2022 Chev Equinox Flat Tow Vehicle

[StHelenz]

We purchased a 2022 Chev Equinox so we could flat tow it. We are from Canada, so there is no way of turning off the lights. The first day we towed it, we had a tow car shield cover on it, and we ended up with a dead battery. With the new Chev Equinox, there is a light sensor on the dash, and if it thinks it is dark, the lights come on and will kill the battery. We decided to travel without the cover, but today we didn't make our destination in a timely fashion because of traffic accidents (not ours thankfully). We ended up driving (without the cover), but in the dark, and again the lights turned on. We have been in contact with our local Chev dealership, and they are stumped as to what to do about driving it in the dark. Anyone else have any problems with this and maybe could offer a solution to our situation?

[NevadaNick]

Pull the fuse to the headlights.

[Camp CA]

Welcome to the forum!!

Install an RVi towed battery charger https://rvibrake.com/products/towed-...tery%20Charger, which is what I have, or a higher amperage charger and you should be fine. I have towed my 2021 Chevy Eqinox for 6 hours on several trips with the installed RVi towed battery charger without experiencing a dead battery. Tomorrow I plan to take a long trip and will meaure the battery voltage before and after the trip.

[NXR]

What do you mean by "tow cover"? The Equinox usually has an Owners Manual prohibition about putting any type of rock shield or other cover on the car that can disrupt the flow of cooling air across the transmission.

RVi now has a note on their web site that their Towed Battery Charger should not be used on a 2019 or later Equinox due to the high current requirements. There are several threads here on that problem before RVi finally agreed.

But you don't need it. You just need a good battery charge line and a good ground line, preferably 12 AWG wire or larger and the battery will stay charged even with the headlights on. That's what I do with my 2020.

Did whomever installed the flat tow system even install a battery charge line?

You cannot turn the headlight knob counter-clockwise against the spring to turn the auto headlight function off? That needs to be done each time you start the car if you can.

Ray

[StHelenz]

Unfortunately, in Canada, there is no option to turn off the lights. It is a mandatory law to drive with lights on all the time.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by StHelenz

Unfortunately, in Canada, there is no option to turn off the lights. It is a mandatory law to drive with lights on all the time.

Then there is a problem with the charge line and/or the ground line. Do you have any electrical expertise? If so, please see below.

Ray

Here's how I'd approach this. You need to figure out whether the voltage drop between the motorhome and the car is on the charging line or the ground line, or both.

1. Hook up the car to the motorhome, configure it for towing, and start the motorhome.

2. Measure the voltage at the motorhome end of the 7-pin connector, if possible. I'm guessing it will be OK, 13.5 volts or higher. Record the measurement. If you cannot get to the 7-pin connector, skip this step.

3. Measure the car's battery voltage at the posts. When mine was not being charged adequately the voltage was 12.5 volts or lower fairly quickly. Record the voltage.

4. Measure the voltage drop between the car's POSITIVE battery post and the 7-pin connector if you can get to it. Otherwise go directly to the motorhome's battery. That will take a really long wire but it can be a small gauge. Record the measurement.

5. Measure the voltage drop between the car's NEGATIVE battery post and the chassis of the motorhome. Record the measurement.

If you see more than a few tenths of a volt in this step, the ground wire is inadequate. The ground wire is the other half of the charging circuit but is also shared with the car's lights. Most people do not realize that an under-sized ground wire can be as big a problem as an under-sized charging line.

If you see a voltage drop of more than a few tenths of a volt in this step, get your car jumper cables. You are not going to jump anything. Rather, you are going to use the black cable to see if an inadequate ground wire is the problem.

Put the black jumper cable directly on the car's NEGATIVE battery post. Keep the red clamp well away from anything; you're not going to use it.

Put the other end of the black jumper cable on a good ground on the motorhome. Effectively you're creating a new, heavy gauge ground wire temporarily.

If the voltage you measured in step 5 drops to zero or very near it, put the voltmeter across the car battery posts and see if the voltage just jumped up. If so, you need to replace your ground wire between the car and the motorhome, probably just from the car to the connector on the car.

Once you know where the largest voltage drop is, on the charging line or on the ground line, you know which problem to tackle first.

If you do not have a clamp-on DC ammeter, that will make this job a lot easier. Consider buying one or borrowing one.

Please report back with the voltages you see and people can tell you the implications.

HTH.

[StHelenz]

Thanks for that information. The battery goes dead because the headights stay on when we're towing it, and we can't seem to find a way to turn off the headlights. The light sensor on the dash, when we towed after getting dark last night, turned the headlights on and we had no way of turning them off.

[swampdog2]

We understand what your saying and folks have told you how to fix the battery going dead problem but if that don’t work for you then get a mechanic to locate the wire that goes to the sensor and cut it and put a toggle switch there so you can turn off the lights or PULL THE FUSE !!

[BobGed]

The following statement is in the 2022 Chevrolet Equinox Owner's Manual:

It is required to charge the battery of the towed vehicle during recreational vehicle towing.

I would suggest following the previous suggestion on how to add a charge line.
If you're not comfortable doing it yourself, then have it professionally done.

[Camp CA]

Flat towed my 2021 Chevy Equinox with RIv Towed Battery Charger for 5 hours today. Battery volts before / after was 12.6 / 11.85. Vehicle started right up. Also checked the mileage and no mileage change before / after.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by StHelenz

The battery goes dead because the headights stay on when we're towing it, ...

No, the battery goes dead because the charge line from the motorhome is inadequate.

Think about it. Why doesn't the battery go dead when driving with the headlights on? Because the charging from the alternator is sufficient to over come the current drain.

That is your problem. The charge line from the motorhome, if it even exists, is not sufficient to overcome the current drain.

Ray

[NXR]

Originally Posted by Camp CA

Flat towed my 2021 Chevy Equinox with RIv Towed Battery Charger for 5 hours today. Battery volts before / after was 12.6 / 11.85. Vehicle started right up. Also checked the mileage and no mileage change before / after.

Copied from my response to your post on the other thread:

You're headed to a premature battery failure with those voltages. A lead-acid battery, which an AGM battery is, is almost fully discharged when it gets below 12.0 VDC. Immediately after towing your battery voltage should still be at close 12.6 VDC with the charge line disconnected.

When my 2020 got down to 12.1 VDC it, too, "started right up" but I could see a dimming of the lights and knew it was cranking slower. That's when I said bye-bye to RVi and now the voltages are a lot higher and there is no light dimming.

You don't have to believe me but I guarantee you'll be buying a battery sooner than you would otherwise.

Ray

[ChrisDParise]

Originally Posted by NXR

You need to figure out whether the voltage drop between the motorhome and the car is on the charging line or the ground line, or both.



Please report back with the voltages you see and people can tell you the implications.



HTH.

Could also be a test for those of us without a known problem but have inquiring minds.

I would like to add, working with 12v and meter in this application is relatively easy and a novice should do fine.

"If something is worth doing, its worth doing to excess"

[NXR]

Originally Posted by ChrisDParise

Could also be a test for those of us without a known problem but have inquiring minds.

The simplest test is to put the car into tow mode but not hooked up to the motorhome. Read the voltage at the car battery posts.

Connect the car to the motorhome and start the motorhome engine.

Then recheck the car battery voltage at the battery posts. If the voltage is at least 13.0 VDC the car battery should stay charged.

If the battery post voltage is not at least 13.0 VDC then do other tests to find out where the problem is.

If it's at least 13.0 VDC do things like turn on the car's headlights and assure the voltage does not drop below 12.6 VDC. If it does not drop you're golden.

Ray