Battery drain

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fred1845

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Aug 28, 2016
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Hi all you smart people.I have a 2007 Saturn Ion 5 speed I will be towing behind motor home.I replaced battery in Feb.If I didn't crank it every few days,it would be dead and need a overnight charge,then would start .I tried removing radio fuse,thinking it was draining battery,since radio didn't work any how.That didn't solve problem.I have been disconnecting a cable from battery when it's parked and that works so far.
My question is how do I figure out what is draining battery?I don't have any meters to check it with .Are there any checks I can make myself?I'm figuring it isn't a common problem.I bought it used just for towing but it didn't come with any warranty.I went for cheap car .Any help would be appreciated .
 
Actually, a dead car battery is a fairly common problem and many cars require one or more fuses to be removed if towed for more than an hour or so. Disconnecting the battery is OK too, and you could add a simple battery disconnect switch to make that easier. Something as simple as this would wrk:
https://www.amazon.com/Tinksky-Universal-Battery-Disconnect-Isolator/dp/B01NA8D4Z3/ref=pd_lpo_263_lp_t_3?_encoding=UTF8

Do you have an owner manual for it? Check the towing section to see if it gives any instructions concerning that - GM vehicles usually have a section titled Recreational Towing. You can download an Ion owner manual at:

http://www.gm.ca/media/owners/manuals/2007_Saturn_Ion_Manual_en_CA.pdf.

Looks like "IP Batt 2" fuse is the one to pull.
 
Try this out. Much easier than wrenching the connector off every time.This is for a side post, but there are top mounts available.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/301354283372?lpid=82&chn=ps&ul_noapp=true
 
Depending on the car removing or disconnecting a battery lead may cause the computer to "Forget" some stuff.. .Modern cars actually LEARN how you drive to some extend and a few other idiosyncrasies of the engine and tune themselves on the fly for best MPG and performance (Also engine life and a few other things)  Some computers forget when they loose power.. NOT a good thing.

Removing (or swiching off) the proper fuse will help.

Page 2:

If you do not have brakes on the car consider the US-Gear Unified Braked Decelerator system... (NOTE it really does not matter what system you use on the car but this one has a feature!!!)

That feature is a tie line between the MOTOR home chassis battery and the car's battery.. Nice HEAVy lead (20 amp breaker one end I think 40 on the other) to insure the towed battery does not run down towing.. Works good too.. I had one on my first towed.. Story required I take adavntage of that lead,, and it worked.


Other wise. There is a device called "Towed Charge" or Toad Charge,, Forget which.

Does that same service, not as fast though.
 
The battery drain is when it's parked  in yard for a few days.not when being towed.I saw in manual which fuse needed to be pulled. Fuse # 41 is the one .I tried pulling radio fuse,but that wasn't problem .
 
Here is some one with the same question. Even though it is not RV related, it is an ION. The last guy found the fix, at least for his case.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-t9958_ds508976
 

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