Towed vehicle battery drain

[kensas]

Hello everyone, I am new tto this site but have been a rver since the early 60s with my folks. I have a question that i cannot seem to find an answer to. We tow a 05 Dodge Dakota behind our Motorhome. When you set it up for towing, you have to leave the key in the first position to free up the steering. This causes the odometer light, and the gear selector light to stay on. Thus after a while the battery will drain down, usually after several hours. I asked about this at two dodge dealers, and at the dodge website and nobody seems to know what to do to avoid this. I thought it may be as simple as pulling a fuse but im not sure. Any ideas out there? Thanks Ahead.

[denlock]

You have to figure out which fuses to pull. Look in the owners manual, you should be able to figure it out from there. I've heard of people gluing fuses to a posicle stick so when the go to pull them or put them back there is no question as to which fuse goes where.

[beaver]

We had the same problem with our 2004 Durango and fould that the addition of a 10 Amp Toad Charge and being sure the AC in the off position (auto climate control) seems to have cured the problem.

We tried a standard 5 amp toad charge and it did not keep up with the battery drain.

The owners manual has a section on disconnecting several fuzes before storing to prevent battery drain also, We have found that it is unecessary with the Toad Charge to do it. You have to reset the clock but the radio retains the set stations.

[minniemax]

beaver.....we had the same problem and the fix was to start the toad when we stopped for breaks or fuel. if your battery is in gook condition this will fix your problem. you do not have to let the toad run for more than 2 or 3 minutes. if you are not sure about the battery any walmart will check it free.

no need to remove fuses.

minnie

[chastho2]

Hello everyone, I am new tto this site but have been a rver since the early 60s with my folks. I have a question that i cannot seem to find an answer to. We tow a 05 Dodge Dakota behind our Motorhome. When you set it up for towing, you have to leave the key in the first position to free up the steering. This causes the odometer light, and the gear selector light to stay on. Thus after a while the battery will drain down, usually after several hours. I asked about this at two dodge dealers, and at the dodge website and nobody seems to know what to do to avoid this. I thought it may be as simple as pulling a fuse but im not sure. Any ideas out there? Thanks Ahead.
The easiest way to solve this problem is to run a 12 ga wire with inline fuse from the chassis battery to the toad battery. I ran a wire from toad battery with fuse to the grille, put a insulated conector on it and the same from chassis batery.Easy to hook up and unhook with the lights and no dead battery as you always have the same voltage as chassis.

[warren]

our battery drain one time when i forgot to turn off key after driving about 6 hours. left it on acs all night. had to disconnect and turn motorhome around so i could jump the toad/ i just use the acs with all stuff turned off (radio, lights, etc. we have a good battery too.::) we call our toad lizzy, and she has not forgave us since

[cahoui]

Hello everyone, I am new tto this site but have been a rver since the early 60s with my folks. I have a question that i cannot seem to find an answer to. We tow a 05 Dodge Dakota behind our Motorhome. When you set it up for towing, you have to leave the key in the first position to free up the steering. This causes the odometer light, and the gear selector light to stay on. Thus after a while the battery will drain down, usually after several hours. I asked about this at two dodge dealers, and at the dodge website and nobody seems to know what to do to avoid this. I thought it may be as simple as pulling a fuse but im not sure. Any ideas out there? Thanks Ahead.
I also had the same problem with an '03 Chevy Cavalier. I use a dash board positioned Sunforce Solar Charger to trickle charge the car when towing 4 down. It worked fine to keep the car battery up. It can be hard wired to the battery or plug into the cig lighter socket.

[mistrbill]

TRY THIS!
Doesn't cost anything but time!
1) Start your toad.
2)Turn the key to the off position.
(I assume you tow the toad in neutral)
3) DO NOT REMOVE THE KEY. My toad doesn't lock the steering wheel until I remove the key)
4) Check to make sure the wheel is not locked.
At this time, all electrical is off and your battery will have no drain.
Mistrbill

[sydmike]

I second Mistrbill's answer of March 2007. Leave the key in after shutting off the engine; it works on all my Suzuki's.

[trpwire]

If all else fails, buy one of those switches that hook up to the battery terminals. Disconnect the battery before towing. Most parts houses have these nifty little switches as well as most camper supply houses. Some styles have a knob to disconnect power. Some work like a knife switch.

[gatorman]

My '07 Jeep Wrangler 4-door is pulled flat down by placing the key in the first position also. I pulled it about 400 miles at Christmas time and sure enough the battery was dead as heck when I got to Cherokee. I had a battery charger in the motor home basement so I just hooked it up and boosted the battery so I could get it cranked.

I talked with a nice gentleman up in Perry, Ga. some time ago and he was headed to the Rally there. He said he talked with a man at the rally who had this same situation and he took it to the jeep dealership and they made a $20 alteration to the steering column and now he doesnt have to insert the key to unlock it.

I would like to know what they did since I have talked with more than one dealer and they all say they arent aware of what he is talking about.

Does anyone know what I am talking about here/???

[nmason]

Friend


Just Every 90 Minutes Just Start The Engine For About 7 Minutes
So It Will Build Back Up If That Dont Work
You May Have A Bad Cell In Your Battery

Nea;

[morris]

I had the same problem when towing my Honda CRV. After about 8 hours towing the battery was dead. Had to have power to start the engine and re-lube the transmission. I had to get a jump at considerable expense.
I added a screw-down type battery disconnect on the negative battery terminal. Just before pulling out I disconnect the battery. Then when stopping it takes only seconds to reconnect the battery. The radio pre-sets are lost and the auto. drivers window must be reset but that also only takes seconds. Much easier than worrying with a dead toad battery.

Morris