Toad Odometer Accumulation

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Wondering, When towing 4 down with no driveline disconnect does the odometer on current day auto's accumulate?

Ray, Does your Honda Hybrid odometer register towed milage?

THANKS :) JIM

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Now your getting into that dirty little secret. Ours dosent. Hope that helps give you a little piece of mind the next time you hit a used car lot:D
In fact, I think most dont!

Nice to know that last used car you bought has a potential additional 100000+ miles on it being pulled behind something! Granted, its not the same as actuall mialage but.............

[lewpopp]

Speedometers used to be mechanically operated with a cable off of the transmission. They are electronic now and are normally off with the key off.

Lew

[MangoMike]

Jim,

Lew's right on this one. Our Honda Element has an electric odometer and registers no mileage while being towed, even w/ the key in the on position.

mm

[Orren Zook]

Over the years I've towed a Jeep Liberty, Dodge Neon and a PT Cruiser, with the key off no mileage was recorded.

[Jerry Winchester]

The Hummer doesn't register mileage, but then neither does my '79 IH Scout with the mechanical set up.

[merle&louise]

Jim,

I tow a Honda Pilot and mileage does not register. The key is in the first position, which allows the wheels to turn. It does run the battery down. I have to stop towing and start the engine every 4 hours to recharge the battery a little. If I don't, I have a dead battery at the end of the day. Perhaps my battery is getting weak; it is only 2 years old (original).:eek:

[win42]

Tuga: I put up with the dead battery for one trip. Go get a battery switch and install it between the plus side of the battery and the battery cable. After toad hookup, lift the hood and disconnect the battery quick and easy. At destination turn it back on and WAALAA !! no dead battery.
Works for me.

[win42]

Jerry: you allready know this but; Your mechanical speedo cable runs off of your transmission. When you put your transfer case in neutral and the transmission in gear, nothing moves including the speedo cable. My jeep works the same way. The only thing towing contributes to is tire wear and tiny missles hitting the front facia.
Roger: Towing a car from the lot backwards does not turn the odometer back. Sorry.

[rfoster]

Somehow I knew sooner or later I would be drawn into this topic, so Harry towing a car backwards only confuses the locals - they say "what thu hell!" Must be one of them furiners.

And besides We always say "Miles don't hurt them CARS!" Does it?

Hey that's a nice car, It was probably towed behind a Motor Home to have that many miles.:cool:

[merle&louise]

Harry,

Thanks for the tip; I will install the switch a.s.a.p.

I'm not exactly sure where to put the switch, but I have a friend who can install it for me. Good post, Harry. Appreciate the advice.

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Autozone sells a cheap knife switch kit. ARO $5.00. Install per directions to + battery terminal. JIM

[Jon Wehrenberg]

There is a cheap way to do this. If you have a spare pin in your toad plug, use that pin to run a 14 gauge wire to the positive post on the toad battery, and going the other way to a 12V post in your bus electical system.

When you are pulling the toad going down the road, your bus alternator is keeping the system at around 13.24 Volts. You have some parasitic load on the toad, so what you are doing is supplying a small current flow to the toad battery. It may be the load necessary to remember your car radio stations or the time, or maybe your car computer is powered up with the key in your towing position.

I would put a diode in the wiring to the plug so the current flows to the car battery, but not to the bus batteries from the car.

[win42]

As usual Jon's way works best. Go with it if your equipment will support it.
Be sure you are transfering 12V and not 24V.

If you decide to go with the battery switch use a good enclosed type. Open knife type stands a chance of getting shorted out under your hood. When it's closed it is transfering your total operating load through it, get a heavy duty one.

[Ray Davis]

Wondering, When towing 4 down with no driveline disconnect does the odometer on current day auto's accumulate?

Ray, Does your Honda Hybrid odometer register towed milage?


Jim, sorry for the late response, but I didn't read the forum over the weekend. I was very pleasantly surprised to find out my Hybrid did NOT record mileage when towed. I fully expected that it would have.

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Ray, Do you get any battery charging in the toad when towing or does it charge only when its engine is running? Can you sense if you get regenerative braking when you drive the hybrid? What I am getting at is when you take your foot off the accelerator and don't apply the brakes (coast), does it coast freely or does it immediatly start to slow down with a dragging sensation so to speek? The hybrid fascinates me but I have not looked at (studied) them up close! With all those batterys they seem to go hand in hand with a bus. Thanks for the odometer reply. JIM FUN WITH COLOR

[merle&louise]

There is a cheap way to do this. If you have a spare pin in your toad plug, use that pin to run a 14 gauge wire to the positive post on the toad battery, and going the other way to a 12V post in your bus electical system.

