Help, Ford Explore battery dies when flat towing

[familyman5]

I have a 2014 Ford Explorer that is supposed to be able to Flat tow without pulling any fuses but the battery dies and less than four hours. I purchased this vehicle to tow behind our motorhome because it is supposed to be able to go six hours before needing to run the car engine for five minutes to recharge the battery. I just towed the vehicle on our first trip and after four hours the battery was completely dead. I followed the owners manual that said to put the key in the accessory position. Note that I am not using a braking system that requires any battery power and I had the battery checked at an auto parts store and it was fine. Can anyone help with this?

[CA_Traveler]

It indeed could be difficult. I've read 2 vehicle threads (Honda and GMC?) where the vehicle could not be towed contrary to the manual. Both owners were offered signifcant compensation/replacement after extended persistence by the owner. They were under warranty which helped them make their case.

If you bought from a dealer then be persistent with their help. Remind them that you can read the manual as well as them and that is not answering the issues.

[familyman5]

Point well taken but how do you "get an answer from Ford ".
I agree but wouldn't that be like calling the White House? I have called several local dealerships and spoken with the service department but they can only tell me what is in the manual.

[CA_Traveler]

OP,

The manual could be wrong but what if it's not and you damage the vehicle by not following the manual for your vehicle?

I don't understand your "appears", "I have heard" and "apparently" justifications vs getting an official answer from Ford. I don't know if an official answer would make any difference in compensation for a 2014 vehicle should towing damage occur and you did not follow the manual but wouldn't you at least feel better knowing what Ford has to say? And I would not underestimate the effort required to get an answer from Ford.

Trust me I understand that Ford does not want to spend $$ if they can get out of it. I had to thoroughly research and prove to them that their torque converter design was faulty and they chose to not replace it with the updated design. In the end they replaced it and credited me with unnecessary charges.

[familyman5]

Thanks again for sharing your experience. I have heard that some cars can be damaged if not tell in the accessory position. Apparently the Explorer is not one of them.

[blownstang01]

familyman5 wrote:
Good question Blownstang01, I guess because the manual says the key should be in the accessory position. I wonder why they would say that if it was not necessary.
Knowing that the manual said this the guy who wired the explorer to the motorhome did so in a way that the key has to be in the accessory position for the brake lights and turn signals on the explorer to work.

Yeah, it seems that not many know this. I found out on my own just because I knew there is usually some way to shift out of park if an issue arises with the interlock. When I wired mine I used diodes at the rear lights so they work without the key. I also use a brake buddy and luckily the power point in the console is hot with the key off, like I said it's pretty simple. Too bad Ford doesn't publish it this way.
Also, I have towed ours a couple thousand miles this way without issue.

[familyman5]

Good question Blownstang01, I guess because the manual says the key should be in the accessory position. I wonder why they would say that if it was not necessary.
Knowing that the manual said this the guy who wired the explorer to the motorhome did so in a way that the key has to be in the accessory position for the brake lights and turn signals on the explorer to work.

[blownstang01]

Why have the key on at all? We tow our 2014 Explorer with the key off and out of the ignition, never had a dead battery even after 6 hours (then start and cycle per instructions). There is no steering interlock and under a little trap door in the console there is a latch you pull out to shift it into neutral without the key. Actually the easiest vehicle I've towed.

[familyman5]

I went ahead and installed a battery disconnect so I don't have to jump it anymore. This remains a mystery to me. Appears either the manual is wrong or I have a weak battery. I suspect that the manual is wrong because regardless of the key position the dash lights on both sides of the speedometer remain on and it appears that is what drains the battery after four or five hours. This is very frustrating to me as this was the main reason I purchased this particular tow car.

[dubdub07]

CA Traveler wrote:

wilanddij wrote:
Do yourself a favor and install a charge line from the MH to the battery. When I bought a 2014 C-Max I checked a couple of forums on the subject, and adding a charge line seemed to be the most popular solution. Adding a 10A line to my umbilical wasn't very difficult. Put a fuse or breaker on each end to protect everything. Never have had a problem with running the battery down when towing.

X2 You can use a separate cable or upgrade to one with more wires.

Mine has 3x wires for the lights, 2x heaver wires for ground and battery charge and one that provides a connection from the stop lights to a dash light so that I know when the toad brakes are applied.

BTW Before the charge line my CRV never had a dead battery but I knew there was some battery drain and added the charge line.

After one day of travel I left the CRV key on. Dead battery the next morning so I shifted to Park and then it was locked in Park, would not start and attached to the MH. My jumper cables would not reach. That was fun. :R

I bought really long jumpers when I bought my MH just in case. Good investment. Still, seems MUCH easier to just disconnect as what I do with my Ford.

Bill

[CA_Traveler]

wilanddij wrote:
Do yourself a favor and install a charge line from the MH to the battery. When I bought a 2014 C-Max I checked a couple of forums on the subject, and adding a charge line seemed to be the most popular solution. Adding a 10A line to my umbilical wasn't very difficult. Put a fuse or breaker on each end to protect everything. Never have had a problem with running the battery down when towing.

X2 You can use a separate cable or upgrade to one with more wires.

Mine has 3x wires for the lights, 2x heaver wires for ground and battery charge and one that provides a connection from the stop lights to a dash light so that I know when the toad brakes are applied.

BTW Before the charge line my CRV never had a dead battery but I knew there was some battery drain and added the charge line.

After one day of travel I left the CRV key on. Dead battery the next morning so I shifted to Park and then it was locked in Park, would not start and attached to the MH. My jumper cables would not reach. That was fun. :R

[wilanddij]

Do yourself a favor and install a charge line from the MH to the battery. When I bought a 2014 C-Max I checked a couple of forums on the subject, and adding a charge line seemed to be the most popular solution. Adding a 10A line to my umbilical wasn't very difficult. Put a fuse or breaker on each end to protect everything. Never have had a problem with running the battery down when towing.

[familyman5]

Well my success was short-lived. The next trip I towed for five hours and then another trip of four hours and both times the battery was completely dead. It appears that for the 2014 model there is no way to turn off everything with the key in the on position. Even turned back as far to the left as possible the dash lights on both sides of the speedometer remain on. I ran into a guy who was towing a similar Ford Explorer at a campground and spoke with him and he said that he does not have any problem with the battery but he has a keyless ignition. Apparently the information in the tow guide and owners manual is wrong and it should not be towed for more than three hours without recharging the battery. Very frustrating as this was the sole purpose and I chose to purchase this vehicle. I guess I will need to have the battery disconnect installed.

[dubdub07]

johnwalkerpa1 wrote:
Only one additional note...

I'm reasonably sure that the Ford recommendation to start the engine after 5 or 6 hours of towing has nothing to do with the electrical system or battery. As mentioned earlier, 5 minutes of idling would do almost nothing to recharge the battery....I believe its for lubrication... of course I've been wrong before 🙂

On a strong battery, 5 mins would top the charge. On a weak battery, it would do nothing, you are correct.

It is the tranny I would guess. Ford also has a 65 mph speed limit on the TOAD. My Taurus tows great, and I do disconnect the batt and reconnect every 6 hours for the tranny run.

Bill

[johnwalkerpa1]

Only one additional note...

I'm reasonably sure that the Ford recommendation to start the engine after 5 or 6 hours of towing has nothing to do with the electrical system or battery. As mentioned earlier, 5 minutes of idling would do almost nothing to recharge the battery....I believe its for lubrication... of course I've been wrong before 🙂