I have an 09 FIt that I tow behind a motorhome. The battery keeps going dead on me after a long day of towing.

I was wondering if I could run a tow lights/bar from the four pin connector on the motor home instead of using the Fit lights. It would save me from turning the Fit to accessory II and draining the battery on a long haul.

 

wow..i would like to see a picture of that (ur car towing the motorhome) cuz i get laughed at when people say "u got a tow hook?" " what the hell can you tow?".

 

im pretty sure he said.. "I have an 09 FIT that I tow behind a motorhome"

 

I've never towed behind a motor home but I don't see why you couldn't come up with some auxillary tow lights to connect. Another possibility might be to go to a Bargman style round trailer connector instead of the 4-pin variety. That style has more connections including one that can be used for DC power from the tow vehicle, commonly used to connect to the battery of the "trailer" to run a DC powered fridge or similar. I don't see why this couldn't be connected to th Fit battery to provide 12V from the MH.

Whatever you do, you need to fix it pretty quick. Starting batteries generally won't take more than a handful of deep discharges before they start to fail. Pay attention to how qickly the Fit cranks and don't be surprised if you end up having to replace the battery sooner than the 5+ years they usually last.

Another thing you might do is pull the fuse for the DRL's when you tow. If those light up with the key in the position you mentioned, that's drawing unnecesary power from the tiny Fit battery.

 

oops. i feel dumb. lol.

 

I am not sure where they get them, but I have seen people using magnetic ones that just slap on to the back of the car. I am assuming they are battery powered. I am sure you could run cabled lights also. Like a trailer setup - just find a way to mount the lights on the fit instead.

Maybe those magnetic bases used on shortwave radio antennae mounted to a trailer light would work.

Before I get flamed, I don't mean literally slapping a magnetic light on the car. Also, I am certain you could use something between the light and the car to protect the paint.

 

I saw the light bars that hook to the 4pin connector I have in the back of the Motorhome. Some use a magnetic base and some seem to have bungee cord to hold it on. So the basic thought was just run the 4 pin connector to the light bar and not draw any power from the Fit.

Also saw some wireless lights but then you have to have a way to charge the batteries in the wireless lights.

My real answer would be to buy a good deep cycle battery for the Fit. But because of the wierd size of the Fit battery, there are no 3rd batteries like an optima that just drops in.

 

12V Magnetic Towing Light at RVToyOutlet.com

$15 plus shipping and you are all set. Magnetic Tow Lights.

~SB

 

Thanks I will check them out.

Great help.