Tatty2 Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 We purchased a 2011 front wheel drive Ford Edge to pull behind a 42ft Class A motorhome. We had a Blue Ox towing kit installed and we followed the guide lines by the owners manual to put the car in neutral and auxliary mode. All went well for 2 days, we stopped every 500 miles and ran the car for 5 min. Then on the third day we had gone 250 miles and the battery was dead. Do we need to check in to battery disconnect? Any advice would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stubby Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 Make sure that after you place the shifter in neutral, turn the key all the way to the left ( acc position not ON position). Unless you have the push button start. If that is the case you need to get some sort of trickle charger and a link from the motorhome to maintain the battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stubby Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 We purchased a 2011 front wheel drive Ford Edge to pull behind a 42ft Class A motorhome. We had a Blue Ox towing kit installed and we followed the guide lines by the owners manual to put the car in neutral and auxliary mode. All went well for 2 days, we stopped every 500 miles and ran the car for 5 min. Then on the third day we had gone 250 miles and the battery was dead. Do we need to check in to battery disconnect? Any advice would be appreciated. What Blue Ox baseplate did you have installed? Did it result in an accurate ( like new) fit and trim of the hood and grill facsia? I have had mine redone three times and it still does not look correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cal3thousand Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 Make sure that after you place the shifter in neutral, turn the key all the way to the left ( acc position not ON position). Unless you have the push button start. If that is the case you need to get some sort of trickle charger and a link from the motorhome to maintain the battery. If you DO have the push button start, one push is ACC, and 1 more push is ON, one more for OFF. No brake of course as that will start the ignition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g-man54 Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 Dear Edge Dead Battery: Welcome to the club of 2011 Ford Edge dead battery owners. You are NOT alone. I too have experience this problem with flat towing my new Edge and finding the battery dead about noontime. I'll pass on what I have learned from Ford and others on the Forum. No one at Ford can explain why the battery goes dead when flat towed even when you follow the instructions in the owner's manual (page 234) to the letter. The manual is obviously in error and needs to be re-written. Running the Edge for 5 minutes at the start and periodically throughout the day does NOT keep it up! The manual also shows and mentions only 1 Accessory posiition (page 235). If there are 2 accessory positions on the ignition as some have stated then Ford needs to admit that and correct the manual. According to some, the first accessory position can only be located if you first turn the ignition on and then put the transmission in NEUTRAL. Then you turn the key counter-clockwise back until it stops. You are now in the first accessory position and according to some, in this position you will NOT experience any battery drain. If you do as the manual states and put the key in Ford accessory (Second) position you will experience as some have reported up to 12 amps of battery drain. I have tried to replicate this with a VOM and have had no luck. In the 1st. accessory position you will not be able to remove the key from the ignition. To do that, you must put your foot on the brake, move the shift lever to PARK and then you can turn the ignition to OFF and remove the key. For over 3 months now I have asked Ford three questions: 1. Why is it necessary to have the key in accessory when flat towing? 2. What is the phantom 1st. accessory position and how does it differ from the one on page 235? 3. If battery is so important to the flat towing of the Edge, what happens to it when it is towed with a dead battery? My service advisor is working on the answers but nothing has come back from Ford. One Ford service advisor told me to disconnect the negative battery terminal. This did save the battery but it also killed the backup (Roadmaster/BrakeMaster 9100) breaking system. Without battery the red light in the MH which monitors the braking system and the Break Away system will NOT function. So, I must have battery. Another issue has to do with installing a battery charger system (Toad Charger) in the Edge. If Ford says this is THE solution to the problem are they also saying that they approve it and that installing it will not void the Edge warranty? It would be nice if Ford put this in writing to cover the owners. Hope this helps. Let us know if you find a solution to the dead battery problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g-man54 Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 Since FORD has shown no interest in fixing the Dead Battery problem inherient in 2011 Edges being towed, I think a Class Action suite is in order. Let us know your thoughts. G-man54. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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