Community Forums

vantango · 04-20-2022, 05:27 PM

Has anyone successfully wired a 2013 ford edge to tow and keep a charge? Ours is dead after only a few hours of towing. We tried a little solar panel, a charge wire from the mh, a bigger battery...

Cincy Steve · 04-20-2022, 08:06 PM

'17 Flex =same church, different pew as your Edge.

The charge line from our MoHo has a 1-way diode, which allows Flex to draw charge from the bus, but will not allow the MoHo to pull from the Flex. It has been flawless from Day 1.

Talloaks · 04-21-2022, 02:02 AM

We tow a 2012 Ford Edge and had similar problems. Here is a post I made some time ago describing what has solved the problem for us.

"Some people find that their charge line does not do an adequate job of keeping their toad battery fully charged, in particular that it works ok when first installed but then becomes less effective over time. One potential reason for this is lack of an adequate ground connection. The tow hitch/bar hardware can develop high resistance with corrosion, grease and dirt over time, so you need a hard wired ground wire connection of adequate/maximum size through the umbilical connection between RV and toad. I tied this ground wire directly to the toad battery negative terminal and found this resolved the issue.

Also make sure your charge line wire size is maximized, that is, the largest you can fit into the terminal on the umbilical connector. In addition to fusing this line, as you described, install a diode between the plug connection on the toad vehicle and the battery. Inexpensive and easy to install. I purchased one through eTrailer. Just need to be sure you get the correct rating. The diode will prevent your toad battery from inadvertently discharging back through the tow vehicle which can occur under certain conditions.

Make every effort to use best workmanship on making up all these connections, as any high resistance / poor connection will result in a voltage drop and an ineffective result. Use dielectric grease on all the connections, especially those on both sides of the umbilical plugs to minimize dirt, water, and corrosion.

Good luck. I think this will completely fix your issue."

veraken · 04-21-2022, 05:51 AM

I tow a 2014 Ford Explorer. At first I installed a fused line from the MH to the toad. After doing so, I was concerned that if there was a problem with the MH charge system it would drain the toad battery and I would be stuck on the side of the road with 2 dead vehicles. Purchased a "Toad Battery Charger" from RVI and have not had any problems keeping the toad battery fully charged.

https://rvibrake.com/collections/fla...xoCiU0QAvD_BwE

twojayhawks · 04-21-2022, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vantango

Has anyone successfully wired a 2013 ford edge to tow and keep a charge? Ours is dead after only a few hours of towing. We tried a little solar panel, a charge wire from the mh, a bigger battery...

I had the same issue with my 2014 Edge. Followed a tip from another forum member and solved it for good. Use the emergency tow instructions per your owners manual instead of the RV tow instructions and car is towed with ignition OFF and uses no juice so you’ll never have a dead batt. Don’t know if 2013 is same as 2014 but check it out. Of course still cycle regularly just like your supposed to. You’ll remove a small trim piece left side of shifter and w/finger press a release and it will allow shifter to go to neutral to tow with ignition off.

Offramp · 04-21-2022, 09:28 AM

We have a 2013 Ford Edge SEL FWD that we tow. Original battery on Edge was marginal for normal operation. I replaced that battery with a larger and higher amperage AGM battery.
Later we experienced A low battery situation which was because of a bad ground wire between the 6 way receptical and the Edge battery. To get home from that trip I added a temporary ground wire between the frames of the MH and the toad.
The final fix was replacing the ground wire between the Edge and the wiring receptical on the Edge. Never a problem in the last two years.

znt1186 · 04-21-2022, 09:40 AM

We had similar issues with our 2013 Edge. First blew the inline fuse. Switched to a auto reset breaker. Then fuse in the rv blew. Replaced that and have also added a new battery. It seems that the batteries will only go 4 years in mine. Going well so far. I also carry a battery charger on the coach now that will give me an instant start of the Edge if needed.

vicwhit · 04-21-2022, 02:09 PM

FYI for all, when you install the charge wire from the motorhome to the car battery, I recommend selecting a Schottky diode. Schottky diodes have a lower voltage drop and provide for a higher charge getting to the battery. Instead of dropping 0.7 volts on regular diodes, a Schottky diode drops only 0.3 volts.
I recently bought a Chev Equinox and that is what I will be using.

38Chevy454 · 04-21-2022, 06:48 PM

I've got a 2008 Edge awd that has probably 25k miles as a toad. My solution is to just use one of the small jump pack to power the brake buddy. Set on seat and plug BB into the jump pack. No more run down batteries. Maybe if I was on the brakes for very long time in a traffic jam, it could be a problem?

I use the BB since I have 3 different vehicles I can flat tow.

Dodge Guy · 04-22-2022, 07:26 AM

First off, are you leaving the key on? Is it an actual key or push butting start?
Our 13 Explorer has never had a dead battery. I just use the manual shifter release to put it in N. Haven’t had an issue. The steering does not lock without a key in the ignition.

Can you give us more info on the vehicle options and exactly what you are doing to prepare it for towing.

vantango · 04-22-2022, 06:55 PM

I found the brake release and shifted to neutral without the key. Seems like it will work. Anyone see a problem with it?

twojayhawks · 04-23-2022, 07:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vantango

I found the brake release and shifted to neutral without the key. Seems like it will work. Anyone see a problem with it?

I towed mine like this for the last couple years I had my 2014. In 2020 I retired it with 170K and gave it to a employee of mine who still drives it as her daily. Only difference I found towing with ignition off is it no longer recorded tow miles on the odometer since car is off. Otherwise I wish I would have just towed this way from the beginning. RV tow instructions work fine for a light tow application but that’s not us. We have long tow days and sometimes back to back without unhooking. From new I used a RVI charge line. But this car is an energy pig. I always carry a jump box and charger and needed regularly. That nonsense ended when I started towing with ignition off.

Dodge Guy · 04-23-2022, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vantango

I found the brake release and shifted to neutral without the key. Seems like it will work. Anyone see a problem with it?

That’s how I do ours!

vantango · 04-23-2022, 10:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twojayhawks

I towed mine like this for the last couple years I had my 2014. In 2020 I retired it with 170K and gave it to a employee of mine who still drives it as her daily. Only difference I found towing with ignition off is it no longer recorded tow miles on the odometer since car is off. Otherwise I wish I would have just towed this way from the beginning. RV tow instructions work fine for a light tow application but that’s not us. We have long tow days and sometimes back to back without unhooking. From new I used a RVI charge line. But this car is an energy pig. I always carry a jump box and charger and needed regularly. That nonsense ended when I started towing with ignition off.

Ok, I’m going to try it Thursday. Hopefully I won’t have to use my 20 ft jumper cables again.