Battery System - Description

Vehicles with a diesel engine utilize two 12-volt batteries connected in parallel. All of the components of the battery system are located within the engine compartment. The battery system for this vehicle, covers the following related components:
- Left Battery (3) - The Left storage battery provides a reliable means of storing a renewable source of electrical energy within the vehicle.
- Right Battery (5) - The Right storage battery provides a reliable means of storing a renewable source of electrical energy within the vehicle as well as the additional required electrical energy due to high demands of the diesel system.
- Positive Battery cables (2 & 6) - The positive battery cables connect the battery positive terminal posts to the vehicle electrical system, starter and alternator as well as connecting the two batteries together.
- Negative Battery Cables (1 & 4) - The negative battery cables connect the battery negative terminal posts to the vehicle electrical system through body, chassis and engine grounding points.
- Battery Thermal Guard - A thermal guard wraps around the battery case to enclose the sides of the battery. The thermal guard consists of a heavy black plastic outer skin and two lighter plies of plastic that have been formed into a sheet with hundreds of small air pockets entrapped between them.
- Battery Holddown - The battery holddown hardware secures the battery in the battery tray in the engine compartment.
- Battery Tray - The battery tray provides a secure mounting location in the vehicle for the battery and an anchor point for the battery holddown hardware.

The battery must be fully-charged before any battery system diagnosis or testing procedures can be performed.

The battery system is designed to provide a safe, efficient, reliable and mobile means of delivering and storing electrical energy. This electrical energy is required to operate the engine starting system, as well as many of the other vehicle accessory systems for limited durations while the engine and/or the charging system are not operating. The battery system is also designed to provide a reserve of electrical energy to supplement the charging system for short durations while the engine is running and the electrical current demands of the vehicle exceed the output of the charging system. In addition to delivering, and storing electrical energy for the vehicle, the battery system serves as a capacitor and voltage stabilizer for the vehicle electrical system. It absorbs most abnormal or transient voltages caused by the switching of any of the electrical components or circuits in the vehicle.