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DIC Message: Battery Saver Active

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Old Apr 8, 2006 | 12:44 AM
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Default DIC Message: Battery Saver Active

OK, this forum has scared me to death as far as electrical gremlins in the C6. I picked up my first Corvette last night. Today after work I got in and the radio was playing. Not sure why the radio was on, I hadn't hit the start button yet. Also, the DIC said "Battery Saver Active." When I got home I noticed that the mirror lights were left on. I'm surprised these lights would cause the battery saver to activate. Plus the manual says these lights shut down after 20 minutes.

The car also cranked slowly, but it started, so the battery was getting low. I took the long way home (I only live 2 miles from work) to make sure the battery got a good charge and everything has been fine tonight. I also spent quite a bit of time in the car last night with the Stereo on, and programming the DIC without the engine on. Hopefully this was a one time deal, but why would the radio be on when I got back into the car after work, very strange? I showed the new car to some of my co-workers today, maybe one of them hit the accessory button, would that leave the radio on? Again, I thought it would shut down after 20 minutes, but does it start back up when you get close with the FOB?

Thanks,
Glenn
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Old Apr 8, 2006 | 02:43 AM
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Originally Posted by glennhl
OK, this forum has scared me to death as far as electrical gremlins in the C6. I picked up my first Corvette last night. Today after work I got in and the radio was playing. Not sure why the radio was on, I hadn't hit the start button yet. Also, the DIC said "Battery Saver Active." When I got home I noticed that the mirror lights were left on. I'm surprised these lights would cause the battery saver to activate. Plus the manual says these lights shut down after 20 minutes.

The car also cranked slowly, but it started, so the battery was getting low. I took the long way home (I only live 2 miles from work) to make sure the battery got a good charge and everything has been fine tonight. I also spent quite a bit of time in the car last night with the Stereo on, and programming the DIC without the engine on. Hopefully this was a one time deal, but why would the radio be on when I got back into the car after work, very strange? I showed the new car to some of my co-workers today, maybe one of them hit the accessory button, would that leave the radio on? Again, I thought it would shut down after 20 minutes, but does it start back up when you get close with the FOB?

Thanks,
Glenn
Reply
Old Apr 8, 2006 | 03:24 AM
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Originally Posted by glennhl
OK, this forum has scared me to death as far as electrical gremlins in the C6. I picked up my first Corvette last night. Today after work I got in and the radio was playing. Not sure why the radio was on, I hadn't hit the start button yet. Also, the DIC said "Battery Saver Active." When I got home I noticed that the mirror lights were left on. I'm surprised these lights would cause the battery saver to activate. Plus the manual says these lights shut down after 20 minutes.

The car also cranked slowly, but it started, so the battery was getting low. I took the long way home (I only live 2 miles from work) to make sure the battery got a good charge and everything has been fine tonight. I also spent quite a bit of time in the car last night with the Stereo on, and programming the DIC without the engine on. Hopefully this was a one time deal, but why would the radio be on when I got back into the car after work, very strange? I showed the new car to some of my co-workers today, maybe one of them hit the accessory button, would that leave the radio on? Again, I thought it would shut down after 20 minutes, but does it start back up when you get close with the FOB?

Thanks,
Glenn
The mirror lights is easy, just to the left of the steering column is a rotary ****. Push it and the lights will come on or go off. The buttons on the bottom of the mirror do the same thing so you have to get out of the car and close the door walk away about 10 feet and watch the mirror lights. They should dim to off in less than 2 minutes. If they don't push the **** and let go then wait again. If that doesn't work push both buttons on the bottom of the mirror and wait again. One of these combos will work. The radio is a mystery to me.
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Old Apr 8, 2006 | 03:40 AM
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yeah - that dimmer **** is easy to hit with your knee, getting in and out, and showing the car to friends. Make sure you find that - it's the key to shutting your mirror lights off.

Also wanted to chime in and say two words: Priority Start -- got mine in the mail this week, and will be installing it this weekend. For sure, the '05 comes with a gremlin as standard equipment. Not sure if the '06 still has the gremlin or not, but with your $60,000 car, definitely worth another $60 , so you're not stuck alone, without help, 300 miles from home as I was last month.
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Old Apr 8, 2006 | 04:35 AM
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one important thing about the mirror lights,,, make sure the buttons under the mirror are pushed in,, they are the opposite of what you think,,, on a regular basis they should be pushed in,, then the lights will go off faster when you lock the car... try it, youll see
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Old Apr 8, 2006 | 09:10 AM
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Originally Posted by bugman
yeah - that dimmer **** is easy to hit with your knee, getting in and out, and showing the car to friends. Make sure you find that - it's the key to shutting your mirror lights off.

Also wanted to chime in and say two words: Priority Start -- got mine in the mail this week, and will be installing it this weekend. For sure, the '05 comes with a gremlin as standard equipment. Not sure if the '06 still has the gremlin or not, but with your $60,000 car, definitely worth another $60 , so you're not stuck alone, without help, 300 miles from home as I was last month.
My Priority Start goes on today
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Old Apr 8, 2006 | 09:47 AM
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Thanks, I think I undertand some now. I had figured out the mirror lights. You guys are right, it's opposite, you have to have the buttons in. I also found the small dimmer button and had it correct. But then a good friend of mine who is 6'4" got in the car and his knees were up against the steering wheel. I bet he hit the dimmer switch. But I have no clue why the radio was on.

Why the priority start? Doesn't the built in battery saver work? If this happens again, I'll spend the $60. Where is the best place to buy one?

