Need to pull fuses with a charge line?

[Lambob]

I am getting a tow plate put on my 2014 GMC Acadia next week and I am going to have them install a line to charge my battery while I tow. The Acadia owners manual states that I have to pull three fuses to prevent the battery from draining while being towed. Will the charge line keep my battery from discharging without the fuses being pulled? I don't know what help the charge line will be if I have to pull the fuses anyway. Am I better off to forget the charge line and install fuse switches instead? Any help would be appreciated!

2013 ACE 30.1
2014 GMC Acadia

[BFlinn181]

Which fuses do they recommend you pull? If it's the ECU or a high battery draining circuit, I'd pull it. If they are suggesting pulling fuses to prevent battery drain, your charge wire should take care of that.

[dennis45]

Typically, the charge line eliminates the need to pull fuses but in your case, not sure what these three fuses control. Maybe another GM owner will chime in to clarify.

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by dennis45

Typically, the charge line eliminates the need to pull fuses but in your case, not sure what these three fuses control. Maybe another GM owner will chime in to clarify.

Yep, or, maybe a good move might be to head on down to the GM dealer/service center and, ask a tech, NOT A SERVICE WRITER, just what the fuses that are supposed to be pulled, do. The techs go to school on that stuff and, will be able to give the most accurate answer. Three of them huh? Wow, it's getting worse in prepping some toads for flat towing.
Scott

[RonLC]

Here is the info I got last week for the Lambda series GM's

I just talked to a very smart Buick serviceman about dinghy towing a Buick Enclave or any other Lambda series GM vehicle such as the Acadia and Traverse.

The most current GM document is 2870602 released June 13, 2012. This document breaks down the years covered into three categories, each of which has the information on which fuses to pull and if they need to be pulled in a particular order.

2007-2008 need only one fuse pulled.
2009-4-30-2012 need two pulled.
After 5-1-2012 need three pulled and must be done in a certain order.

None of the instructions mention pulling anything at the battery box under the back floorboard. That is done only on 2013 and newer to negate the need for a pulling order as mentioned above for mid 2012's

The tech this morning checked to see if this information was still the latest and he said that it was.

The RVpartsplus website has a link to this document.

https://www.rv-partsplus.com/content...rge%20SUVs.pdf

[BFlinn181]

The PDF document STILL gives no information as to what the fuses cut power to OR why you can't tow it with the fuses in place. Will the battery be discharged? A charge wire should cancel that out. Does pulling the fuse(s) unlock something that otherwise would cause damage?

[dpinvidic]

I recall a thread which the OP stated that the toad was registering miles, and i believe he had to pull a fuse for that.

Do you have keyless start (push button start). Probably not, so you have to turn your key to ACC. Position which powers up some stuff.
Found this in the manual.....

To prevent the battery from draining while the vehicle is being towed, remove the 15 amp ECM fuse and the 15 amp Onstar fuse. These are in the battery compartment behind the passenger seat on the floor. Also, remove the 50 amp BATT1 fuse from the underhood fuse block and store all fuses in a safe location.

Regards,

Dan

[RonLC]

Try this one:

https://www.rv-partsplus.com/content...6-13-12Rev.pdf

Contact Rob Lowe (877-266-5398) at RVPARTSPLUS in Canada. He told me that on the 2013 and newer that you can pull one fuse in the battery compartment instead of three under the hood. A very knowledgeable guy on Lambdas.

[Lambob]

The owners manual states as follows:

" To prevent the battery from
draining while the vehicle is
being towed, remove the 15 amp
ECM fuse and the 15 amp
Onstar fuse. These are in the
battery compartment behind the
passenger seat on the floor.
Also, remove the 50 amp BATT1
fuse from the underhood fuse
block and store all fuses in a
safe location."

What I don't understand is if I pull the 50AMP BATT! fuse won't that cut off all the power to the car? Why would I need to pull the OnStar fuse and Engine Control Monitor fuse if there is no power from the battery to those fuses? I know there is a simple explanation but I'm not knowledgeable enough to figure it out. Any help?

[BFlinn181]

So far I've not seen anything that wouldn't be cured by a charge wire to the RV. The only issue brought up earlier was that the odometer would register miles towed, but is the ECM fuse going to stop that? The OnStar fuse shouldn't need to be pulled, I don't think it would be that big of an energy consumer while on standby. Still no explanation of what the 50 amp BATT1 fuse controls.

