Buick LaCrosse: Battery Load Management - Lighting Features - Lighting - Buick LaCrosse Owners ManualBuick LaCrosse: 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 and it is recommended that the driver reduce the electrical loads as much as possible. See Battery Voltage and Charging Messages.

    Exit Lighting
    The headlamps, taillamps, parking lamps, back-up lamps, and license plate lamps come on at night, or in areas with limited lighting, when the key is removed from the ignition. The dome lamps ...

    Battery Power Protection
    The battery saver feature is designed to protect the vehicle's battery. If the exterior lamps or any interior light is left on and the ignition is turned off, the battery rundown protection ...

    See also:

    Door lock buzzer
    If an attempt to lock the doors is made when a door is not fully closed, a buzzer sounds continuously. Fully close the door to stop the buzzer, and lock the vehicle once more. ...

    Selecting a Station
    Seek Tuning If the radio station is not known: Briefly press or to automatically search for the next available station. If a station is not found, the radio switches to a more sensitive s ...

    Vehicle tool kit
    The vehicle tool kit can be found in the stowage well under the trunk floor/cargo compartment floor. Depending on the vehicle equipment, the vehicle tool kit is on the lefthand side or the rig ...