[Aus1]

A couple of months back our Electricity supplier had brown out and my Holden Volt parked, locked in the garage

It made sure I and all my closest neighbours KNEW about it by Honking incessantly it's horn, activated it's head lights as if some was stealing it's charge cord while on delay charge.

I thought ok normal .... let me try keep the vehicle unlocked (Since it's in a secure garage)

Last night at 1:18am off goes the Holden Volt Alarm Clock for a brown out - that lasted till 4am.

Found the problem the following was on and should have been OFF...

Charge cord theft deterrent.
Charge Voltage low warning.

It's buried deep in the menu so not sure how I've managed to activate both LOL!

I really do enjoy my Volt more now I hope I've fixed it....
I'd like to hear how other Extended Range Plug In's such as the Japanese Mitsubishi Outlander would go under the same scenario?

 

[Raymondjram]

Brown outs are dangerous for electric motors, since a loss of voltage will cause an increase in current draw under load, and THAT will heat up the wiring and cause an insulation failure (short circuit), or an open wire. If this is common, install a UPS or a protection device on every appliance that uses an electric motor. The Volt applies power to the onboard charger, so it has protection built-in.

 

[somms]

Do you experience a lot of brownout/blackouts!?

This Map Shows All the Antineutrinos Spewed Out By Nuclear Plants

May have to do with the fact that Australia currently no nuclear facilities generating electricity which some may consider to be a good thing!

 

[DonC]

Glad you got it sorted. Nice that you can turn the alarm off. That had to be annoying to you and your neighbors.

 

[ClarksonCote]

If you have a lot of electricity outages, you may want to consider an inverter wiring kit so your critical appliances can be powered by your Volt in an emergency.

http://www.evextend.com/Emergency-Power-Kit.php

You wouldn't be the first person from Australia to buy one.

 

[Aus1]

If you have a lot of electricity outages, you may want to consider an inverter wiring kit so your critical appliances can be powered by your Volt in an emergency.

http://www.evextend.com/Emergency-Power-Kit.php

You wouldn't be the first person from Australia to buy one.

Nice ideas, but no - not that common and in the morning, not sure if it's power work or when they switch street circuits one phase of the contacts doesn't make it.

Thanks all for enjoying my other use of the Volt LOL!
Correct what others have said that low voltage conditions will burn out motors - especially older type refrigerators, a/c & heater units.

The only motor running is the fridge and luckily it's a modern energy efficient Fisher Paykel that has electronic controls that cuts if the
voltage is too low.

 

[Aussie Pete]

Both those options are set on as default on the Holden Volt. It's detailed in the new owner USB videos. I turned mine off the week I got the car. When at work I put the charger on the back seat and leave the back window open just enough to get the cord through and an extension cord. That way the charger can't be stolen but the plugs go to the charge port and power point respectively.