Battery disconnect

ezgoin wrote:
I'm considering a toad for our class A MH and am looking at either a Ford Fiesta or Focus because they can be towed with an automatic tranny. Ford says the negative battery cable must be disconnected while towing. What would be the purpose for this? And can a battery disconnect be used on the negative terminal?

Thanks.

I agree with the others and yes in fact, the neg. terminal should always be used for the disconnect. I put one on our Jeep, even though it's not needed for towing and they are nice to have, either way.

Can't speak for all of them, but the 2013 Focus has a solenoid operated dual dry clutch transmission which requires that the battery be disconnected at the battery, not at the bonding strap to the firewall. See 'Recreational Towing' in the owners manual.

jim

What Dutch said.

The battery is disconnected to prevent draining it due to the ignition key being left on in the accessory position to unlock the steering while towing. And yes, a battery disconnect can be used on the negative terminal. The reason they specify removing the negative cable is safety. There's a risk of shorting a wrench to ground when removing the positive cable if the negative cable is not removed first. Removing either one serves the same purpose for disconnect purposes though.