Flat towing Ford Focus

Hilldude,
Not trying to be smart just confused. If the negative cable is disconnected, how can these two extra positive wires cause a problem? I do not see the two extra wires. Are they bound to the positive cable?

Ron

Make sure the disconnection is at the battery not the firewall.Disconnecting at firewall leaves two wires connected and may lead to a ruined transmission.

Sandy and Shirley,

I saw that unit being installed at Marlin Ingram RV in Montgomery, AL. I did not stay around to see if they got it working. In AL you do not need toad brakes if your vehicle is under 3,000 # so I have not installed. Frankly, towing the Focus is like there is nothing back there. Hopefully other states will reciprocate. We did have quite a time getting all the lights to work.

I had Ingram install the battery cutoff to the right of the battery on the negative cable. Works just fine. You are right on the electronics except my Bluetooth and clock maintain their settings. The biggest problem is that it seems to lose all the computer driving instruction. You then will have those annoying double clutch jerks until it resets.

All in all I am very happy with this toad. It is fun to drive and has a lot of room inside (once I stuff my large frame into the seat!).

Ron

That is correct, the Ford 6 speed auto transmission acts like the 6 speed manual transmission. It is all controlled by a “computer” that senses the road speed and engine speed to determine what gear you should be in. You can flat tow as is at max 35 mph for 50 miles, big deal! There are steps in the manual that tell you how to insure that the transmission is in neutral, you then disconnect the battery, the computer, so it can’t shift out of neutral, now you can tow 70 mph unlimited distance.
The catch is that a lot of the braking systems are dependent on the car battery, there is no other source for emergency break away situations.

I just posted this on the forest river forum because we just bought a Georgetown motor home and plan to tow a 2014 Ford Focus SE.

We found one tow bar that can handle this at readybrake.com, their ReadyBrute Elite which has a built in surge brake. The brake is not electric, it works with a steel cable connected to the brake pedal.

Our RV dealer does not want to install this tow bar since you have to drill separate holes in the firewall for wire cables for the normal braking and the tear away brakes. The cables are then connected to your brake pedal. Our Ford dealer says he will do the job, but it will be the first time they have ever done it.

The solution we are now trying to work out is to have the RV dealer install the Base Plate, ready brake has a variety of adapters to fit just about every base plate out there. We will pre-buy the the tow bar so he can also install the dash mounted brake indicator LED and drop bar so we are towing about level, but no brakes or lights! We will then take the car and motor home to our Ford dealer so he can install the necessary brake cables through the firewall and insure that the tail lights are run completely from the motor home.

The Focus is a nice FWD car that can be flat towed, but they sure do not make it easy to have it set up.

PS: Camping World, not the one close by, the one about 100 miles from us, will do the complete job for just under $3,500. We can get it done way cheaper by two local dealers.

The Ford dealer said that you can disconnect either side on the battery and he recommended that we use the hot side. The negative lead is basically under the firewall extension so you have to disconnect it where it attaches to the frame. He is not sure of what will happen if the disconnected wire bounces around as you drive. The hot side can be done with a simple two part connector at the battery. The disconnected part can easily be held back from the post and it doesn’t matter is it touched the frame while driving.

I highly recommend that you visit readybrake.com and look at the videos they provide. They are not one of the big names in the flat tow world, but they are the only one I was able to find that had a built in surge brake that works without electricity.

As for the lights, there are a variety of cables that runs from motor home 4 or 7 pin outlet to the towed car. The cable will run to the trunk of the car and they drill separate holes in your rear lights for braking and turn signals, LOL, no need for the back up lights! The lights then run completely from the motor home battery.

Yes you do lose bluetooth, clock and radio stations.

Thanks, I just heard from Ford that the clutches are electric and they could inadvertently engage if they have power. I can live with clock but the radio with Blue tooth, etc would be a pain.

If you don't disconnect the battery, you will will ruin the transmission.Have to reset clock but not radio.Not saying to do it, but I disconnect the positive terminal and use a short wrench. Put wrench and cable in a glove and tuck in in.The Focus make a great toad but follow the instructions in manual.If the spacer in front of battery is removed the battery can be moved forward. this makes it easier to access the neg terminal.

I have contacted Ford to determine the purpose of the disconnect. If just to protect the charge I will run a line from the coach. Will let you know.

8

Do they state what is the reason for disconnecting the battery? If its just so the battery won't run down, you can install a charge wire from the MH to the battery. That's what I do with my Ford C-Max.

If you remove the ground cable, you cant charge the battery...you have to have a ground.

I would "assume" that removing the neg cable, would indeed cause what you ask. But maybe those items have built in batter back up. Don't know.

Ron

Moved to Dinghy Towing forum from Towing.