Community Forums

KSDP_PA · 06-23-2010, 06:17 AM

we're getting ready to tow our 2009 Buick Enclave on it's longest trip yet.

have always pulled the fuse listed in the owners manual and have had no problems. however, the trips were a lot shorter.

does anyone have an Enclave,Outlook,Acadia,Traverse of the same year ?

have you had to pull a fuse different than the one in the owners manual ?

anyone arrive with a dead battery even after pulling the "correct" fuse ?

thanks for any input.

Gary RVRoamer · 06-24-2010, 08:27 AM

I have a 2007 Acadia. The owner manual was wrong for that year, but your 2009 should be correct. Pull the Batt #1 fuse (50A).

The battery goes dead real quick if you don't pull the fuse. I think your successful short trips prove you are doing the right one.

FlyingDiver · 06-24-2010, 09:43 AM

When we had an Enclave ('08), we pulled the Batt #1 fuse. If you go to an auto parts store, you can find a taller version of that same fuse, which makes it a lot easier to pull it out of the fuse block each time.

joe

KSDP_PA · 07-06-2010, 08:48 AM

I looked up the Owners Manuals for 2007,08.09 and did notice that there was a different fuse listed in 2007. By 2008 manual, the fuse name was listed correctly.

That said, I'll tell you what happened to us: Towed 500 miles to NC with BAT fuse pulled.
Turned off automatic lights, radio, cruise control, blowers (a/c, heat) - everything that I could think of that would drain the battery. Re-installed BAT fuse and ran thru the gears about half way down. Everything fine on arrival.

Towed 500 miles back to PA with BAT fuse pulled, and everything turned off (so I thought). Must have missed something because battery was dead on arrival in PA. Re-installed BAT fuse and ran thru the gears about half way home and it started then (maybe because it was plugged into MH??)

Need a better plan. Can't keep guessing that I have everything turned off.

Gary RVRoamer · 07-07-2010, 06:48 AM

We've towed ours over 30k miles and no problems when the Batt1 fuse is pulled. There isn't much left alive on the dash once that fuse is out. We don't make any effort to turn anything on the dash "off", though we do put the HVAC in recirculate mode to keep out road dust.

You may have left a door ajar so the interior lights were on. The rear hatch could do that and is easy to miss.

William Willard · 07-07-2010, 04:29 PM

We have a 08 Acadia -- Have towed it about 25000 miles - I installed a "Battery Brain" & disconnect the battery by remote control -- No lifting hood or pulling fuses -- Bill Willard

Gary RVRoamer · 07-08-2010, 07:35 AM

I wired a toggle switch to the Batt1 circuit on ours. The Battery Brain is a neat solution too, though a bit more expensive than my DIY method.

KSDP_PA · 07-12-2010, 02:43 PM

TOADing again this weekend. about 200 miles one way.
taking the battery charger along this time.

still mulling over what happened last time:
back hatch was closed because the bike rack was loaded the night before and I set the back hatch to "off" on the dash.
new cars might be too smart for me. too many electronics.

I'm wondering if something turned on when I started it half-way to run it thru the gears. does eveyone do the "gears" during a long tow ?

BCook57 · 07-13-2010, 12:41 PM

I've never run it through the gears on a long tow. We pull an '08 Acadia and I pull the 50A Batt #1 fuse like everyone else. Never a problem for us.

Gary RVRoamer · 07-13-2010, 05:07 PM

Never heard of doing that on this car - nothing in my '07 Acadia manual about it either.

KSDP_PA · 07-14-2010, 08:44 AM

In the 2009 Owners Manual:

For vehicles being dinghy towed,
the vehicle should be run at
the beginning of each day and at
each RV fuel stop for about
five minutes. This will ensure proper
lubrication of transmission
components. Re-install the fuse to
start the vehicle.

After I start it, I apply the brakes and let it sit in D and R for a few minutes each.

Nobody else does ?

Gary RVRoamer · 07-15-2010, 03:28 PM

OK, I didn't realize that paragraph is what you were referring to.

Our car was running when we hooked it up, so no further need to "run through the gears" then. We get fuel every 800-1000 miles, so it may be days or even weeks in between fuel stops. Hardly seems relevent, since we may have driven the car hundreds of miles in between.

KSDP_PA · 07-20-2010, 08:40 AM

200 mile tow went well - for the Enclave at least (clogged fuel filter on DP gave us a top speed of 50 MPH all the way home).

We think that I had the key in the click past ACC when the battery died.
Adding a step to our procedure to check the key position now.

We did get the car unhooked and out of the way in record time when we pulled into the shop for new fuel filters !!!!

Gary RVRoamer · 07-20-2010, 04:10 PM

I put a dab of silver nail polish on the key switch to denote the correct key position for towing. That way we can easily verify the key position, even just looking in the window (passenger side).

Always carry a spare fuel filter. We had a similar experience last week, but fortunately were only 20 miles from our destination campground. We chugged along til we got there and I changed the filter the next morning. Bought another two days later at the local NAPA store. Could have changed it on the roadside if desperate, but it wasn't that bad except on hills.