When you are pulling the toad going down the road, your bus alternator is keeping the system at around 13.24 Volts. You have some parasitic load on the toad, so what you are doing is supplying a small current flow to the toad battery. It may be the load necessary to remember your car radio stations or the time, or maybe your car computer is powered up with the key in your towing position.

I would put a diode in the wiring to the plug so the current flows to the car battery, but not to the bus batteries from the car.

Jon,

My pin connector does not have any vacant pins. I was wondering; if I ran with the headlights on in the coach wouldn't that send power from the coach batteries to the car batteries (to power the running lights). Maybe this would be the same as running a wire from the coach battery + post to the toad battery + post.

Am I wrong in this assumption?

[Ray Davis]

Ray, Do you get any battery charging in the toad when towing or does it charge only when its engine is running? Can you sense if you get regenerative braking when you drive the hybrid? What I am getting at is when you take your foot off the accelerator and don't apply the brakes (coast), does it coast freely or does it immediatly start to slow down with a dragging sensation so to speek? The hybrid fascinates me but I have not looked at (studied) them up close! With all those batterys they seem to go hand in hand with a bus. Thanks for the odometer reply.

Jim, sorry I missed this post. Just caught it today because of Tuga's posting. I don't know if there is any charging when I am towing. I would doubt it, but next time I tow, I'll watch the battery indicator to see. I run in the accessory position, and my guess is that the charging system runs only in full run mode.

As for when driving, I can let up on the gas, and it will generally coast. But, it depends upon how long, and how fast you're going. If you're going down a fill, it will ultimately start getting some charging going even while coasting. But, it doesn't do it all the time, i.e. it's not obtrusive that every time you lift you foot off the gas, it starts charging. It also tends to charge harder, when you hit the brake. Coast will generally NOT charge at full output (by the guage), but hitting the brake definitely will.

I hope that helps.

Ray

[Ray Davis]

My pin connector does not have any vacant pins. I was wondering; if I ran with the headlights on in the coach wouldn't that send power from the coach batteries to the car batteries (to power the running lights).

Tuga, I wouldn't know for sure, but I would guess that you wouldn't get much help, if any. You're most likely already going through at least one diode set from your tow setup to the lights on the toad, so you're down .6 volts right there. Depending upon the vehicle, my guess (again) is that your lights are not directly connected to the battery, but are going through a relay or diode as well. I could be completely wrong.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Tuga, I would not be sure your light circuit would backfeed power to the battery.

It's easy to check. Your car battery resting voltage should be around 12.67 or thereabouts Try not to run the car beforfe you hook it up to the coach, or if you do have to turn on the headlights for a minute or two to get the surface charge off the battery.

Then hook it up and turn on the coach lights. If you light circuit back feeds to the battery, with the coach running you should see around 13.8 to 14.25 volts at the car battery indicating ii is getting current from the bus.

[merle&louise]

Ray & Jon,

Thanks for the tips. I am going to try the voltage test in the morning. I let you know what I find.

Thanks again for the help.;)

[merle&louise]

Ray & Jon,

I tried the voltage test on my Honda Pilot.

12.5 volts before the tow electric cable was connected

12.5 volts after the tow electric cable was connected with the coach running and the coach lights on.

It appears that the test has shown that voltage is NOT transferred from the coach to the Honda; just as you two guys thought.

Guess I will just install a jack knife switch on the battery positive lead like Harry suggested.

Thoughts?

[Jon Wehrenberg]

The only downside to a switch Tuga is sometimes a battery disconnect requires you to reset everything such as radio stations and the clock. If you can live with that it sounds like a good idea.

[merle&louise]

Jon,

I am going to check with the Honda dealer, he used to have a Prevost CC (2005) and he towed a Honda Pilot. I will see what he did to correct the problem.

Thanks for the help.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Tuga,

You have several options and I think the easiest and best is to just run a dedicated wire from your bus batteries (12V) to the car battery. That will maintain a charge. To eliminate the need for that it seems like there are two choices. Use the battery disconnect, or locate the current draw that is discharging the battery and pull that fuse.

The last option would be to stop periodically and run the car. That would be a pain.

I'm curious about what the dealer says.

