Acadia NG for toad

After struggling with my new Acadia for months and 5000 miles of towing with the battery repeatedly going dead when towing, I have reached an impasse with GMC. They refuse to make the vehicle work as described to me before I bought it and as defined in the owners manual, i.e. remove a fuse for towing. GMC now says I have to remove the battery negative terminal to prevent battery discharge while towing. The battery in an Acadia is under the floor board behind the passenger seat and requires tools to remove the cover as well as to disconnect the battery. The dealer will not modify the vehicle and GMC will not pay for it if I have changes made elsewhere (even though that's what the local dealer recommended).  It does not seem that some kind of remote battery disconnect would be too difficult, does it? Our motorhomes have them, either manual or electric.

Based on this, I have to warn RV owners against purchasing an Acadia (or its siblings, the Saturn Outlook and Buick Enclave) for dinghy towing. Too bad - it's a superb car otherwise.

And I'm really disappointed in GMC. Maybe the rep I got wasn't the best - she did not seem to really comprehend the problem (how many dinghy towing experts are manning the hot lines?) and I suspect she did not give the dealership people a good picture of what was the problem. She described it as needing to "make the battery more accessible", which sounds like I wanted them to move the battery somewhere else or install a trap door! Duh!  I'll try to escalate the issue, but all contacts to GMC seem to go back to the same Customer Service Center. Maybe I'll write the GM CEO and let it trickle down that way.

UPDATE (7/4/2007):  GM has released a new service bulletin with new towing procedures for Acadia/Outlook/Enclave. Basically it says to remove the Batt-1 fuse (a 50A main power circuit) for towing. This is the solution that some owners and dealer techs had determined on their own and it is now being Okayed by the factory. That's good news, though pulling any fuse is a pain.

Sorry you are having those kind of problems and receive no cooperation from those supposedly in the know.  Once again it establishes the fact that things are not always what Engineers and designers claim they are.  Lots of things work on Paper but unfortunately you don't drive the paper.  Just hang in there and go to the top and just perhaps it might trickle down.  Unfortunately most of those fall on deaf ears or in file thirteen.  They've got your money so now you can deal with it attitude is often the solution for them. JMO

Yeah, Shayne, it's a bummer. I'm confident I can rig up an acceptable solution on my own, but I expected at least a bit of accommodation from GMC.  The dealer I bought it from would probably try harder to get some help, but they are 3500 miles away until we get home in November - and I'll have it fixed somehow by then.

It would be some trouble but it's possible to possibly run a cut off switch from the battery to the trunk or for that matter under the floor matting to perhaps the glove box.  Its the old story they LIE from the sales personnel to the Factory and the writers.  It's definitely a project of time and money to correct their problems. Should you develop the method, please patend it and then sell it back to them with residuals. JMO

What a bummer.  I would think they would be more accomdating since they misrepresnted the vehicle and your decision to purchase iot was based on how they represented the towing feature. I hope they come to their senses and take care of the issue for you.

Gary --

How fast does the battery drain when towing this model?  Is there something about its design that drains the battery faster than other models?

Might I suggest you open the page of the manual and scan it and attach it with your notification to the CEO, and show him the method they suggest.  He probably has no idea what it is.  Probably won't after he reads it, if he can read.  That may alert them as to what they are advertising.  Just a thought.

Gary, Where does the ground wire from the battery connect to the vehicle? I'm assuming it is at a spot that is not easy to access.  Is that correct?

Gary,

I solved the battery drain problem on our 2002 Saturn SL2 by running a wire from the coach batteries to the positive terminal of the car. I installed a 60 50-amp diode and 50-amp fuse at the coach battery takeoff and a 50-amp fuse just before the car battery connection. I never have to do anything now except hookup the regular M.H. to car connecting cable. I do not turn the ignition switch OFF when stopping overnight with the car still connected.

I talked to a Saturn electrical engineer in Tennessee before making the installation. It just happened that he also towed a Saturn and had done exactly the same thing. Works great. I did have to change the socket on the M.H. and the plug on that end of the cable; the car end already had the six wire connector but I was only using four of the wires in the cable. I used 10 AWG wire so there is minimal voltage drop.

Richard

Does the battery go dead after just one day of towing or only after several days?  In any case, disconnecting the battery doesn't sound like a workable solution to me as that will reset the clock, radio presets, and possibly other engine related electronics.  Richard's solution is probably the best long term but I would still pursue it with GMC if it was sold as being towable with just the removal of one fuse.

How fast does the battery drain when towing this model?  Is there something about its design that drains the battery faster than other models?

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We towed for about 1500 miles without a problem, but we were using the car in between legs of the trip. A few times it sounded reluctant to turn over, but always started and of course charged up during use.  The problem became critical when we journeyed cross country with just overnight stops. By the 3rd day the battery was DOA and a light charge insufficient to get it back to 100%. It was dead within a few hours every day after that. And that's using a Toad Charge 5A charger while towing!

Does it use more power than others? I don't know, but it is a vehicle heavy with electronic gadgetry, monitors on all sorts of functions, multiple onboard computers, etc. How many of these are operational in Accessory is an open question and supposedly pulling  the designated fuse would have reduced the load further. Apparently it does not.

I'm happy to report that GM has released a service bulletin with new towing procedures for the Acadia, Outlook and Enclave. Basically the new procedure says to remove the 50A BATT-1 fuse to prevent battery discharge while dinghy towing. Hopefully that will solve the problem.  I also heard an owner report that says pulling this fuse leaves the 12V utility outlets alive, meaning that Brake Buddy & Apollo users still have a power source for their toad brakes.  The only down side is that the dash clock has to be reset each time. but that's pretty simple on these vehicles.

Does this mean there is a new switch installation in your future. ;D

I actually have two solutions now. LSL Products sent me free replacement components to upgrade my Toad Charge unit from 5a to 10A, which may be enough to keep the battery up. And I'll install a switch on that 50A fuse in case it isn't. 

Glad you remedied the situation.

Sounds like you have it covered and that is a good thing.

RV Roamer said:

I actually have two solutions now. LSL Products sent me free replacement components to upgrade my Toad Charge unit from 5a to 10A, which may be enough to keep the battery up. And I'll install a switch on that 50A fuse in case it isn't. 

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Hi Gary,

I came across this old post about your Acadia towing woes. I have an '09 Enclave, and am getting tired of pulling the fuse, then having to reset everything when I put it back in. I wanted to see how your toad Charge was working out. Also, where did you end up connecting into the toad electrial system? I would rather not have to run a wire back to the battery if possible.

I have thought about licating that putting a switch in the wire from the ignition switch ACC post. Seems like this would allow me to put the key in the ACC position then cut the power from the switch so the computer would think the switch was off and would quit drawing power. Unfortunately, I don't have a wire diagram so don't know which wire would need the switch. Also, I am assuming (a dangerous thing) that the wire just sends a signal to the BCM to turn on. Do you have any info or ideas on this?

Jerry

The Toad Charge was totally inadequate, even after they gave name a free upgrade to the 10 amp model. I solved the problem by adding a switch to the 50A Batt A circuit.  I removed the existing fuse and bought a 50A inline fuse assembly and a 50A rated toggle switch. (MaxiFuse). The switch is wired to the fuse holder with standard female spade connectors. I'll include a photo.

I was going to place the switch on/under the dashboard somewhere when I had time, but it turned out to be convenient enough right by the fuse box under the hood. My wife thinks its fine right there and she often does the car hook-up, so I lost any further motivation to improve it.

>>I lost any further motivation to improve it.<<

Good Choice!! ;D ;D ;D

I may not have learned many things in 45 years of marriage, but that was one of them.