CHEVROLET 2012 Impala - Manual (Page 152)

Black plate (8,1) Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2012
6-8 Lighting
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 the
power that is needed for very high
electrical loads.
A 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 Driver Information
Center (DIC) message might be
displayed, such as BATTERY
SAVER ACTIVE. If this messages
displays, it is recommended that the
driver reduce the electrical loads as
much as possible. See Driver
Information Center (DIC) on
page 5‑23.
Battery Power Protection
This feature helps prevent the
battery from being drained, if
the interior courtesy lamps,
reading/map lamps, visor
vanity lamps, or trunk lamp are
accidentally left on. If any of these
lamps are left on, they automatically
turn off after 10 minutes, if the
ignition is off. The lamps will not
come back on again until one
of the following occurs:
. The ignition is turned on.
. The exterior lamps control is
turned off, then on again.
The headlamps will time out after
10 minutes, if they are manually
turned on with the ignition on or off.