New member with Equinox problems

[rv vac]

i have a 2022 equinox that i am having a problem with the battery when i am flat towing has anyone else having this problem, talked with some people from GM they don't seem to have a clue also talked with the dealer same thing

[MSHappyCampers]

Hi ! Welcome to IRV2! We’re sure glad you joined the gang here!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

[theroc]

Welcome to the forum.

Since nobody has immediately responded to your inquiry, I'll give you some threads to look over until somebody who does have an Equinox responds and can personally help you out.

Yes, it's a common problem with late-model Equinox toads and it appears that some sort of charge line is needed.

There are several dozen threads here on the forum pertaining to late -model Equinox toads and battery issues.

Google -based search for iRV2 threads on the topic: ...go HERE

The most recent thread from last week:

12V for 2019 Equinox toad

[Mkayers]

I am towing a 2019 Equinox and we did add a charge line.

[John58]

We tow a 2017 Equinox and beyond having to pull fuses, we also installed a charge line directly for the MH battery to the toad battery.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by rv vac

i have a 2022 equinox that i am having a problem with the battery when i am flat towing has anyone else having this problem, talked with some people from GM they don't seem to have a clue also talked with the dealer same thing

It's a fairly easy fix, technically. The 12 volt charge wire and the ground wire that is between the connector on the front of the car and the car's battery must be a large enough wire. 12 AWG (gauge) works very well.

The Equinox, when configured for flat towing, pulls a very large amount of current out of the battery, about 8 amps. That is far more than other cars.

The problem occurs when the people who installed the flat towing system do not know that and they use an under-sized charge and ground wire, 14 to 16 AWG (larger number = smaller physical wire).

Go back to who installed your system and ask them what size wire they use for both the charging wire and for the ground wire. If it's not 12 AWG or bigger for both you have found the problem.


Yes, be prepared for their "We've never had to do that before!" protests.

Ray

[rvbiker45]

Yes, 100%

[TandW]

Welcome aboard!

[Camp CA]

Welcome to the forum!!

Install an RVi battery charger https://rvibrake.com/products/towed-...nt=Catch%20All. That is what I have.

[ChrisDParise]

Originally Posted by NXR

It's a fairly easy fix, technically. The 12 volt charge wire and the ground wire that is between the connector on the front of the car and the car's battery must be a large enough wire. 12 AWG (gauge) works very well.



The Equinox, when configured for flat towing, pulls a very large amount of current out of the battery, about 8 amps. That is far more than other cars.



The problem occurs when the people who installed the flat towing system do not know that and they use an under-sized charge and ground wire, 14 to 16 AWG (larger number = smaller physical wire).



Go back to who installed your system and ask them what size wire they use for both the charging wire and for the ground wire. If it's not 12 AWG or bigger for both you have found the problem.





Yes, be prepared for their "We've never had to do that before!" protests.



Ray

The best advice ^

Here is your owners manual page on recreational vehicle towing.

I circled a caution on charging the vehicles battery while towing.

Note the word "required". GM doesn't tell us how specifically how to meet this requirement but rather they leave it in our hands as towing enthusiasts to do so. I can understand GMs position on this especially from a liability perspective

[NXR]

Originally Posted by Camp CA

Install an RVi battery charger. ... That is what I have.

While that's normally good advice that is what I started with on my 2020 Equinox. I have a long thread on that experience but suffice it to say that the RVi Towed Battery Charger does not work with an Equinox.

While the TBC is rated for 10 amps it cannot deliver that amount of power. It "folds back" the charging current on an Equinox to 3 amps or less and I am not the only person who had that problem.

RVi finally added this statement to the TBC Product page: NOTE: Towed Battery Charger Plus is compatible with all 12 volt batteries including trailers. 2019-present Chevy Equinox must pull rear windshield wiper fuse.

But some people have said that even that does not work.

FWIW,

Ray

[Camp CA]

RVi finally added this statement to the TBC Product page: NOTE: Towed Battery Charger Plus is compatible with all 12 volt batteries including trailers. 2019-present Chevy Equinox must pull rear windshield wiper fuse..........saw that but have not seen any reason to do it without issues to date. I wonder if a dead battery is an issue after towing for X hours?

[NXR]

Originally Posted by Camp CA

RVi finally added this statement to the TBC Product page: NOTE: Towed Battery Charger Plus is compatible with all 12 volt batteries including trailers. 2019-present Chevy Equinox must pull rear windshield wiper fuse..........saw that but have not seen any reason to do it without issues to date. I wonder if a dead battery is an issue after towing for X hours?

Our 2020 Equinox battery would be below 12.0 volts after just two hours of towing when using the RVi TBC and the engine struggled to start.

Do you have a clamp-on ammeter? If so, please consider putting your Equinox into flat tow mode and clamping the ammeter around the battery's negative cables without being plugged into the motorhome.

It would be nice if Chevy revised the electrical so towing mode no longer pulled 7 to 8 amps.

The problem seemed to occur after Chevy revised the flat towing procedure in late 2017 to pull a different fuse than the Owners Manual said to, if you had the 4 cylinder engine. Of course, with the 2018 and later no fuse needs to be pulled at all.

RVi's procedure to pull that fuse made little sense to me. If the rear windshield wiper was pulling even 5 amps, it would be dissipating 60 or more watts of power. Think how hot a 60 watt incandescent light bulb gets. Yet the rear wiper motor remained cool even with the fuse installed.

It kind of feels like RVi just started pulling fuses to see which one dropped the current drain a lot. I suspect that fuse actually is killing part of the Body Control Module (BCM). If so, no one other than GM really knows what's happening with that fuse out.

Ray

[chasmatt]

We tow a 2020 Equinox. When we had it set up we chose the Invisibrake and had the dealer add a charge line. No issues yet. Seems to work fine.