Buick Enclave: Battery Load Management - Lighting Features - Lighting - Buick Enclave Owner's ManualBuick Enclave: Battery Load Management

The vehicle has Electric Power Management (EPM) that estimates the battery's temperature and state of charge. It then adjusts the voltage for best performance and extended life of the battery.

When the battery's state of charge is low, the voltage is raised slightly to quickly bring the charge back up.

When the state of charge is high, the voltage is lowered slightly to prevent overcharging. If the vehicle has a voltmeter gauge or a voltage display on the Driver Information Center (DIC), you may see the voltage move up or down. This is normal. If there is a problem, an alert will be displayed.

The battery can be discharged at idle if the electrical loads are very high. This is true for all vehicles.

This is because the generator (alternator) may not be spinning fast enough at idle to produce all of the power needed for very high electrical loads.

► high electrical load occurs when several of the following are on, such as: headlamps, high beams, fog lamps, rear window defogger, climate control fan at high speed, heated seats, engine cooling fans, trailer loads, and loads plugged into accessory power outlets.

EPM works to prevent excessive discharge of the battery. It does this by balancing the generator's output and the vehicle's electrical needs.

It can increase engine idle speed to generate more power whenever needed. It can temporarily reduce the power demands of some accessories.

Normally, these actions occur in steps or levels, without being noticeable. In rare cases at the highest levels of corrective action, this action may be noticeable to the driver. If so, a DIC message might be displayed, such as BATTERY SAVER ACTIVE, BATTERY VOLTAGE LOW, or LOW BATTERY.

If one of these messages displays, it is recommended that the driver reduce the electrical loads as much as possible. See Driver Information Center (DIC) .

    Parade Dimming
    This feature automatically prohibits the dimming of the instrument panel displays in daylight while the headlamps are on so that the displays are still able to be seen. ...

    Battery Power Protection
    This feature helps prevent the battery from being drained, if the interior courtesy lamps or reading lamps are accidentally left on. If any of these lamps are left on, they automatically turn off a ...

    See also:

    Front fog lamps and rear fog lamp
    Front fog lamps Only vehicles with front fog lamps have the "fog lamps" function. WARNING   If you suspect that driving conditions will be foggy, turn the light switch to b ...

    Approach/departure angle
    1 Approach/departure angle, front 2 Approach/departure angle, rear • Comply with the rules for off-road driving. • Do not drive at an angle on slopes, inclines or gradients, but instead ...

    Important safety notes
    WARNING   When operating the climate control, the air that enters the passenger compartment through the air vents can be very hot or very cold (depending on the set temperature). This c ...