Lighting features, Exit lighting, Battery load management – CHEVROLET 2011 Colorado User Manual

Page 145: Battery power protection

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Chevrolet Colorado Owner Manual - 2011

Lighting

6-7

Lighting Features

Exit Lighting

The interior lamps will come on
when the key is removed from the
ignition. The lamps will not come
on if the dome override button is
pressed in.

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.

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 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) on page 5‑19
.

Battery Power Protection

This feature shuts off the dome
lamp if it is left on for more than
20 minutes when the ignition is in
LOCK/OFF. This helps to prevent
the battery from running down.

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