Black plate (8,1)Cadillac CTS/CTS-V Owner Manual - 2013 - crc2 - 8/22/12
6-8 Lighting
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 fastenough 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 bedisplayed, such as BATTERY
SAVER ACTIVE or BATTERY
VOLTS LOW. If this message is
displayed, it is recommended that
the driver reduce the electrical loads
as much as possible. See
Driver
Information Center (DIC) on
page 5‑27.
Battery Power Protection
This feature helps to prevent battery
drain if accessory lamps are left on.
If accessory lamps such as the
vanity mirror, cargo, reading,
console, or glove box are left on,
they automatically time out after
about 20 minutes. To reset the
battery protection, all of the above
lamps must be turned off or the
ignition must be in the ACC/
ACCESSORY position.