[matsprt]

Tuga,


The last option would be to stop periodically and run the car. That would be a pain.

I'm curious about what the dealer says.

That's what the owners manual says. Stop every eight hours and run the engine.

I think failure to do this has caused an increase in the warranty claims against Honda/Acura. As a result they will no longer warranty 4 down towing of any of their vehicles except the CRV.

Michael

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Michael,

I only meant my remark in the context of maintaining a battery charge on the toad. I would never recommend against any instruction intended to lubricate which I assume you are talking about.

[matsprt]

Jon,

The owners manual seems focused on the transmission lubrication issues. However it does mention that if one is planning on towing longer than 8 hours, one should removed the # 18 fuse to minimize battery drain.

They also state one needs to change transmission fluids at 30K mile increments when towing frequently.

Michael

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Michael, I think you have just solved Tuga's problem by identifying the fuse to remove.

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Tuga, Would the #18 fuse removal that Michael speaks of help you? I don't recall do you both have the same vehicle? Michael I would like to know, what is it that is fused with #18 fuse. JIM

[matsprt]

Per the manual:

"When towing your vehicle for long periods, remove the 15 A Front Accessory Power Socket fuse to reduce drain on battery. This fuse is located in the interior fuse box and is shown as number 18 below.
Only remove the fuse after you have preformed the transmission shifting procedure, and the key is in the ACCESSORY (I) position. Store the fuse in an obvious location (center tray, coin pockets, etc) as a reminder to re-install the fuse before driving the vehicle."

There is a notice saying:

This fuse MUST be re-installed before driving the vehicle. Failure to re-install the fuse may allow you to remove the key with the transmission in gear.


Michael

[merle&louise]

Guys,

Thank all of you so much for your help. I really appreciate the effort.

I tried to find the written explanation that Michael posted in my owner's manual, but couldn't. My toad is a 2005 Honda Pilot w/automatic 4WD.

I agree that pulling the fuse is the simplest way to avoid the battery discharge problem, but just to be safe I am going to go the Honda dealer tomorrow and let the service manager advise me on the best route to go. I'd rather be safe than sorry.

I'll post the results from the Honda dealership tomorrow night if I can get a straight answer from them. Sometimes, they don't know for sure and they are afraid to guess. In that case, I will remove the 15A Front Accessory Power Socket fuse which on my vehicle is in slot #9 on the passenger inside front fuse panel.

The different slot number tells me that we may be discussing two different models or model years. Michael is yours a 2005 Honda Pilot w/4WD auto?

[Ray Davis]

The suggestion I saw in a Honda service bulletin, forwarded to me by Kevin Erion, is that you restart the car, and run through the shifting procedure around 300 miles.

I have done this with my Honda, and even with an Evenbrake System plugged into the cigarette lighter, my battery has been fine. 300 miles comes in about 6-8 hours, and I restart the car, and although I'm sure the battery is down "somewhat", I assume that running it for 10 minutes and doing the shifting has worked fine for me.

[merle&louise]

I drove by the Honda dealership today and spoke with their head electrician. He told me to just disconnect the fuse #9 under the hood; this will disconnect the radio and clock. There is really no downside to this method for me because I rarely listen to the radio anyway. Also, it is easy to reset the clock when I plug the fuse back in. I can also live without the clock while we are traveling. So I will just plug the fuse back in when we return home from a trip.

It is his opinion that my battery is getting weak (2 years old; original battery). This problem only began about 3 months ago. Prior to that the battery would start the car right up after 8 hours of towing. I think that he is right and when I replace the battery the problem of having to remove the fuse will go away.

THIS PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAPPEN IF I HAD A LIBERTY!:D

[lewpopp]

Right here on this famous site we ask for info and someone gives it and we decide to set it aside and head for the dealer. That sounds just like a dogs philosophy "If he can't eat it, piss on it.

I'm tuned up for it, come on.

Lew

[merle&louise]

Hey Lew,

If I hurt anyone's feelings by double checking with the Honda dealer, I'm sorry. I had received some advice via PM that running a wire from the bus to the toad might cause a problem with the Daytime Running Lights. That is the reason that I wanted to be sanctioned by the Honda dealer before I took any action.

I appreciate and value all the posts on this forum. Again, it was not my intent to ignore anyone's advice; I was simply trying to fix my problem without causing any more problems.

I thank you for your post, and I value your opinion.:D :D

[MangoMike]

Lew,

You better not ask anybody outside of POG for help on that Microwave issue.

mm