[VoltageDrop]

Hello Everyone,

Looks like my 110V charger kicked the bucket a few days ago...came out to the car in the morning and saw an "unable to charge" message and 0 miles range in the battery.....all lights on the charger were off and no blinking dash light in the Volt....circuit breaker at the socket was tripped.....every time I reset it...it would quickly trip again....unplugged the 110V charger and reset breaker....was fine and anything else plugged into it was powered.....I have been driving using gas for the time being...I called the dealership and made an appointment (bringing in the car and the charger).....but I was thinking....it is clearly the charger that is the issue.....the socket works just fine when anything else is plugged into it....and the Volt is perfectly fine also (well except for the fact that I am using way too much gas now...lol).....can't I just take in the 110V charger and have it replaced.....or is the car required to be there for testing as well? Also....I have read here and there that the 110V charger is covered under the Voltec warranty...(I also have the extended bumper to bumper warranty)......If I have to pony up the buck$ for a new 110V charger I may as well go with a ClipperCreek 240V Lev2 EVSE instead.......any opinions or info or thoughts on this???

Edit.....2012 Volt with 47K miles

 

[Steverino]

Apparently your car has no model year, and no miles on it?

 

[G-PA]

Circuit breaker at the socket...do you mean a GFI?

 

[mbsmd]

Hello Everyone,

Looks like my 110V charger kicked the bucket a few days ago...came out to the car in the morning and saw an "unable to charge" message and 0 miles range in the battery.....all lights on the charger were off and no blinking dash light in the Volt....circuit breaker at the socket was tripped.....every time I reset it...it would quickly trip again....unplugged the 110V charger and reset breaker....was fine and anything else plugged into it was powered.....I have been driving using gas for the time being...I called the dealership and made an appointment (bringing in the car and the charger).....but I was thinking....it is clearly the charger that is the issue.....the socket works just fine when anything else is plugged into it....and the Volt is perfectly fine also (well except for the fact that I am using way too much gas now...lol).....can't I just take in the 110V charger and have it replaced.....or is the car required to be there for testing as well? Also....I have read here and there that the 110V charger is covered under the Voltec warranty...(I also have the extended bumper to bumper warranty)......If I have to pony up the buck$ for a new 110V charger I may as well go with a ClipperCreek 240V Lev2 EVSE instead.......any opinions or info or thoughts on this???

If you can check with a different charger, make sure it's not the car that's malfunctioning.

However, a level 2 EVSE is something a lot of Volt owners recommend. My electrician is coming out on Monday to finish wiring in my garage for a ClipperCreek level 2 unit.

 

[VoltageDrop]

Circuit breaker at the socket...do you mean a GFI?

Yup...a GFI outlet......

 

[VoltageDrop]

If you can check with a different charger, make sure it's not the car that's malfunctioning.

However, a level 2 EVSE is something a lot of Volt owners recommend. My electrician is coming out on Monday to finish wiring in my garage for a ClipperCreek level 2 unit.

Even unplugged from the car...the charger will not power up and will immediately trip the GFI outlet when plugged into the socket......the GFI resets when the charger is not plugged in and is fine when I plug anything else into that same socket........

 

[canehdian]

Even unplugged from the car...the charger will not power up and will immediately trip the GFI outlet when plugged into the socket......the GFI resets when the charger is not plugged in and is fine when I plug anything else into that same socket........

If you take the EVSE into the house and plug it into a non-GFI outlet (other end not connected to the car), what happens?
There have been known issues with the GFI protection in the EVSE conflicting with GFI outlets.
If the EVSE works on a non-GFI outlet, then it is fine. It does a self test every time it gets plugged in and will show green or red. The issue then would be your GFI outlet being too sensitive. They do wear out over time.

 

[VoltageDrop]

If you take the EVSE into the house and plug it into a non-GFI outlet (other end not connected to the car), what happens?
There have been known issues with the GFI protection in the EVSE conflicting with GFI outlets.
If the EVSE works on a non-GFI outlet, then it is fine. It does a self test every time it gets plugged in and will show green or red. The issue then would be your GFI outlet being too sensitive. They do wear out over time.

