Battery & electrical questions

coolmom42 wrote:
I have a 2014 Coachmen 21QB on a Chevy 4500 chassis, with an Onan 4KW generator.

*Does the generator have its own starting battery? If so, how is this battery charged? Or does the generator crank off the chassis battery? (I'm assuming it doesn't crank off the house battery, as that would kind of defeat the point of having a generator.)

The genny rarely has its own starting battery. Stand alone generators such as the Champion 3400 do. But not the Onan.

coolmom42 wrote:
*Does the generator charge the chassis battery

Sometimes. Some designs are powered from the chassis battery for starting, others may use the house batteries. If it is does not, it is easy to add a Trik-L-Start.

coolmom42 wrote:

*Does the chassis alternator charge the house battery? If so, how well?

Yes, but not very well. A great upgrade is a dc to DC charger.

coolmom42 wrote:
*Does the battery isolator switch completely isolate the house battery and chassis battery from each other?

Usually.

coolmom42 wrote:
*Does the converter charge the chassis battery when the RV is plugged into shore power?

Not usually. There are several many solutions to this, such as the Trik-L-Start.

coolmom42 wrote:
*On the side of the engine compartment, there is a 200 amp fuse. What is this for?

Here are the three words men don't like to say.

I don't know