights, mowing blades, the high/low speed button?

By the way, Ryobi just brought out a 54" zero turn mower powered by 115 ahr. batteries.

Google "Leoch LPC12-100 battery". I have found some online from battery supply shops. Leoch has a new line out. The LDC12- models are direct replacements for the LPC12- models and are in the same case sizes. The difference is the LDC12- models have longer life spans. In the Ryobi mowers, the LPC12- batteries should deliver 1,500 - 1,700 charges, while the LDC12- models are good for over 2,000 charges. Have you done the Ryobi battery test yet? You remove the batteries from the mower, disconnect the wiring, individually charge the batteries with an automotive charger, and load test each battery. I took mine to a local battery shop for the load test. Only one battery needed replacement and the mower ran better than when it was new.

The 50 ahr model can only have those batteries due to the design of the battery compartment. The 75 ahr and 100 ahr models (both rear engine and zero turn versions) have identical battery trays and can be upgraded to the larger batteries. The 100 ahr batteries are physically larger than the 75 ahr batteries, but there are movable and removable spacers in the tray to accommodate the different sized batteries. Be aware the batteries should last for 1,500 - 1,700 charge cycles, so you might want to consider spending the extra $200 up front to get the longer run time.

Sorry for the late reply, but I don't visit here often. The charger won't charge if the battery pack has dropped below 36 volts. Ryobi's troubleshooting process is to disconnect the battery wiring and individually charge the batteries with an automotive style charger, reconnect the battery wiring, and try the charge process. If the batteries still won't charge with the automotive charger, the batteries may be toast as SLA/AGM batteries don't take well to being completely discharged. A Load test of the batteries by a battery shop will confirm the state of the batteries. A call to Ryobi support should be done.

LX8: if the grass being cut is rather tall, there can be build up under the deck and cause the right blade to stall. Rather easy to do if you are mulch mowing. If you pay attention to the motor noise, you can hear the motor change pitch due to the loading.

USMC Mustang: Great reply and I have a couple of questions if I may. Item #2: The reduced run time seems to be the most common complaint for the ZT480s. Have you done the Ryobi recommended battery test of load testing each battery individually? I was experiencing increased Battery Level Meter bars out on my RM480 in the first year of use. Ryobi had me individually charge each battery and then load test them (took them to a local battery shop for the test). One didn't past muster and was replaced. Mower ran (and still runs) better than new. Item#3: I'm extremely interested in the lithium batteries you used. I've heard several people wanting to try the change, but you are the first I've heard of to do so. What make, model, voltage, ahr, etc. I have seen my OEM pack at 52.2 volts immediately after completing a charge, and it ran fine. Ryobi also told me the system shuts down completely when the pack voltage drops below 36 volts, but I'm not sure how the system is really measuring things as the BLM does not read reliably by volts, so the controllers must be measuring something in addition. The system is supposed to shut the blade motors off with enough charge to let you drive back to the charger. I run with a separate volt meter plugged into the charging port so I can see dynamically the charge being used. I would guess the lithium chemistry behaves differently enough to "fool" the electronics that are designed for the SLA/AGM chemistry. How did you charge the lithium batteries? With the Ryobi charger and onboard controller, or a separate charger? Item #4: First I've heard of the squeaky rear bearings on a ZT480, best advice is to call Ryobi at the toll free number on the label under the seat with the model number, serial number, and manufacturer number from the label also. I wonder if it's the brakes?

The instrumentation on the Ryobi’s is known to be variably inaccurate. The ZT480s have been described by many as not reporting the charge % accurately. Some users have even had the meters replaced under warranty with no improvement. Based on my experience and from working with Ryobi support, the first thing I would do is fully charge the battery pack to when the charging lights on the charger and the mower glow steady green. Then measure the pack voltage at the bottom two contacts of the charging port. Voltage should be 51 - 52 volts. Then turn the key on and turn on the headlights. Now measure the voltage again. If it has dropped a lot (the system shuts down when the voltage drops below 36 volts), you likely have a weak or failed battery (I.e. won’t sustain a load). Ryobi’s procedure is to fully charge all four batteries and put a load test on each to determine if one or more have failed. Many people have replaced all four batteries because they didn’t test them individually. I took mine to a local battery shop for load testing and they found one to be failing. After replacement, the mower runs better than when new.

