ambyn Report post Posted November 7, 2012 I have been towing an 06 Trail Blazer 4-down off and on for about 6 months. Sometimes the battery is dead when we are ready to disconnect and drive away. The tow vehicle is an 05 Fleetwood Expedition and the toad has auxiliary air activated brakes from the coach and a +12 V keep alive wire protected by automatic circuit breakers. Is there a fuse somewhere that I should be removing? I do find the towing instructions in the owner's manual a little confusing as to what position to leave the ignition switch in. Can I remove the key all together? Does the steering wheel not lock on this vehicle with the key removed? Any help would be appreciated. Leaving for FL on Saturday and would prefer not having to jump the battery when we arrive. Regards, Amby N Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hermanmullins Report post Posted November 7, 2012 Amby, the steering wheel on your 06 blazer does not have a locking pin. I assume that you have 4 wheel drive. If your battery is only "sometimes" dead I would have the battery checked. If you are talking about a brake system that is opperated off the coaches air brakes you should not have anything draging down the battery. However if you have a buddy brake or something simular then that could be one reason that your battery is down. As for your keep alive connection from the coach to the Blazer you shoud have 2 fuses. One at the coach and one at the Blazers battery. Check the out put on the Line to be sure it is charging your battery. Herman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hermanmullins Report post Posted November 7, 2012 Amby, the steering wheel on your 06 blazer does not have a locking pin. I assume that you have 4 wheel drive. If your battery is only "sometimes" dead I would have the battery checked. If you are talking about a brake system that is opperated off the coaches air brakes you should not have anything draging down the battery. However if you have a buddy brake or something simular then that could be one reason that your battery is down. As for your keep alive connection from the coach to the Blazer you shoud have 2 fuses. One at the coach and one at the Blazers battery. Check the out put on the Line to be sure it is charging your battery. Herman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NavyDad89 Report post Posted November 7, 2012 Herman is correct, in that your trailblazer does not have a steering lock so you should turn off the ignition and remove the key. I towed an '03 GMC Envoy (identical to 4 wd trailblazer) for 5 years and never had a dead battery except for one time (the battery had a dead cell) and I used a Roadmaster Evenbrake in the Envoy. Even with the brake using battery power to recharge the reserve air for brake application, I never drained the battery below it's ability to start the car. I did, however, not leave the car attached more than 2 days of towing without unplugging the EvenBrake from the power point inside the car while stopped for the night. Afer two days of towing, I always at least started the Envoy and let it run for a whle even if I had not disconnected the tow bar. Since you do not have a brake system that uses battery power for braking and even if your charge wire is not working at all, you should not be having a problem unless your battery is going bad or you have a corroded battery cable connection. Since I never used a charge line from coach to toad I can't advise but I think Herman's suggestion for checking fuses on both ends of the charge line and then testing voltage on the charge line while the coach is running is very good. Ed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tbutler Report post Posted November 8, 2012 We tow an '02 Trailblazer and there are two fuses that we have to pull before towing. The towing instructions list the two fuses, I don't remember the numbers and they may be different for your model. They are 40A fuses. We have never had a problem with the battery going dead. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hermanmullins Report post Posted November 8, 2012 Tom, Does pulling those two fuses effect your EMC? If so wouldn't a Battery disconnect work just as well? If it doesn't effect the EMC when you have to pull the fuses then there would be no need for the disconnect. Another thought. Could you wire in a double pole single throw switch that would be the same as pulling the fuses and you wouldn't have to get into the fuse panel each time. You could put fuses in line to protect the circuit. Herman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ambyn Report post Posted November 9, 2012 Thanks for the info. Taking the key out should solve my battery problem. Amby N Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whiteeagle Report post Posted November 9, 2012 Another solution to running a toad battery down is to use a "batter / booster / charger" unit to power the brake unit instead of the toad battery.. They are available in all levels of power .. same size as a car battery.. sit on auto floor while in use.. just recharge when one gets to destination .. always have a charged unit / jumper assist unit available for use on others whose toad battery went dead. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
