Tow Dolly/Buick Enclave Advise

[speedway]

Originally Posted by gfarmcafe

We own a 2020 Buick Enclave that we want to haul it on a dolly behind our motorhome. It is front wheel drive, so the front wheels must be on it. The owners manual says it can be done as long as the neutral battery cable is disconnected. I'm concerned about losing memory settings, so wondering if anyone else has had to do this and what kind of settings must be reset once it's off the dolly. Seems like a big pain, but it's less expensive than trading cars, or buying an 18' flat bed trailer.

Haven’t towed my 21 Enclave yet but I have done a couple tow preps on it following owners manual instructions. Removing neg term I lost memory seat settings but kept radio presets.

I relocated the horn on drivers side to make room for a knife blade disconnect for now. Hope to find a more inconspicuous way to disconnect in the future.

[speedway]

Originally Posted by speedway

Disconnect switch install is looking more difficult than anticipated.
No room for switch close to the battery. I have a spot for mounting switch up by the firewall but the OE negative cable ( with secondary plug ) is too short to move more than an inch or two away from the battery.

Wondering if the emergency brake in on a circuit by itself? If so maybe simpler to pull e brake fuse?

Have disconnect switch installed and have towed the 21 Enclave a couple times. I am still struggling with putting the electronic parking brake into ‘service mode’ to allow for dolly towing.
Sometimes ( not always) after loading the car when I move the power seat to immobilize the steering wheel the electric parking brake deploys. I occasionally forget to go through the service mode procedure before I load the car and do the protocol after it’s on the dolly. Since the car is no longer level could that be an issue?
Another issue is when I get the car loaded and remove the ground I can’t lock the car.
I have looked for a fuse for the parking brake circuit bit haven’t found one yet. I would happily disable the e park brake circuit permanently if I could.
This is becoming a real PITA!
Anyone have thoughts on this issue?

[gfarmcafe]

Originally Posted by speedway

Have disconnect switch installed and have towed the 21 Enclave a couple times. I am still struggling with putting the electronic parking brake into ‘service mode’ to allow for dolly towing.
Sometimes ( not always) after loading the car when I move the power seat to immobilize the steering wheel the electric parking brake deploys. I occasionally forget to go through the service mode procedure before I load the car and do the protocol after it’s on the dolly. Since the car is no longer level could that be an issue?
Another issue is when I get the car loaded and remove the ground I can’t lock the car.
I have looked for a fuse for the parking brake circuit bit haven’t found one yet. I would happily disable the e park brake circuit permanently if I could.
This is becoming a real PITA!
Anyone have thoughts on this issue?

I have a question that I've gotten 2 completely different answers.
Question - If I disconnect the battery, why do have to go thru the service mode procedure to disarm the parking brake?

Answer 1 - Disconnecting the battery does not disarm the parking brake. They will lock up upon motion of the rear wheels.

Answer 2. Disconnecting the battery will insure the driver hasn't forgotten to go thru the disarming process given in the Owner's Manual.

So, what is the correct answer? We've hauled our Buick successfully on our dolly going thru the manual but have forgotten to roll up the windows after disconnecting the battery,

[Gary RVRoamer]

The Acadia/Enclave/Traverse models have a sophisticated Body Control Module (computer) that manages many onboard functions, including things like traction control. Whether the key is on or the engine running or not. Older models required some major fuses to be pulled to be sure the BCM is disabled when under tow, but now they seem to have opted to just disconnect everything.

[speedway]

Originally Posted by gfarmcafe

I have a question that I've gotten 2 completely different answers.
Question - If I disconnect the battery, why do have to go thru the service mode procedure to disarm the parking brake?

Answer 1 - Disconnecting the battery does not disarm the parking brake. They will lock up upon motion of the rear wheels.

Answer 2. Disconnecting the battery will insure the driver hasn't forgotten to go thru the disarming process given in the Owner's Manual.

So, what is the correct answer? We've hauled our Buick successfully on our dolly going thru the manual but have forgotten to roll up the windows after disconnecting the battery,

Forgetting the window is easy to do, been there.
If the battery gets reconnected to roll window up do you have to go through the tow prep protocol again?

For answer #1 how can e brake deploy without power?

#2 if park brake is on will it release when power is cut off?

All I have are questions, haven’t found any answers yet.

Hope a call to Buick tech support will clarify.

[speedway]

Originally Posted by Gary RVRoamer

The Acadia/Enclave/Traverse models have a sophisticated Body Control Module (computer) that manages many onboard functions, including things like traction control. Whether the key is on or the engine running or not. Older models required some major fuses to be pulled to be sure the BCM is disabled when under tow, but now they seem to have opted to just disconnect everything.

That appears to be the intent. What I don’t understand is why one must go through the 3 step protocol to get the e-brake in tow mode when power will be cut off anyway. Can the BCM deploy the brake without 12 volt power?
Is there a secondary power source somewhere?
It’s a mystery to me!