4 Wheel Down Wiring Help Please

[Marv]

I plan on towing my FWD Edge SEL Plus 4 wheel down and have a few questions on wiring.

 

First, upon following the procedure to tow, the key is in the ignition is in the ACC position to unlock the steering wheel. In my prior vehicle (GM) I would pull a 30 amp fuse to turn off the instrument panel cluster in order to avoid battery drain. The fuse was in the power distribution box under the hood. Eventually, I wired the fuse to a switch under the dash and simply turned off the cluster lights without having to open the hood and box. In the Edge Owner's Guide I do not see a fuse to to pull in the distribution box. There does appear to be two fuses in the passenger compartment fuse panel, locations 26 and 29. And, I still need power to the power point under the dash for supplemental braking power when towing. Any recommendations on how to allow the instrument panel cluster to be turned off would be appreciated.

 

Also, I will be wiring the tail lights to activate when the motorhome brake or headlamps are activated. Power will come from the motorhome via a 6 pin connector and be wired directly to the tail lamps. It appears wiring can be made directly to the Edge tail lamps and using diodes to prevent current drain from the Edge. An alternative is to put sockets and lamps in the tail lamps and be totally independent of the Edge lamps and wiring. Of course, there must be room for the second set of sockets and lamps in the tail lights. Any recommendations or thoughts?

 

Any assistance would be appreciated. I have had the Edge for a week and have yet to find even minor fit and finish problems. Thanks for doing a great job on the car.

Marv

[Marv]

Perhaps, I can answer my own question.

Following the "flat towing" procedures, it appears the voltage drop is minimal. After several hours of leaving car in neutral, in ACC, with radio off, the only lights that appeared to be on was the clock and alarm. The drop measured at the battery was from 12.56 to 12.50 volts over a period of 3 hours. This drop does not seem significant as we generally do not tow the vehicle 4 wheels down for more than 6 hours.

However, if I did not want any drop, there are two alternatives. One is allow the battery to be disconnected yet allow enough voltage to run dash and radio. The details may be found at:

 

http://www.autoanything.com/driving-access...#customerReview

 

A second alternative is to use 12 volts from motorhome engine or "house" batteries. This will keep a full charge on the Edge battery and yet protect against overcharging it. This site is:

 

http://www.lslproducts.com/ToadChargePage.html

 

In my research it was found the GM owners of the Saturn Outlook, Vue and GMC Arcadia all have complaints of not being able to turn off dash lights when towing. GM has responded by telling people to disconnect the battery, which causes you to have to reset clock, radio and computer.

If this works the way I think it will, Hats off to Ford. Flat towing of the Edge appears only known by word of mouth in the RV community. Ford is missing a large market segment by not advertising in RV magazines or showing the car at RV shows and rallies.

Hopefully, this is of help to others considering towing the car 4 wheels down.

Marv

Edited July 1, 2007 by Marv

[jvanloan]

I'm not sure if this is the correct way to reply to your topic, but here goes. I found the battery discharges when towed in the accessory position. I also found I could turn the key OFF while leaving the transmission in the NEUTRAL position. The steering wheel remains unlocked and the battery does not discharge. I could not get Lincoln to condone this proceedure, but it has worked for over one thousand miles of towing.

 

Note the back of the tail lights are not in an area sealed to water, therefore the direct connection with steering diodes is the prefered in my opinion. I also wanted the LED bar connected, also with diodes to increase visibility and look cool.

 

 

Perhaps, I can answer my own question.

Following the "flat towing" procedures, it appears the voltage drop is minimal. After several hours of leaving car in neutral, in ACC, with radio off, the only lights that appeared to be on was the clock and alarm. The drop measured at the battery was from 12.56 to 12.50 volts over a period of 3 hours. This drop does not seem significant as we generally do not tow the vehicle 4 wheels down for more than 6 hours.

However, if I did not want any drop, there are two alternatives. One is allow the battery to be disconnected yet allow enough voltage to run dash and radio. The details may be found at:

 

http://www.autoanything.com/driving-access...#customerReview

 

A second alternative is to use 12 volts from motorhome engine or "house" batteries. This will keep a full charge on the Edge battery and yet protect against overcharging it. This site is:

 

http://www.lslproducts.com/ToadChargePage.html

 

In my research it was found the GM owners of the Saturn Outlook, Vue and GMC Arcadia all have complaints of not being able to turn off dash lights when towing. GM has responded by telling people to disconnect the battery, which causes you to have to reset clock, radio and computer.

If this works the way I think it will, Hats off to Ford. Flat towing of the Edge appears only known by word of mouth in the RV community. Ford is missing a large market segment by not advertising in RV magazines or showing the car at RV shows and rallies.

Hopefully, this is of help to others considering towing the car 4 wheels down.

Marv

[jvanloan]

I'm not sure if this is the correct way to reply to your topic, but here goes. I found the battery discharges when towed in the accessory position. I also found I could turn the key OFF while leaving the transmission in the NEUTRAL position. The steering wheel remains unlocked and the battery does not discharge. I could not get Lincoln to condone this procedure, but it has worked for over one thousand miles of towing.

 

Note the back of the tail lights are not in an area sealed to water, therefore the direct connection with steering diodes is the preferred in my opinion. I also wanted the LED bar connected, also with diodes to increase visibility and look cool.

[jvanloan]

Do you know yet how you are going to route the wires for the tail lights? I had a problem getting through the firewall and ended up going through the floor board and into the fender cowl, then up through the drain hole for the windshield/wiper area.

[Marv]

Do you know yet how you are going to route the wires for the tail lights? I had a problem getting through the firewall and ended up going through the floor board and into the fender cowl, then up through the drain hole for the windshield/wiper area.

 

 

First, thank you for providing a response. I would not have thought you could tow with the ignition turned off.

I have not hooked up the tail lights. I am going to have that done when the tow brackets are put on the car. I also questioned how to get through the firewall so that I could hook up my auxiliary braking system. Behind the battery is a large rubber grommet which appears can be used. Others on this site have routed 12 volts from the battery via this method. If you use a light and look directly behind the battery at the firewall, you will see what I believe they were talking about.

Perhaps the wires from the 6 pin connection to the motorhome can use this route, than along the floor to the tail lights. I have not looked closely at this route yet. In my last car, the wires were routed from the connector under the car to the tail lights.

In discussion with an installer, he felt there was not room to put sockets in the tail lights, so diodes are probably necessary if existing wiring is "tapped" into.

Which tow brackets do you use? I have a Roadmaster tow bar but, could get an adapter for Blue Ox. Blue Ox is less noticeable and less hardware but, appears to mount higher in the grill. Also, do you have the towing package and if so, did you have any problems mounting the tow brackets?

Thank you very much for your reply.

Marv

[jvanloan]

I looked at the instruction books for both online and thought the Roadmaster bar seemed better designed. I installed it on my MKX, but had some problems re-installing the front grill. I ended up cutting away more material around the grill than is described in the instructions. I spoke with Roadmaster and sent them photos of the installatiion. We compared tolerances and found the bar to be in spec. I'm not sure if they revised their procedures after that. They did do an installation on another MKX as part of their effort.

 

Other than that, the installation went well and took about four or five hours.

 

Thanks for the info on the wire routing. I will check it out.