Every car brand has a different way of warning a driver about battery level. They can come be displayed as “Low Battery Risk. on Mazda cars, “Battery Charge Lever Low” on BMW, or even “Battery Low Start Vehicle ” on cars such as Buick Enclave.
You shouldn’t ignore this kind of warning message completely. Most modern cars have a system for detecting electricity leaks while the engine is not running. They can get into some sort of “SAFE” mood in order to protect your car battery from discharging. You may get a message such as “Battery Saver Active” if you left radio for too long, the door left open or the headlights turned on.
However, in some cases message can appear after 2-3 minutes while your car is in “Parking“.
Battery Low Start Vehicle
This warning message is known to appear in Buick vehicles and it indicates that your battery level is low. These include a car not being driven for a while or drived on short distances, a battery being at the end of its lifespan, cold weather, and a faulty alternator. Each of them affects the vehicle in its own way and causes potential extra malfunctions in the vehicle.
- The car hasn’t been driven much recently
The car can experience battery low start problems even from very mundane problems. A simple problem we can experience is that the car hasn’t been driven much recently. Not driving your car for a while will cause this problem.
If the car isn’t driven, the battery will lose charge. That loss of charge can make it hard to start. So if you haven’t driven the car for a while don’t be too scared by the battery low start vehicle problems. [1]
- The battery is at the end of its lifespan
No component in our car can last forever, it’s a simple fact that components get worn out over time. The same goes for a car battery, it will be incapable of maintaining its consistent charge forever. Eventually, it will start to wear out, which we will quickly notice.
One of the possible side effects of your battery wearing out is the “battery low start” warning on the dashboard. This warning should be taken as one of the symptoms of a battery potentially running out rather than the only repercussion of a faulty battery. [2]
- Faulty alternator
An alternator is a part of our vehicle that makes sure the electrical components get charged from the battery. The car uses the alternator as a generator of electric power, this component is the key cause of problems with electricity due to the huge role it has.
Alternator failure will cause the car to display “battery low start vehicle” on the dashboard. The lack of transference of electricity across the car means most of the components won’t be powered. Fixing a faulty alternator is the most important thing to do in this case. [3]
- Cold weather
Although vehicles are made to operate in any climate, exposure to an extremely cold or hot climate can affect the effectiveness of their components. In this case, it will be cold weather that affects our battery.
With the ever-dropping degrees, the car’s battery could get discharged. The battery will also be incapable of holding charge as usual in such cold temperatures.
It doesn’t take more than a few days for a vehicle to have its battery discharged. As chemical reactions slow down, the effectiveness drops until eventually resulting in the battery low start light on the dashboard. [4]
Solutions to Battery Low Start Vehicle warning message
- Keep Car In Garage
Cold weather’s effects can be prevented by holding a car in a warm location. Garage is usually the safest bet but even those need to be properly isolated to fill this role.
- Testing, Recharging or Replacing The Car Battery
Before changing the battery you can check its charge with the use of a multimeter. A multimeter will measure the voltage of the car battery, which directly informs the owner of the current power stored in the battery. Voltage should be higher than V.
Set your multimeter to 20V and connect the multimeter to the positive and negative parts of the battery. After starting a vehicle while the multimeter is connected, the voltage shouldn’t drop lower than 10V.
The first thing you should do is to locate a car battery. When it comes to Buick vehicles, most often the battery is located in the second row on the passenger side. Pull up the plastic trim piece and use the T20 torx bit to remove the bolt. Remove the negative terminal first. Use 10 mm nut. Disconnect the gray connector. Remove the battery vent tube and hold down the bracket.
- Replacing Alternator
Before replacing an alternator you suspect to be faulty, make sure to test it. Testing can be done at various places such as car repair shops. Generally, these tests should tell you enough about the alternator’s current state to inform you whether a replacement alternator is necessary.
When it comes to replacing the alternator, check the serpentine belt first. If it’s grazed or damaged, it could be the source of your problems. Replacing it could fix the entire issue.
Otherwise, look into an alternator rebuild kit. These are inexpensive, and simple, and use standard tools to offer a cheap repair of an important car part.
Related: Battery Charge Fault Stop The Vehicle
Conclusion
Battery low start problem can affect all vehicles. With the warning light being a cause for concern, something is making our battery work worse than usual. It could be problems directly tied to the battery or issues that indirectly impact it.
Thankfully, we can follow the symptoms to their causes. Making it easier to solve some of these issues. However, if your car is still displaying the problem on the dashboard it may be time to take it to the mechanic’s shop.
