Excessive Battery Drain when being towed by RV

[rdhilgeman]

I just purchased a new Edge specifically for towing behing a motor home. With less than 600miles on the car, I left for a trip. I followed book instructions exactly and have towed other vehicles for over 200,000 miles without an incident. I have towed a vehicle for days behind the motor home and never experienced a dead battery. When I arrived at my destination, the battery was totally dead and I had to call AAA to start. When I returned home a week later, I once again was greeted with a totally dead battery. I have experienced the tailgate opening 3 times while unattended, the parking lights coming on a half dozen times for no apparant reason, the radio being dead one day and ok the next, the car recognizing my key and unlocking the door for me only to sound the alarm when I opened the door, and the automatic day/night mirror deciding it was night time in the middle of the day. The Dealer believes that the "odd stuff" that has been going on all relates to when the battery went completely dead. That effects the computer and strange things can happen. At this time, the car has been at the dealer the past 10 days with no cure yet in sight. We have determined (Dealer and myself) that the battery drain is coming from putting the car in the Accessory position in preparation for towing. Initial battery drain runs about 6 amps/hour and long term drain (after initial hour) is running about 3 amps/hour. This is enough to totally drain the battery in no time at all.

 

For those RVers who consider towing an Edge, I would recommend that you have the Dealer test the car you are purchasing for excessive battery drain when in Accessory position. We checked one other new Edge with the same accessories on the car as mine and it too had the same excessive drain. I have contacted Ford and am awaiting for a solution.

 

UPDATE: Just received information from Ford Dealer that the drain of 6 amp and 3amps on the battery in the accessory position is the standard draw for the Edge. That means that anyone wanting to tow the Edge behind an RV can expect the battery to go dead in about 8 hours. I am now being told that I should stop the vehicle every 2-3 hours, start the car, go through the gears, and run it for around 10 minutes. REDICULOUS. Do not purchase an Edge until Ford corrects the problem if you plan to tow it behind an RV. My research has indicated that the amperage draw should not exceed .5 Amps even on the new, computer driven autos.

Edited August 15, 2012 by rdhilgeman

[akirby]

This is a known problem and I think a TSB was issued. Do a search - there were several threads on this a couple of years ago.

[jking]

I too have too have been towing behind an RV for many years. I may tow my Edge after my Saturn gives up the ghost. To tow the Saturn I have to turn key to assessory position, put car in neutral, and pull two fuses under the hood to prevent battery drain. I am thinking maybe pulling a main fuse under hood on the Edge or putting in a battery cutoff switch at the battery. Maybe that will solve your problem.

[hairkat]

You state that .5 amp draw is normal. It is only normal in the off position where .25-.5 amps is for the memory in the computers and radio.On the accessory position a lot more comes into play.There is a toad charge relay available to work around this issue or disconnect the battery while towing.I have towed my Edge for 4 years and follow the manual procedure with no problems. If you want some real fun tow a Jeep as they do not have an accessory position only ignition on.