Most ICE cars have 12-volt batteries powering all the appliances like the radio, the headlights, taillights, other interior lights, air conditioning systems, horns, fuse boxes, etc. This is often enough load to drain the battery in no time without recharging it.
Auto manufacturers install alternators to charge and, as a consequence, prevent the battery from running out of charge. The alternator is connected to the engine by the serpentine belt.
Manufacturers configure the alternator to regulate voltages that must be more than battery voltages (around 12.4 volts to 12.8 volts) (14.2 volts to 14.7 volts). With this configuration, the charger will recharge the battery and restore electric flow to all the electric appliances in the car, assuming that the battery “holds charge”.
But, for some reason, the battery may be unable to hold charge or unable to supply enough electric flow to run all the electrical appliances in the car, in which case the car computer signs up by displaying a battery-saver active warning on the driver information center.
In this article, we will explain what does battery saver active mean on a car, its causes, and probable solutions to the problem.
What Does A Battery Saver Active Mean?
A Battery saver active means the battery is weak, not charging properly, or running down. And the car computer is disabling some electrical appliances that could reduce the battery life and leave you stranded.
Battery saver active warning on the driver information center means your battery and alternator cannot create the proper power flow to check certain systems.
A battery-saver active system helps to avoid a sudden shutoff by maximizing the battery current when the battery and the alternator are not giving adequate electric flow and your powertrain control module works with the battery sensor to sense and calculate your vehicle charging system among other things.
It maximizes your battery running and prevents a sudden shutoff. So let’s now see common reasons for battery saver active on Chevy Cruze and other models.
What Causes Battery Saver Active?
Similar to some system concerns in a car, there are a few reasons that can make the powertrain control module (PCM) trigger a battery saver active message on your dashboard. Here are common grounds that will bring the warning light.
Bad Battery
One of the regular reasons you may see battery saver active on Chevy Malibu is with a weak battery. Once the warning light comes on in your dash, inspect the battery life.
If the battery goes weak and discharges 12.4 volts or less, the battery sensor reports this to the engine control unit. The car computer shuts down the non-essential systems, leaving the most vital active for the best movement of the vehicle.
Does battery saver active mean I need a new battery? Assuming it’s the battery, you can test the battery with a multimeter to know if it’s letting the needed voltage discharge. Check the battery and see if you need a new one or if the suspect is one of the following parameters.
Lousy Alternator
Some things can happen not to allow the alternator to charge the battery. This will trigger the ECM to show battery saver active on the Chevy Impala or any vehicle model. If this warning light appears on your dashboard while you’re driving, it is most probably a faulty alternator or a faulty connection at the battery.
Lose or Lousy battery cables.
Loose or lousy battery cables may bring about intermittent electric flow to the car accessories. Corrosions may be the problem too. Even with your battery connections appearing okay, they can cause you problems.
You may only need to wash the battery terminals and battery cables and apply an anti-rust to fix the issue. This will ensure your battery cables do not rust in the near feature.
Lousy Battery sensor
The vehicle battery sensor regulates and measures batter-electric flow and the net voltage to your car battery. When it sees that the electric flow from the battery is less than 12.4, it will relate this information to the car computer, triggering the battery saver active on the dashboard.
This battery sensor also measures and regulates the net voltage; that is, the electric flow from the alternator and the current drawn from your car accessories.
If a constant negative current flows through car accessories, they must be draining more current than the voltage that is transmitting from the alternator.
Now that we understand why the battery saver is active popping up on the GMC Acadia and many other car models, we can take a look at how to resolve the issues.
Battery Saver Mode Fixes
There are several causes of battery-saver active warning messages, so there are also ways to fix and prevent it from showing up anytime soon.
Replace malfunctioning sensor
If your scan tool indicates the battery sensor is malfunctioning, it could be that the sensor is improperly fitted or the battery sensor is bad. If the battery saver active warning light comes on after you changed your battery or the alternator, there’s a probability you did not install the sensor properly.
