Who`s towing a GMC Acadia

[William Willard]

Jeff -- Where did you find the "Battery Brain"? - I found a longer 50a fuse at Auto Zone, which will be easer to pull, but your set-up sounds much,much easier -- A mobil hitch installer came by yesterday, & he installed diodes, & now I can use the LED tail lites -- I live in the Phoenix area(Gilbert) & if you need any hitch, or wiring, consider this young man -- His Co. is --At Your Door Mobil Hitches -- His Name is Shawn Riggs -- Cell # 602-809-0001 --Web site -- www.mobilhitches.com -- Thanks to all that has come to my aid -- I`ve been towing cars for a number of years, but the Acadia threw me some curves -- I DID read the owners manuel before purchase, but the new LED lites was something I never considered as a problem -- Again Jeff,I need to find the Battery Brain -- Bill Willard

[Shanwick]

Bill,

I got the Battery Brain through Camping World. They did the installation of the baseplate and wiring for the lights. One of the techs suggested it when he was made aware of the need to pull the fuse before towing. I guess I've got the "gold" model, the one with the remotes. Here's the website.
http://www.batterybrain.com/

[Shanwick]

Bill,

I just noticed that you are in Phoenix (I'm kinda slow). I'm at the Desert's Edge RV Park by the intersection of I-17 and Loop 101. Drop by if you want to see the installation. Give me a call at 815 382-1748.

[jbuening]

How do you stop the Acadia brake lights from overiding the MH turn signal lights when stopping? My turn signals work fine when I check for right, left and tail lights, but if the MH brakes are applied and my Brakemaster applies the Acadis brakes, it overides the turn signal and the flashing stops. Pulling the 50amp fuse doesn't help.

[William Willard]

Shanwick -- I found the Batter Brain at the Camping World in Junction City, OR -- Installed it myself while waiting for coach repairs at the Monaco Service Center in Or. -- That kills all 12v, & since I use a Brake Buddy, I added a 12v outlet(fused) coming off battery -- The battery is under the floor board, behind the passenger seat, so it was no big deal -- jbuening -- I have my Brake Buddy set where I have to hit my M/H brakes hard before it applies any braking on the car, so I don`t have that problem -- Bill Willard

[cwg]

I just had my Battery Brain installed by an automotive electronic and sound shop in Fort Myers, Fl while here. It also was the "platinum" model which utilizes the key fob for turning off the battery. I had it installed under the hood and not in the battery compartment because in the case of a malfunction, it can be manually reset.

It sure beats popping the hood each time when towing and pulling the number 1 battery fuse.

[Gary RVRoamer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">How do you stop the Acadia brake lights from overiding the MH turn signal lights when stopping? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

You need diodes on the wires to the toads stor/turn signals to prevent backfeeding to the motorhome. This is not an Acadia problem - it is pretty much standard for toad hook-ups these days.

Roadmaster makes nice diodes designed for this task - two wires in (one from motorhome and one from standard car wiring) and one output to the bulb.

[William Willard]

cwg -- I`ve got the platinum also, & installed it under the hood -- It was a tight fit, & all I had to use was a cresent wrench, but it worked -- Bill Willard

[jbuening]

I have diodes installed as directed by Roadmaster. Two diodes at each light with the jumper wire. I don't have a feedback problem. My problem is how to eliminate the cars brakelight switch drom energizing the brake lights when the Brakemaster pushes in on the brake pedal. I thought that pulling the Battery 1 fuse would shut off the power, but it doesn't.

[Gary RVRoamer]

My brake lights don't come on once the 50A fuse is pulled. However, even if they do, it should be no problem with the diodes installed.

What is the "jumper wire' you refer to? Can't think of any reason to jumper anything at the diodes.

[jbuening]

RV Roamer,
I'm sorry I bothered you, but the Roadmaster site on the Combined towed vehicle with a Combined Motorhome (which I have) specs a jumper wire between the diodes for the tail lights. I don't think it is a feedback problem. At any rate, I'll figure it out myself.

[Shanwick]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by William Willard:
Shanwick -- I found the Batter Brain at the Camping World in Junction City, OR -- Installed it myself while waiting for coach repairs at the Monaco Service Center in Or. -- That kills all 12v, & since I use a Brake Buddy, I added a 12v outlet(fused) coming off battery -- The battery is under the floor board, behind the passenger seat, so it was no big deal --
jbuening -- I have my Brake Buddy set where I have to hit my M/H brakes hard before it applies any braking on the car, so I don`t have that problem -- Bill Willard </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Bill,

That's how mine was installed. The tech ran a separate line from the battery to power the Brake Buddy. When not in use the two leads are hidden behind the kick panel by the drivers door post near the floor.

How's your Battery Brain working so far? Last fall when I had the Battery Brain installed in the Chicago area, we had a couple of automatic shutdowns, for lack of a better term. They happened when my wife was doing some Christmas shopping, driving short (less than 1 mile) distances between stores. Between the cold weather and the repeated starting, the BB sensed that the battery was getting low, and shut down. No big deal, used the fob to reconnect. In retrospect, it was just doing what it was designed to do, save the battery for another start. Kind of unnerving until you realized what had happened. I haven't any problems since.