[Lambob]

I have finally gotten my 2014 Acadia back from Camping World for the install of my tow plate. CW also installed signal and brake lights using diodes. That was their recommendation. I also requested that they install a trickle charger for my battery but I only had a four prong lead from my MH and they were going to have to run a lead to my MH batteries. They told me I wouldn't need it if I pulled the three fuses and it would be cheaper to install fuse switches.

Be that as it may, since I have gotten it back I have tested the following:

1. I pulled the BATT1 fuse, ECM fuse and OnStar fuse. The plug for my RVibrake2 was hot so pulling the BATT1 fuse did not disable the power for my auxiliary braking system. However, I pulled the BATT1 fuse first and then went to the battery compartment. Next time I am going to pull them in the order listed in the owners manual and see if that makes any difference.

2. I switched the ignition from OFF to ACC. Several lights came on and there was some whirling noises.

3. I then turned the key one click counter-clockwise toward OFF but still in ACC. All of the lights went off and the whirling noises stopped. The headlights did come on but that was the only apparent electrical being engaged.

4. I pressed on the brake and switched the transmission from Park to Neutral. I was able to barely turn the wheels from right to left (power steering resistance).

5. I then left the Acadia in this mode for about two hours. After about the first 5 minutes the headlights went off and did not come back on.

6. After two hours I stepped on the brake, placed the transmission in Park and turned the ignition to OFF.

7. I then reinstalled the BATT1 fuse, ECM fuse and OnStar fuse. I then started the Acadia.

8. The check engine light did come on, however, it turned itself off after starting the car a few times and waiting about an hour. I also had to reset the date and time but everything else appears to have retained their previous settings.

I am leaving on a trip to Florida in a couple of weeks and I want to make sure there are no surprises on the way down. I will probably plan a short trip with my toad next weekend to make sure the signal lights are working and the auxiliary brake works.

For those of you who have been towing with a late model Acadia, am I missing anything? I am taking along a set of jumper cables just in case the GM recommendation in my 2014 Owners Manual for not draining your battery while towing is bogus! Thanks in advance for any help.

[tim myers]

Need to piggyback a question to this thread,

We recently had our CRV set up to be towed. Had a Blue Ox backplate, tow bar, lighting package and an SMI Stay N Play Duo braking system installed.

I asked that the fuse switch be installed so I didn't have to put my back into spasms pulling the 7.5Amp ACC fuse but they forgot.

No problem they handed me the device and sent me on my way. Drilling the hole was no problem but the CRV has the micro sized fused and the two spade connectors on the Road Master Fuse Bypass are really made to be inserted into the space left by a Mini Fuse. I got them installed in the micro fuse slots but they are sloppy to me.

Does anyone make an adapter that will slide into the micro fuse slot but work with the spades made for the mini fuse?

[BFlinn181]

Originally Posted by tim myers

Need to piggyback a question to this thread,

We recently had our CRV set up to be towed. Had a Blue Ox backplate, tow bar, lighting package and an SMI Stay N Play Duo braking system installed.

I asked that the fuse switch be installed so I didn't have to put my back into spasms pulling the 7.5Amp ACC fuse but they forgot.

No problem they handed me the device and sent me on my way. Drilling the hole was no problem but the CRV has the micro sized fused and the two spade connectors on the Road Master Fuse Bypass are really made to be inserted into the space left by a Mini Fuse. I got them installed in the micro fuse slots but they are sloppy to me.

Does anyone make an adapter that will slide into the micro fuse slot but work with the spades made for the mini fuse?

I looked at the Roadmaster fuse bypass. I guess you filed down the spades to fit in your fuse holder? The only way I'd think to secure it would be to zip tie the wires to be sure there's no tug on the wires to unplug it. I searched for a micro-mini adaptor, couldn't find anything.

[tim myers]

Wonder if something like this would work. Slide it into the original fuse location, put the spade connectors into the slots for the original fuse. put a blown or dummy fuse in the other slot so the wire is not hot and tape it off.

Same setup but the blades can be inserted outside the vehicle instead of doing the proverbial head stand in the CRV.

Thoughts

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