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Old 05-08-2018, 01:59 PM   #379
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I'm having my 2016 Equinox set up this week for towing along with the Brake Buddy so I've read through most of this thread with my own personal concerns, thought I would throw in a few of my thoughts. First, Break Buddy has two different battery attachments, the "Maintainer" most are seeing on Amazon is only a trickle charge unit not suitable for use while towing, they also have a 15 amp battery charger to be used to keep up the battery while towing. It appears most of the current Break Buddy units actually come with the battery charger included as part of the kit, so not sure why those using the Break Buddy don't already have a charger (maybe this is new?). I've verified mine will have the charger installed.

The other thing that strikes me is the change in fuses, I read a post where someone said don't worry about pulling #16 if you have a charger. The owners manual originally noted pulling #32 in order to save battery so there appears to be an assumption that #16 is for the same purpose. GM now says to use a battery charger AND pull number #16, when you pull 16 and start the car you get a warning "Service Power Steering". It appears to me that #16 is now GMs attempt to fix the "death wobble" steering issue and no longer to reduce power consumption.

My plan is to make sure I have a good battery, make sure my battery charger is working, and #16 is pulled every time I tow.
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Old 05-08-2018, 02:32 PM   #380
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GM does say that if you pull fuse #16 you must have a battery charger. Fuse #32 no charger required.
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File Type: pdf Equinox Terrain revised flat towing.pdf (20.0 KB, 49 views)
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Old 05-09-2018, 09:54 AM   #381
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I have been carrying a portable jump starter for years, just as a precaution. Haven't use it to start, but the 110 and 12 v outlets are great at the site, especially when boondocking!
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Old 05-09-2018, 11:48 PM   #382
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On my 2018 Buick Envision SSE it says on the manual to pull two fues. Since I had it wired so that the battery would get charged with the coach engine, I just could not see pulling out anything. The whole idea of pulling out fuses was to keep the battery from going dead is what I figured. So I do not pull anything and I have never had any problems with the so called death wobble or battery going dead.
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Old 08-19-2018, 01:20 PM   #383
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Looks like the "death wobble" issue for the 4 cyl Equinox is now a non issue with new GM guidance and the measures previously taken by owners.

I think Equinox owners owe a big THANK YOU to

John Johnston
Associate Editor, Family Motor Coaching
Family Motor Coach Association

He is the one that finally got the attention and action from GM. Thank you Mr. Johnson.
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Old 08-20-2018, 07:36 AM   #384
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So what was the final corrective action to solve or prevent the wobble?
Bruce

Quote:
Originally Posted by Floridakamper View Post
Looks like the "death wobble" issue for the 4 cyl Equinox is now a non issue with new GM guidance and the measures previously taken by owners.

I think Equinox owners owe a big THANK YOU to

John Johnston
Associate Editor, Family Motor Coaching
Family Motor Coach Association

He is the one that finally got the attention and action from GM. Thank you Mr. Johnson.
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Old 08-20-2018, 10:29 AM   #385
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Post 380 has an attachment with the revised towing procedure.

The purpose of my post was to say thank you to John Johnson from Family Motor Coach Association.
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Old 08-20-2018, 11:36 AM   #386
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Floridakamper View Post
Post 380 has an attachment with the revised towing procedure.

The purpose of my post was to say thank you to John Johnson from Family Motor Coach Association.
I agree -- we all owe him our gratitude.

I have a 2016 w/4 cyl.
I went to the nearest PepBoys and purchased an elongated fuse to replace the standard #16 fuse in the engine compartment's fuse box. This makes it super easy to grab ahold of the fuse with my fat fingers and quickly pull it. I then place it right under the media/radio/a-c controls, in that small dash shelf. When we arrive at our destination, it's right there to grab and re-install. We let the car idle while doing this and unhitching the towbar. By that point, the car is ready to go.

On a side note -- I noticed that the one time, in preparation for towing, that I completely turned off the car and removed the key (just out of habit), and then put the key back in and turned it to the ACC position (as stated in the instructions), the mileage accrued on the odometer. Instead, if I simply turn the key one click to the left (again, to the ACC position) after running the engine and shifting through the instructed gears, the mileage during towing does NOT add up on the odometer.

I guess the process of removing the key and starting over sends the wrong message to the onboard computer, and the mileage is added up. Lesson learned!
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Old 08-20-2018, 01:08 PM   #387
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thanks for the note...I will be sure to concentrate on what I am doing instead of doing it by rote!
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Old 08-21-2018, 11:02 AM   #388
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The purpose of having the switch on ACC is so that the steering wheel is not locked. If you turn it all the way, THEN you will really have problems because the tow will not follow the motor home, it will want to go straight and you will wear the tires within a few miles.