I’ve been investigating replacement batteries for the RM480 & ZT480 mowers and have found some group 24 (75 Ahr.) and group 31 (100 Ahr.) SLA/AGM, deep cycle, 12 volt batteries. While these other batteries fit and might work in the Ryobi mowers, one rather large difference stands out. The Leoch LPC12-xxx batteries have a much longer lifespan. That is, installed in the Ryobi system, they will handle many more charge cycles than the the other brands. The LPC12-xxx batteries should give 1,500 to 1,700 charges. The Duracell Premium AGM batteries are rated at 850 charge cycles at the maximum routine depth of discharge the Ryobi system uses. The Duracell also costs more than the Leoch. HD has been out of these batteries for many months. OSI Batteries has them for a bit more than HD lists them, but far less than what Ryobi is listing them for. Also, some of the other batteries only have a 3 month warranty if used in Battery Electric Vehicles while the LPC12s have a one year warranty. Hope this helps someone in the future.

Another picture of the new folding tailgate.

Well, my RM480e just passed two years of ownership and the machine still runs like new. The electric experience has been wonderful. The mower costs less than $0.21 per hour to run. A seven month winter storage costs $0.91 for the entire period. Electric cost for the first two years has been $15.44 total. 87E10 has averaged $2.20 per gallon here. I have mowed for 59 hours in the two years and my neighbors 42” Toro Timecutter burns a gallon of gas per hour. You can do the math to see the cost savings the electric mower gives, not to mention there are no fluids, filters, or belts to maintain for the electric mower. I did buy a second set of blades ($25) to have on hand should I need to swap out the ones in use, but the blades stay sharp all through the mowing season. I also made a fold up tailgate to haul a trash can for yard work as I don’t have room to store a dump cart.

The instrumentation on the ZT480s (and the RM480s) has been reported by many to be inaccurate and misleading. The Battery Level Meter on my mower is erratic in its reporting and the hour meter is off by 6%. The hour meter even reset itself to zero last summer. I do some extra steps to monitor the battery performance so I know how healthy the pack is. 1. I measure the pack voltage before and after mowing. I use a volt meter to read the voltage at the charging port. 2. I bought a $30 recording watt meter to measure how much it takes to recharge the pack each time the charger does a charge. 3. May be extreme, but I put this all into a spreadsheet to track usage trends. Ryobi’s battery check method is to pull the batteries, disconnect all pack wiring, charge each battery individually with a separate charger, and load test each. I took mine to a local battery shop for the testing. Boost charging is NOT recommended for SLA batteries as it can promote sulfication in the cells and shorten battery life. Always fully charge the pack when you charge the mower. Reduced run time is usually due to one of the four batteries having a weak cell. Eventually, the battery will fail entirely and the system will then refuse to charge the pack. The electronics limit battery drain down to 36 volts to prolong the life span of the pack.

Hopefully you took pictures of the original wiring before you dismantled things. Don’t know if this helps.

