Tow vehicle battery going dead

[merleandbabe]

Flat towing a 2007 Honda Civic, with no problems except one.
The running lights stay on and the battery goes dead after about two hours.

Any ideas..on how to prevent this? The ignition must stay in accessories potion, and in neutral.

I have heard of a tow charge? How much

Thank you

[bobkatmsu]

I have a PT Cruiser I use and all my mechanic did was add a disconnect screw to the negative battery cable. You just unscrew it and you are disconnected, screw it back in and you are ready to go. It takes about 5 seconds to do. Cannot remember cost had to be less than $30.

[Lobstah]

As mentioned above...pull the fuse. There are "inline switches" available online that allow you to pull the fuse and replace it with a circuit that has a switch and an inline fuse. You can mount the switch anywhere under the dash. When you want to tow, either pull your existing fuse, or upgrade to the switch and just flip the switch. That kills power to your dash/ignition/etc, but will leave your clock and radio alone.

Jim

[Mr_Mark1]

merleandbabe wrote:
Flat towing a 2007 Honda Civic, with no problems except one.
The running lights stay on and the battery goes dead after about two hours.

Any ideas..on how to prevent this? The ignition must stay in accessories potion, and in neutral.

I have heard of a tow charge? How much

Thank you

Merleandbabe, if your running lights are on you have the ignition switch turned one notch too many. With the key in the 'off' position, slowly turn it just one notch. You should be in the accessory position with no running lights.

Good luck,
MM.

[deadbat]

brick wrote:
How old is car battery? Maybe the easy way to fix problem.

you must not be mechanically orientated? even a new battery would be pretty low after leaving the lites on for 2 hours never mind what else is powered up when key is on
as other have posted lots of ways to counteract the problem.Cheapest and easiest is take the neg battery cable off while towing
all u do is need to reset the clock and any saved radio stations

[brick]

How old is car battery? Maybe the easy way to fix problem.

[Daboo]

My Honda CRV running lights do not come on in the ACC position...I tow it 4 down...can you see if the lights are on while you are towing,,,I don't pull any fuses either and have run for 5-6 hours towing,,,I would think it is something else.....my owners manual says to pull the fuse if towing for more than 6 hrs,,,

[jerseyjim]

My HHR, you pull a 2 AMP fuse that "kills" the dashboard. Otherwise, the battery goes dead in about 6 hours.

[toolttime]

Install a wire on your plug to your battery from the charge pin in the plug. use a inline fuse and then battery will charge while you drive. About a 5.00 fix.

[Snomas]

I bought a toad charge from brake buddy and wired to the 7 pin hot wire on the MH. The toad charge cost about 25.00 & the wire has a diode in it. A simple installation.

[nemo45]

wa8yxm wrote:
What are you using for the aux brake system.. The US-Gear Unified Brake Decelerator system includes a link between the coach battery (Chassis) and the towed, Heavy wire breakerd at 20 amps (Coach) and 40 (Towed).

Invisible brake (Roadmaster?) also has a charge provision.

The Towed charge system above with other brake systemns.

Second, there should be a fuse or two you pull, or you remove the fuse, install a way overpriced adapter (like 50 bucks) with leads and a switch, and plug the fuse into the adapter.. Flip the switch and it cust off the battery killers.

The running lights should NOT come on in the accessory position.

If you look in your owners manual, it will tell you which fuse to pull, anyway it does on the newer ones. I installed the switch on my Equinox, which I agree was way over priced. But, it may be the best money I've ever wasted. This poster is right, though, the outside running lights should not be on with the ignition switch in the aux. position. I have a friend who has a 2012 Honda CRV and he refuses to pull the fuse like his manual says, but he does make sure his radio is off, and he doesn't seem to have any problems. If it was me, I'd put in the overpriced switch, which you could probably make yourself, if you saw one.

[2ndhom]

Do you have an electrical pigtail that goes from the coach to the toad .... most coaches do. There should be a "HOT" terminal. From the toad inlet socket run a # 10 wire to the battery using an alligator clamp at the battery side. Also solder in a diode so the power only goes in one direction .... from coach to toad. This will keep the battery charged.

[sailor_lou]

I didn't think the lights came on in the "Acc." position. If they do, can you pull a fuse to disable the daytime running lights when towing?

Lou
05 Travel Supreme Envoy


Looks like wa8yxm beat me to it !!!

[wa8yxm]

What are you using for the aux brake system.. The US-Gear Unified Brake Decelerator system includes a link between the coach battery (Chassis) and the towed, Heavy wire breakerd at 20 amps (Coach) and 40 (Towed).

Invisible brake (Roadmaster?) also has a charge provision.

The Towed charge system above with other brake systemns.

Second, there should be a fuse or two you pull, or you remove the fuse, install a way overpriced adapter (like 50 bucks) with leads and a switch, and plug the fuse into the adapter.. Flip the switch and it cust off the battery killers.

The running lights should NOT come on in the accessory position.

[2chiefsRus]

Toad Charge
This is what we use. I'm sure there are cheaper ways to make your own set-up but this works for us.