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timpitt's avatar
timpitt
Explorer II
Dec 03, 2016

stay-in-play duo towed vehicle braking system

Has anybody with this system had their battery gone dead after towing. I had this system installed Sept. 2016 for our trip in Oct.2016. We wanted to tow our front wheel drive 2014 Ford Edge. It was working fine but on our way home when we stopped at a rest stop and before getting back on the road we tried to start it for the five minutes and go thru the gears per the manual but the battery was dead. We jumped started the battery and it started up right off. We let it run for the five minutes and went thru the gear routine. Our next stop was going to be home and when we got home and we started to disconnect the towing setup, we again found the battery dead to the car. We later went back to the place where we had it installed. They checked the electrical plugs for the motor home and the car and both were okay. We went with this system because this system is not suppose to drain the battery. Our trip was for three weeks and after three weeks we had this problem.
  • enblethen's avatar
    enblethen
    Nomad
    Dec 03, 2016
    I have had mine Stay-N-Play for several years. it is the larger older model.
    My guess is that you have a vacuum leak causing the pump to run.
    Did you put in the check valve? It should be in the line so the vacuum doesn't leak back into the intake manifold.
  • ricklord2001's avatar
    ricklord2001
    Explorer
    Dec 04, 2016
    I'm not sure how your system exactly works but I had a 2011 GMC Terrain thathe the exact same thing happened to. I was not turning the key far enough off, leaving it in the on (but not running position. The battery would drain quite quickly. Make sure you turn it as far as you can towards off without locking the wheel. Mine had a catch in the so I stopped when I felt the catch and should have gone to the next position. After I figuered that out, no more dead battery. But I didn't drive much at night.
  • John_Wayne's avatar
    John_Wayne
    Explorer II
    Dec 04, 2016
    Have the system and never had the battery go dead even leaving it hooked up for overnight stopes 2 or 3 days in a row.
  • enblethen's avatar
    enblethen
    Nomad
    Dec 04, 2016
    I will add that my toad battery went down one night. Cause was the quick connect on the vacuum line got jarred and was leaking. I didn't hear the pump running.
  • fcooper's avatar
    fcooper
    Explorer
    Dec 04, 2016
    enblethen wrote:
    I have had mine Stay-N-Play for several years. it is the larger older model.
    My guess is that you have a vacuum leak causing the pump to run.
    Did you put in the check valve? It should be in the line so the vacuum doesn't leak back into the intake manifold.


    Agree about the possible vacuum leak. Turn on the system and see how long between cycles of the pump. If it frequently cycles, you have a vacuum leak. By sealing off the vacuum line, you can determine if the leak is internal in the unit or external in the lines or cylinder.

    SMI always gave me excellent advice and customer service so give them a call also.

    Fred
  • august_west's avatar
    august_west
    Explorer
    Dec 08, 2016
    The Edge is a VERY power hungry vehicle to tow. I looked in the '14 manual and it says the key must be left in the ACC position but does not say to disconnect the battery. When this happens, many modules on the Edge activate every time the brake pedal is depressed by the Duo. This will drain the battery quickly. If this is how you tow, I would highly recommend a charge wire. That will maintain the battery while you tow and have it ready to go at the end of the day.
    PM me if you want instructions on how to simply install a charge wire or get a kit from Etrailer.com

    FYI, a vacuum leak will not cause a new Duo system to activate. The system works on inertia and a brake signal from the coach through the tow wiring. It must have those two signals (or one from the breakaway switch ) to activate.
  • JR45's avatar
    JR45
    Explorer
    Dec 09, 2016
    Like august west said the Ford Edge is power hungry. I have the SMI Air Force One and installed a charge line like this one. https://rvibrake.com/products/towed-battery-charger?variant=8804388741
    On my daughter 2016 Ford Edge we installed this one. http://rvpowersupply.com/toadcharge.htm
    Both cars have push button start so I put it in N step on the brake and push the button then leave.
    JR

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