18 Electrical System TP-6335 9/04
6.5 Battery and Connections
Sulfuric acid in batteries.
Can cause severe injury or death.
Use protective goggles and clothes.
Battery acid can cause permanent
damage to eyes, burn skin, and eat
holes in clothing.
WARNING
Battery gases. Explosion can cause severe injury or
death. Battery gases cancause an explosion. Do notsmoke
or permit flames or sparks tooccur near a batteryat any time,
particularlywhenitischarging. Donotdisposeofabatteryina
fire. To prevent burns and sparks that could cause an
explosion, avoid touching the battery terminals with tools or
other metal objects. Remove all jewelry before servicing the
equipment. Discharge static electricityfrom your bodybefore
touching batteries by first touching a grounded metal surface
away from the battery. To avoid sparks, do not disturb the
battery charger connections while the battery is charging.
Always turn the battery charger off before disconnecting the
battery connections. Ventilate the compartments containing
batteries to prevent accumulation of explosive gases.
Starting battery. A separate 12-volt battery is
recommended for the generator set. With a separate
battery, the battery can be installed closer to the
generator set and the cable length can be minimized to
eliminate voltage drop. See Figure 6-4 for the minimum
cold cranking amps (CCA) battery recommendation.
Model CCA
10/13/15ERG 600
Figure 6-4 Battery Recommendation
Lengths and sizes. See Figure 6-5 for the lengths and
recommended sizes of the battery cables.
Distance
(from battery to
generator set)
Required
Battery Cable
AWG Gauge (Minimum)
2.5 m (8.3 ft.) 6
5m(16.4ft.) 2
Figure 6-5 Battery Cable Sizing Recommendations,
10--15ERG Models
Cable connections. See Section 7 for the battery
positive and negative connection points. Refer to
Figure 6-6 (View A) for cable connections. (Note that
installers must connect a ground strap between the
ground lug on the generator set and the frame of the
vehicle with this arrangement.)
For installations where the starting battery for the
vehicle engine must also be used for starting the
generator engine, ground the negative battery terminal
to the vehicle frame and connect a heavy gauge (#4)
ground strap to the ground lug on the generator set to
the vehicle frame as illustrated in Figure 6-6 (View B).
Note: Ensure a ground connection between the
generator and the vehicle frame even if the
battery used to startthe generator is not thesame
as the vehicle.