Pull a fuse from the Saturn toad? Help!

[blacktie.shooter]

Been meaning to ask; I know some of you pull a fuse when towing. I assume it's to keep the battery from draining, can't think why else. Can anyone tell me what fuse they're pulling, and why, for sure? I have never pulled one in the Saturn, just hook up and go. What am I doing wrong?

[Bushman512003]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blacktie.shooter Been meaning to ask; I know some of you pull a fuse when towing. I assume it's to keep the battery from draining, can't think why else. Can anyone tell me what fuse they're pulling, and why, for sure? I have never pulled one in the Saturn, just hook up and go. What am I doing wrong?

Hi I have a #8 to remove but I have a switch in the line and it opens and closes the 12volt to do the job of pulling the fuse My car is GM..HHR...auto tranny Yes and no drain on the Batt...Bushman

[mrschwarz]

I pull the ignition fuse to keep the battery from draining in my Vue. I have all the parts to put a switch in, but I never got around to it. The fuse to pull is listed in the owners manual.

[FLYTYER]

Pulling a specified fuse on a Saturn chassis (Vue, Ion, etc..) isolates certain Saturn electrical circuits from interfering with the Motorhome. Ignoring to do this has the potential to damage circuits on both vehicles.

Check your owners manual for specifics on which fuse to pull and what transmission action you need to take, plus the maximum towing speed.

[mrschwarz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FLYTYER Pulling a specified fuse on a Saturn chassis (Vue, Ion, etc..) isolates certain Saturn electrical circuits from interfering with the Motorhome. Ignoring to do this has the potential to damage circuits on both vehicles. Check your owners manual for specifics on which fuse to pull and what transmission action you need to take, plus the maximum towing speed.

Isolates them from what? There is no electrical connection between the coach and toad (unless it is from other circuitry that is added on).The Saturn owners manual only address towing, not electrical circuits. The pulled fuse shuts down the radio, windows, thermometer, etc.

[H. Miller]

In an '04 Vue it also shuts down the instrument panel (read - mileage indicator)
HM

[FLYTYER]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrschwarz Isolates them from what? There is no electrical connection between the coach and toad (unless it is from other circuitry that is added on).The Saturn owners manual only address towing, not electrical circuits. The pulled fuse shuts down the radio, windows, thermometer, etc.

I made my statement assuming use of the the motorhome electrical connection at the rear to connect into the car electrical circuits for the brake lights and running lights (with of course an extra wiring harness and isolators added). My Saturn dealer tech told me pulling the fuse isolates the engine and transmission control modules as well as other things like the speedometer, etc..

[blacktie.shooter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrschwarz Isolates them from what? There is no electrical connection between the coach and toad (unless it is from other circuitry that is added on).The Saturn owners manual only address towing, not electrical circuits. The pulled fuse shuts down the radio, windows, thermometer, etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FLYTYER I made my statement assuming use of the the motorhome electrical connection at the rear to connect into the car electrical circuits for the brake lights and running lights (with of course an extra wiring harness and isolators added). My Saturn dealer tech told me pulling the fuse isolates the engine and transmission control modules as well as other things like the speedometer, etc..

Thanks, guys, and the rest of you, too. I'll take a look in my manual (duh! when all else fails, try the instructions?) and if I don't see it, per MrSchwarz, I'll stop at the dealer and ask a tech. Haven't had an electrical problem yet (unless you count the time I let the cord drag on the ground and grind itself nearly in half) but maybe I can head one off.

[gordonandpatti]

I also put a switch in cut the ignition fuse.
I found that the reason to cut that circuit is to keep from running down the battery.
While towing for a day, probably makes no difference, but the first time I left the toad set up for towing (ignition switch on and fuse in) overnight, had to jump it the next morning.

[PizzaGuy]

I have an 07 Vue. I was told it has to do with the odometer. If you don't pull it the towed miles will count. I never tested it to see if that is the truth.

Don Croner

[rv rick]

I just finished building a simple fuse switch to pull our 2009 HHR and took some pictures of the process. This is a simple project and really saves some time when compared to pulling good old fuse #8 each time. Take a look at http://fulltime-rv.blogspot.com/ to see the pictures.

[blacktie.shooter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gordonandpatti I also put a switch in cut the ignition fuse. I found that the reason to cut that circuit is to keep from running down the battery. While towing for a day, probably makes no difference, but the first time I left the toad set up for towing (ignition switch on and fuse in) overnight, had to jump it the next morning.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PizzaGuy I have an 07 Vue. I was told it has to do with the odometer. If you don't pull it the towed miles will count. I never tested it to see if that is the truth. Don Croner

Gordon, I had the same thing happen, but could never figure out what was on and drawing juice.

Don, my toad is a ten-year-old SL2, and as I recall, I did check to see if the odometer was winding up between stops, and it was not.

I checked my manual, all it says is tranny in neutral, ignition in accessory; I don't even remember if it says "brake off." Pretty minimal instructions, and nothing at all about pulling a fuse, battery drain, etc. BTW, my tranny is a manual 5-speed. (At 2,400 lbs. curb weight, makes a great toad!)

Thanks again, all.

[Nonno]

I used to tow an 01 LW300 and had to pull 2 fuses. I don't recall exactly what they disconnected but when disconnected I was still able to use the battery to power my BrakeBuddy and the car brake lights would still work. I know changes have occurred since 01 but I would think it has to do with more than a battery drain.

[robbstein]

We toad a 02 L100 for 6+ years. There were 2 fuses that were recommended to be pulled. Made no difference on the odometer whether they were pulled or not. The odometer only works when the engine is running. Had to do with battery discharge while the key was on and no power being generated by the alternator. The only time I really needed to pull the fuses was when we were on the road for several days with not planning to disconnect and drive the car enroute. You could tow for a couple of days without discharging the battery to where you couldn't re-start. As a rule of thumb, I would tow one day without pulling the fuses. If I was going to tow longer than that without disconnecting and running the engine to go somewhere (dinner, etc.) then I'd pull the fuses. Once I found which ones, I put a cable tie around them so I could find them easily.