I never pull any fuses, but I did have a wire that runs from the alternator on the Caterpillar engine that will charge my tow vehicle. And the computers on the toad can run all they want, my battery will not go dead. Never had any death wobbles that some of you are having. Some of those fuses are needed for control of the vehicle.

If you ask most of the GM tech's about the fuses that have to be pulled out according to the manuals, they do not know much about what is required for towing.
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Old 08-21-2018, 11:12 AM   #389
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If the new Brake buddy comes with a charger, that charger will need power from somewhere in order for it to work. That charger, plus the Brake buddy will run your battery dead. And if you pull the fuses that GM suggests you will not have any DC power on your toad, and where are you going to plug the Brake buddy. I know, I use a Brake buddy on my tow vehicles. Before I added the charging wire from the coach and I had at the time a 2017 GMC Terrain sle, I had to get the dealer to add a hot wire from the coach to a cigarette lighter type plug in order to plug in the Brake buddy. It took a lot of convincing with the dealer to do it, but that is the only way a Brake buddy would work without running your battery dead. I convinced them that if GM was advertising the car as a vehicle that could be toad, that it should have a way to install a braking system which is the law in most states in this country.

But the best way is to run a wire from the coach alternator to the toad. That solves all the problems.
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Old 08-21-2018, 11:33 AM   #390
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Quote:
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If the new Brake buddy comes with a charger, that charger will need power from somewhere in order for it to work. That charger, plus the Brake buddy will run your battery dead. And if you pull the fuses that GM suggests you will not have any DC power on your toad, and where are you going to plug the Brake buddy. I know, I use a Brake buddy on my tow vehicles. Before I added the charging wire from the coach and I had at the time a 2017 GMC Terrain sle, I had to get the dealer to add a hot wire from the coach to a cigarette lighter type plug in order to plug in the Brake buddy. It took a lot of convincing with the dealer to do it, but that is the only way a Brake buddy would work without running your battery dead. I convinced them that if GM was advertising the car as a vehicle that could be toad, that it should have a way to install a braking system which is the law in most states in this country.

But the best way is to run a wire from the coach alternator to the toad. That solves all the problems.

In our '13 Terrain after pulling the fuse as outlined in the manual "original procedure", we found that plugging the Brake Buddy into the cigarette lighter type plug found just inside the rear door worked for us.
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Old 08-22-2018, 05:29 AM   #391
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RayChez1 View Post
If the new Brake buddy comes with a charger, that charger will need power from somewhere in order for it to work. That charger, plus the Brake buddy will run your battery dead. And if you pull the fuses that GM suggests you will not have any DC power on your toad, and where are you going to plug the Brake buddy. I know, I use a Brake buddy on my tow vehicles. Before I added the charging wire from the coach and I had at the time a 2017 GMC Terrain sle, I had to get the dealer to add a hot wire from the coach to a cigarette lighter type plug in order to plug in the Brake buddy. It took a lot of convincing with the dealer to do it, but that is the only way a Brake buddy would work without running your battery dead. I convinced them that if GM was advertising the car as a vehicle that could be toad, that it should have a way to install a braking system which is the law in most states in this country.

But the best way is to run a wire from the coach alternator to the toad. That solves all the problems.
The Brake Buddy charger is wired to the 12 volt line and ground coming from the motor home through the umbilical so is getting its power from the coach alternator.
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Old 08-22-2018, 01:51 PM   #392
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On the 2017 GMC Terrain sle that I owned it called on the manual to pull two fuses. I can not remember now which fuses they were, but when I would pull both of those fuses there was no DC power anywhere on the Terrain. Now there was a plug in way in the back for vacuuming the toad, but that is a long ways for the chord of the Brake buddy to reach and I am sure there was no power to it either. GM technicians refused at first to make any modifications to the new car then so I would have DC power in the front where the Brake buddy is located. Then when I told them that GM had false advertisement on their manual that the car was completely legal for towing without a brake, I showed them that most states require brakes of some sort on the toad. They then agreed to run a hot wire to a new plug in under the dash so that I could plug in the Brake buddy.

Before that I had a 2013 Honda CRV and it was fully equipped for towing. Great car for towing, same with the Honda Pilot EXL, great towing vehicle. But then they changed the transmission on the Honda's and they are not towable anymore.

Now this this 2018 Buick Envision Essense it is a great car for towing, not too heavy, luxury everywhere and tracks good. But it is expensive in comparison to the Terrain or the CRV.
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