Is it a battery and what I think is for?
Howdy all,
In preparing our motorhome for an impending trip, I went under the chassis on a creeper looking for potential troubles yesterday. That was when I noticed, for the first time, what appears to be a presumably 12V auto battery, mounted at a rather peculiar location – behind the Onan Genset. The tray/bracket on which it sits is bolted on the inner side of the truck main frame under the chassis, hence one would never see it unless he is directly underneath the chassis and look up. The battery is connected and seems to be in service - the negative wire is terminated on the chassis frame, but I couldn’t trace where the positive wire goes.
The motorhome in question is a 2020 Coachmen Freelander (model 22XG) on 2019 Chevy Express 4500 chassis. I could not find any information regarding this battery anywhere, including the user manuals for both the Chassis and the coach. I am not sure whether it is integral part of the Chevy cut-away chassis, or it was installed by Coachmen afterwards. If it indeed is a battery (and I am quite sure it is) then, in addition to the one located in the engine compartment (behind the passenger side head lamp) and the coach battery in the stepwell, this would make the third battery for this MH.
One logical explanation I could think of is that this battery is there for the sole purpose of starting the Genset, as I have been wondering about from where the Genset draws power to start its engine, and this might explain it. If so, that it being tugged away deep in the chassis belly suggests to me that it is meant to be left alone and forgotten, i.e. not a maintenance item. Given the battery's deadweight and its awkward location, I am afraid that servicing or replacing it may not be a pleasant chore…
I am intrigued by this discovery and now am curious about its existence, I thought I would post my question here and hope for some confirmation. Does anyone have any idea?
Thank you all for your insights.
BTW, I did take a few photo shots of the underside chassis and wanted to share so you can get a better picture of what I was talking about, except, I don't know how to post them here without sending them up into the WWW.
In preparing our motorhome for an impending trip, I went under the chassis on a creeper looking for potential troubles yesterday. That was when I noticed, for the first time, what appears to be a presumably 12V auto battery, mounted at a rather peculiar location – behind the Onan Genset. The tray/bracket on which it sits is bolted on the inner side of the truck main frame under the chassis, hence one would never see it unless he is directly underneath the chassis and look up. The battery is connected and seems to be in service - the negative wire is terminated on the chassis frame, but I couldn’t trace where the positive wire goes.
The motorhome in question is a 2020 Coachmen Freelander (model 22XG) on 2019 Chevy Express 4500 chassis. I could not find any information regarding this battery anywhere, including the user manuals for both the Chassis and the coach. I am not sure whether it is integral part of the Chevy cut-away chassis, or it was installed by Coachmen afterwards. If it indeed is a battery (and I am quite sure it is) then, in addition to the one located in the engine compartment (behind the passenger side head lamp) and the coach battery in the stepwell, this would make the third battery for this MH.
One logical explanation I could think of is that this battery is there for the sole purpose of starting the Genset, as I have been wondering about from where the Genset draws power to start its engine, and this might explain it. If so, that it being tugged away deep in the chassis belly suggests to me that it is meant to be left alone and forgotten, i.e. not a maintenance item. Given the battery's deadweight and its awkward location, I am afraid that servicing or replacing it may not be a pleasant chore…
I am intrigued by this discovery and now am curious about its existence, I thought I would post my question here and hope for some confirmation. Does anyone have any idea?
Thank you all for your insights.
BTW, I did take a few photo shots of the underside chassis and wanted to share so you can get a better picture of what I was talking about, except, I don't know how to post them here without sending them up into the WWW.
