Owner's Manual

Black plate (8,1)
Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2011
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 5‑26.
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.