Battery Monitoring Sensor Low Battery Warning Messages

The BMS  continuously monitors the condition of the startup battery. When excessive startup battery discharge occurs, the system begins to shut down non-essential electrical systems in order to protect the startup battery.

The BMS  sends signals to the BCM  /GWM.  The BCM  /GWM  sends the signals forward to the IPC  and IDMA  to display warning messages to inform the driver:

• The startup battery is at a low level of charge.
• Power consumption limit has been exceeded in Power Mode 0 (vehicle locked and armed).

Low Battery - 'Please start engine' 

This message is displayed on the IPC  message center when the vehicle is in Power Mode 6 (ignition ON) or less. This indicates that the startup battery SOC  is less than a predefined threshold. As soon as the startup battery SOC  is greater than this threshold, the message is removed. The message can be manually removed by pressing the 'Menu/OK' switch on the left steering wheel switch.

Low Startup Battery - 'Please switch engine on or system will shut down in 3 minutes' 

This message is displayed as a warning on the IDMA  when the vehicle is in Power Mode 6 (ignition ON) or less. This indicates that the startup battery SOC  is less than a predefined threshold. The message displays until the startup battery State of Charge is greater than the predefined threshold. The vehicle must be in Power Mode 7 (engine running) for a minimum of 10 minutes.

'System will shut down in 3 minutes' 

This message is displayed as an energy management message on the IDMA.  This message appears when the vehicle is in Power Mode 6 (ignition ON) or less, and system features are causing excessive startup battery discharge. After 3 minutes the BCM  /GWM  begins shutting down vehicle systems. Normal system operation resumes when the vehicle is in Power Mode 7 (engine running).

These messages are based on a percentage of the startup battery capacity. The percentage can change based upon several factors. When activated, the resetting of these messages does not occur until the vehicle is in Power Mode 7 (engine running) for 10 minutes. This time allows the startup battery to replace any lost charge. However, if the vehicle is in Power Mode 7 (engine running) for less than 10 minutes, the messages is displayed after an additional 5 minutes. This occurs when the vehicle is in Power Mode 6 (Ignition ON).