The issue though is that I have used that outlet since the car was new and never had an issue with it before... why now? On another note... if it immediately trips the GFI when it is plugged in... I really don't want to be plugging that into a non-protected outlet (I know it will probably trip the circuit breaker but I don't want to find out if it would also fry some wiring while at it)....I look at it this way.... the other one is tripping for a good reason and likely a result of a short/fault in the 110V charger....as everything else plugged into that same outlet is fine....

 

[canehdian]

The issue though is that I have used that outlet since the car was new and never had an issue with it before... why now? On another note... if it immediately trips the GFI when it is plugged in... I really don't want to be plugging that into a non-protected outlet (I know it will probably trip the circuit breaker but I don't want to find out if it would also fry some wiring while at it)....I look at it this way.... the other one is tripping for a good reason and likely a result of a short/fault in the 110V charger....as everything else plugged into that same outlet is fine....

I didn't say charge the car with it. It's not drawing enough power to do anything bad when not charging the car. Just plug it into another outlet to see if it gives you a red or green light (1-5W max power used). If it's green on a different outlet, change your GFCI receptacle, it's wearing out. Your EVSE should then work outside again in that new receptacle.

 

[mpmoore1979]

The charge cord is covered under Voltec, the car needs to be with you so they can get the VIN from it and make sure its covered. The dealership will not do the warranty repair unless the car it there at the dealership.

 

[VoltageDrop]

Had my appointment this morning.... waited about an hour or so....I guess they tested the old charger.... the car... and the new charger to make sure all was in order....the 110v EVSE was replaced under the VOLTEC warranty (would have been 500 buckaroos otherwise).... they did ask if the charger was on a dedicated circuit..... because it appeared to have overheated a bit at one of the prongs on the wall plug... told them that it was the only thing on that GFI outlet and it had been on that outlet for over 4 years without issue....

 

[SSonnentag]

If a prong is overheating it may be a worn outlet. If the outlet is loose I would replace it.

 

[VoltageDrop]

If a prong is overheating it may be a worn outlet. If the outlet is loose I would replace it.

My thoughts exactly... was planning to do that before plugging in the new charger as the outlet plug opposite the overheated prong is discolored from it....

 

[VoltageDrop]

Quick question for you guys.....the replacement charger I got is all black with a black wire and black buttons on the charging unit (I had the original 110EVSE that came with the car when I bought it new and it had an orange wire with a lighted handle that plugged into the car)......I believe the original charged at 12amps without having to change anything.....is this replacement charger the one that I heard about that defaults to 8amps (you have to manually switch it) or is that inherent to the car/later (post 2012) models.......?

 

[2VoltFamily]

Quick question for you guys.....the replacement charger I got is all black with a black wire and black buttons on the charging unit (I had the original 110EVSE that came with the car when I bought it new and it had an orange wire with a lighted handle that plugged into the car)......I believe the original charged at 12amps without having to change anything.....is this replacement charger the one that I heard about that defaults to 8amps (you have to manually switch it) or is that inherent to the car/later (post 2012) models.......?

The model number is on the back of the unit. Post it here and we can tell you for sure.

 

[VoltageDrop]

The model number is on the back of the unit. Post it here and we can tell you for sure.

Will do when I get back to the house....thanks

 

[Sly Bob]

It's the car and not the EVSE that defaults to 8 amps on the newer cars.

 

[canehdian]

If you have a 2012 without the software switch and your new EVSE does not have a hardware switch, you will only have 12A charging as an option.

 

[Renc2000]

Had my appointment this morning.... waited about an hour or so....I guess they tested the old charger.... the car... and the new charger to make sure all was in order....the 110v EVSE was replaced under the VOLTEC warranty (would have been 500 buckaroos otherwise).... they did ask if the charger was on a dedicated circuit..... because it appeared to have overheated a bit at one of the prongs on the wall plug... told them that it was the only thing on that GFI outlet and it had been on that outlet for over 4 years without issue....

Could someone please help me? How did you get yours replaced if you had it past 4 years?! GM and my dealer are giving me a hard time and saying they can't do it!

 

[jcanoe]

Could someone please help me? How did you get yours replaced if you had it past 4 years?! GM and my dealer are giving me a hard time and saying they can't do it!

At the time of the post, Feb 2017, GM still had the EVSE part number listed incorrectly in their systems as a Voltec component, covered under the 8 year Voltec warranty. GM has since corrected this error, stating that the EVSE is not covered under Voltec warranty only by the 36 mo BTB warranty.