Thanks,
Glenn
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Old Apr 8, 2006 | 10:17 AM
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Originally Posted by glennhl
OK, this forum has scared me to death as far as electrical gremlins in the C6. I picked up my first Corvette last night. Today after work I got in and the radio was playing. Not sure why the radio was on, I hadn't hit the start button yet. Also, the DIC said "Battery Saver Active." When I got home I noticed that the mirror lights were left on. I'm surprised these lights would cause the battery saver to activate. Plus the manual says these lights shut down after 20 minutes.

The car also cranked slowly, but it started, so the battery was getting low. I took the long way home (I only live 2 miles from work) to make sure the battery got a good charge and everything has been fine tonight. I also spent quite a bit of time in the car last night with the Stereo on, and programming the DIC without the engine on. Hopefully this was a one time deal, but why would the radio be on when I got back into the car after work, very strange? I showed the new car to some of my co-workers today, maybe one of them hit the accessory button, would that leave the radio on? Again, I thought it would shut down after 20 minutes, but does it start back up when you get close with the FOB?

Thanks,
Glenn
You said you programed the DIC without the car being on. How??? I had to have the engine running to do it, couldn't get it to come up otherwise.
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Old Apr 8, 2006 | 11:00 AM
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Originally Posted by glennhl
Why the priority start? Doesn't the built in battery saver work? If this happens again, I'll spend the $60. Where is the best place to buy one?
I know nothing about the 'battery saver'. There's no such animal on my '05. Never heard of that before - perhaps you do have a "priority start-like" device built into your '06. But if you don't, get the PS -- in my post above, I put the link in my text - it is underlined. I think it was $69 or so. order it there- got mine in 4 days.
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Old Apr 8, 2006 | 11:07 AM
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Originally Posted by cg205
You said you programed the DIC without the car being on. How??? I had to have the engine running to do it, couldn't get it to come up otherwise.
Hold the accessary button down for 10 seconds and that power her up without engine running.
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Old Apr 8, 2006 | 12:15 PM
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Originally Posted by bugman
I know nothing about the 'battery saver'. There's no such animal on my '05. Never heard of that before - perhaps you do have a "priority start-like" device built into your '06. But if you don't, get the PS -- in my post above, I put the link in my text - it is underlined. I think it was $69 or so. order it there- got mine in 4 days.
Your O5 does have a built in battery saver. Shutting down in reverse is supposed to activate the battery saver which then should do a similar job to priority start. The difference is that not shutting down in reverse actually causes the battery to drain, whereas priority start is always on and would under no circumstances actually cause a drain on the battery.
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Old Apr 8, 2006 | 12:37 PM
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Originally Posted by bugman
I know nothing about the 'battery saver'. There's no such animal on my '05. Never heard of that before - perhaps you do have a "priority start-like" device built into your '06. But if you don't, get the PS -- in my post above, I put the link in my text - it is underlined. I think it was $69 or so. order it there- got mine in 4 days.
Yes there is. I have an '05 MN6. I'd never seen this message before either, however, the other week I was getting an AVIC-D2 installed. The guy had the door open and stick not in the reverse position. At one point I saw "Battery Saver Active" on the DIC. Not sure what it was doing, but I absolutely saw it.

Last edited by S2K; Apr 9, 2006 at 03:50 AM.
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Old Apr 8, 2006 | 12:44 PM
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Originally Posted by bugman
yeah - that dimmer **** is easy to hit with your knee, getting in and out, and showing the car to friends. Make sure you find that - it's the key to shutting your mirror lights off.

Also wanted to chime in and say two words: Priority Start -- got mine in the mail this week, and will be installing it this weekend. For sure, the '05 comes with a gremlin as standard equipment. Not sure if the '06 still has the gremlin or not, but with your $60,000 car, definitely worth another $60 , so you're not stuck alone, without help, 300 miles from home as I was last month.
Which model to get?
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Old Apr 8, 2006 | 01:11 PM
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With regards to the radio issue, if you press the off button twice the car goes into accessory mode. Since the radio will keep playing when the car is shut off until after you open the door, it is easy to jump out leaving the car in accessory mode and radio still on.
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Old Apr 8, 2006 | 04:09 PM
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Thanks, you just keep learning these tips from you'all!
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Old Apr 8, 2006 | 04:53 PM
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Originally Posted by cg205
You said you programed the DIC without the car being on. How??? I had to have the engine running to do it, couldn't get it to come up otherwise.
Hold the kill button (Acc button) in and hold it in for a while.
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Old Apr 8, 2006 | 06:44 PM
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Page 3-54 in the 2005 owners manual:

Battery Saver Active: "When the vehicle has detected that the battery voltage is dropping beyond a resonable point, the BATTERY SAVER ACTIVE message will display. etc.....................When in doubt, look at the owners manual.

Jimmy
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Old Apr 8, 2006 | 07:21 PM
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The radio still should have shut off by itself. Several times I turned on the accessory mode so I could listen to the stereo while working on the car. I rolled the windows down and left the FOB inside. After about 20 minutes it shut down completely. Maybe yours wasn't on the whole time?
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Old Apr 8, 2006 | 09:33 PM
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It's been working great today. The radio playing still confuses me, but I've run all around town today without any issues. Man, I LOVE THIS CAR!!!!!
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Old Apr 8, 2006 | 09:40 PM
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Originally Posted by glennhl
It's been working great today. The radio playing still confuses me, but I've run all around town today without any issues. Man, I LOVE THIS CAR!!!!!
Dead battery issues were/are mainly an '05 thing, you should be good to go!
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