Paul: Sorry I haven’t replied earlier. I’m a bit wrapped up in supporting the HD Q&A web pages for the Ryobi riding mowers. Both the ZT480s & RM480s have questionable instrumentation. There are a multitude of questions on the HD web pages for the different models of the ZT about the instrumentation. My RM and my neighbor’s RM both have issues with the Battery Level Meter and the hour meter. The BLM is rather erratic and the hour meter is off by 6% on my mower. The ZTs have numerous instances of mis-reporting the charge percentage. People have eve had the meter replaced under warranty and still have the problem. My neighbor and I have taken to installing small volt meters on our machines at the charging port. I record the pack voltage when I take it off the charger to mow and I record the voltage when I’m done using it right before putting it on the charger. The bottom two contacts of the charging port are the positive and negative for the pack. I also record the starting and ending times with my cell phone. I invested $30 in a recording watt meter to record the amount of electricity it takes for each use. I record the hour meter and the number of bars out on the BLM (% on the ZT meter). This all goes into a spreadsheet so I can track any performance trends of the batteries. The beginning voltage should be 51 - 52 volts regardless of what the % meter reads. You definitely should not be doing “boost charging” as this will shorten the lifespan of the batteries. Also, the controllers/processors limit the routine depth of discharge (DOD) of the pack to about 36 volts. This is about 30% and the battery manufacturer states this should allow the batteries to deliver 1,500 to 1,700 charge cycles. Therefore, when the percentage meter on the ZTs reads 50%, it means that you’ve used 50% of the usable charge of 15 volts (51 volts down to 36 volts). The electronics will shut the entire system down when the pack voltage drops below 36 volts.

Last month, Ryobi brought another battery electric riding mower. This one is a 30” 50 Ahr. model. $2,399.00 and on sale today for $1,999.00. Pretty much the same features as the bigger ones, except no cruise control, USB charging port, and phone slot.

HD has them back in stock now with free shipping to your home.

MarkTer: To properly test the batteries: 1. Pull them out of the mower. 2. Disconnect all wiring between the batteries and the mower. 3. Individually charge each battery with a separate automotive style charger, preferably one with a deep cycle setting. 4. Load test each battery. I took mine to a local battery shop for this. 5. Once the failing battery is identified, replace it. HD has them back in stock now with free shipping to your home. Sorry for the slow response, I sometimes forget to visit here.

Sorry for the late reply, but the snow plow is back in stock at HD for $329 and free shipping. The manufacturer made a change to the plow lift handle to make it easier to raise/lower the blade without having to get up off of the seat and stopping the unit. Don't know about moving dirt, but it should work with loose dirt. I wouldn't use it like a bull dozer to break compacted ground.

Rob L.: KayakerBob still has his and has it mounted for the second winter of plowing. He's working on making it easier to swing the angle of the blade from the seat. HD had an issue with listing the plow, but that has been fixed and it is available now

You have to depress the brake pedal ALL the way down and while holding it down, pull up on the red handle on the side of the steering column. You should hear a click of engagement. In this doesn’t work, the brakes can be adjusted per the instructions in the maintenance section of the operation manual. Hope this helps. I just passed 50 mows and also love it.

Just an update after one year of use. I mow 8,000 sq. ft. of lawn and occasionally a 16,000 sq. ft. lawn with my RM480e mower. Electricity cost to recharge the batteries is less than $0.10. I have mowed 40 times so far and the blades are still sharp. I did have one battery fail due to a failed cell that caused that battery to be unable to handle any load. Ryobi replaced the battery under warranty in two days. The batteries slide out on a tray. Maintenance on this machine is minimal and consists of lubricating the steering mechanism occasionally. The powder coated frame and deck are easy to keep clean. The headlights are bright enough to actually mow at night and it’s quiet enough that you could without bothering the neighbor’s.

Does anyone have any experience with the P750 pump. I’m thinking of using it to create a lawn sprayer to use on my RM480 electric riding lawn mower. The issue is that it pumps way too much volume and I would suspect that just using a valve to throttle the flow will cause damage to the unit. I’m thinking that splitting the output between the spray bar and a return to the tank will allow me to balance the output without stressing the motor. Just looking for feedback from anyone who has used the P750.

Hi boys and girls. Ryobi just added a third and fourth all electric riding lawn mowers. This one is a 42" zero turn model. 75 Ahr. SLA/AGM batteries, but there is also a 100 Ahr model. Same as the 75 Ahr unit, but with bigger batteries like the other two riders. Large dollars, but the direction is there. This one is based on the same electronics as the prior two electric mowers, so it should be good performer. https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-42-in-75-Ah-Battery-Electric-Zero-Turn-Riding-Mower-RY48ZTR75/308040422