The sensor connects to the negative battery terminal. So, it could mean you did not install it properly. Cross-check your connections to correct this issue. Also sandpaper the negative battery terminal beforehand bolting to the vehicle frame.
However, you may need to replace the sensor if the warning light pops up when you are driving without working on the charging systems. But before replacing the battery sensor, ensure the battery and alternator are working okay.
Tightening loose connections
A frequent cause of battery-saver active warning messages on the DIC is loose or bad battery connections.
Tightening a few bolts on the terminals, or cleaning battery terminal corrosion is all you need to fix the problem. You may have to replace the terminals sometimes when the corrosion is serious.
Replace a defective battery.
A faulty battery is another major cause of seeing a battery saver active warning message on your ignition. Car battery low and it’s not starting? The car battery may be the cause.
You will need to put the battery to test to confirm if it is truly the culprit or the service of the car alternator. This is How to Test a Car Battery.
- With All Electricals Switch Off in Your Car & following the ignition switch being off
- Grab your digital multimeter and switch it to 20V DC
- Connect the black probe on the negative battery terminal and the red probe on the positive battery terminal
- Is it below 12.4V? Then, bad battery voltage!
If you performed the test above and you found less than 12.4V, the battery is below required voltage. And beneath the required voltage and may need charging or need replacing. Check out this article on How to test a car battery. Inside it goes through several methods to test a car battery.
Replace lousy alternator
A bad alternator. Okay, every other possible cause of your battery problems seems fine, so try testing the alternator and see if it’s the culprit. Here’s how to test an alternator.
- With the engine off and key out folks, and the lights and everything else switched off
- Take your multimeter and set it to between 15-20V DC
- Clean the battery terminals to ensure there’s no soot or gunk mucking things up
- Connect the multimeter black probe to the negative side and the red to the positive side, you should have anything around 12.6V
- Leave the two probes connected and start your car, you should start to see a 14.2V to 14.7V depending on how many miles you’ve smashed the glass screen in
- Less than 14.2V means the alternator is undercharging, and more than 14.7 means the alternator is overcharging
- Now put a load on your nice new motor by turning the headlights, taillights, inside lights, offroad lights, radio, and AC (again), and watch, it shouldn’t drop below 13 volts
- Switch the engine off and see what you get. It should be more than 12.6V now, which shows the alternator is doing great.
FAQs.
Q: Does battery-saver mode mean I need a new battery?
Chevy battery saver active does not mean you need a new battery. When this warning message comes up on the driver information center, your battery is distributing less than the needy amount of electric voltage.
A myriad of factors such as faulty alternator, dead battery, defective battery sensor, and loose battery connection can be the cause.
How do I turn off battery saver?
When the battery saver active message is showing on the driver information center, it means your car battery is discharging low amount of electric flow to power the car system. The proper way to turn off battery-saver mode is to fix the problem.
That may mean battery replacement, alternator inspection, replace faulty battery sensor, clean battery terminal corrosion, and retighten anything loose.
What does it mean when it says battery saver active on Chevy Malibu?
Whether battery saver active Pontiac Grand Prix, Chevy malibu, GMC Yukon driver information center means the electric flow has dropped to where it cannot carry all electrical systems. The car computer must shut down some system operation to preserve battery life.
How long can you drive your car in battery-saving mode?
There’s no time set on how long you can drive with battery-saver mode. However, if you keep driving with battery saver active on driver information center, the engine can shut down in 20 minutes or 2 hours. It is best to have the problem fixed once you notice it.
Final Words
Battery saver active is a feature that stops the cars from shutting down when they have a dying battery, bad alternator, or corroded terminals.
Your car battery is one of the most vital components you have because it helps you start your car and help it run. Without it, the vehicle will not start. And it must be in good working condition for the car to operate optimally.
So, if you noticed a problem, check the probable causes and solutions above to fix it. If you don’t trust your gut or don’t have the confidence to fix it, dial up for an experienced mechanic to rectify the fault.