[EzBusiness]

Hello

First let me say that I tried finding a similar issue in the forum but didn’t find any posts.

I recently purchased a 2011 volt with 90000 that has a salvage title. I at the time of purchase thought I was getting a good deal, the only thing was the previous owner had it for a couple years and had never tried charging it. According to him he liked the performance and economy without plugging it in, therefore he didn’t have and had never had a charger. So I purchased it without ever plugging it in, the same day I purchased a 110v charger and tried it and it did not charge. Not only did it not charge but it threw a code P1EC5. I cleared the code and immediately went to two different charging stations with level 2 charging. I reset the codes before charging and plugged it in and immediately it set off the same code and the charging station said it could not communicate with the car.

Next I googled the code and it said battery heater resistor stuck open I believe, so I tracked down a used set of heater valves and control module and replaced it. I then hired a programmer to configure the used parts to communicate with the rest of the car. After all that the car still will not charge. Same code keeps popping up, if I clear and don’t try charging the code doesn’t come back and the car just drives using the engine with very poor fuel economy like 20mpg.

I need help or advice, I am struggling financially so taking it to the dealer is probably not in cards for me in the immediate future. I am hoping someone with a similar experience might lead me in the right direction to figure this out.

 

[uchual]

Found this service document:

http://www.autocats.ws/manual/chevrolet/tis0911/en/documents_2012/Volt/SM-R/92554520.en.html

Look for the section P1EC3, P1EC4, or P1EC5 - Hybrid/EV Battery Pack Heater Transistor Diagnosis . It's not DIY stuff, IMO. Watch for the high voltage warnings.

It appears that the culprit could be a faulty module, according to this thread:

https://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?34545-DTC-P1EC5

Good luck.

 

[uchual]

...and the car just drives using the engine with very poor fuel economy is like 20mpg.

I was also going to say, that's a really lousy fuel economy. I'm not sure if that's normal. The worst I have ever got is about 30 mpg running the engine alone. And that's in the middle of a Canadian winter in the Toronto area (average -10 C or 14 F).

 

[wordptom]

Mountain Mode is designed to maintain an extra amount of battery buffer for use when driving up steep hills (for a Gen 1 Volt, that’s ~4 bars of power), and includes a "feature" that recharges the battery to the MM-maintained level if you don’t have time to stop and recharge before driving into the mountains. You could try to put some charge into your Volt using this feature.

If you switch your 2011 Volt into Mountain Mode (the Self Charging Chevy Volt youtube video shows it being done with a 2012 Volt while parked), and if this feature is still working on your Volt, the engine should start, it should then recharge your battery to that level in ~15 minutes, using ~0.36 gallons of gas, and then turn the engine off. If you then turn the car off and back on again, that battery power should be available for use (unless the problem you are having is not limited to recharging from the wall).

 

[EzBusiness]

Hello Usual
Thank you for your post, I believe you are right. I purchased all the modules that go on the battery but just assumed it was the heater valve resistor. I should have changed everything while I had the battery down. Now before I take down the battery again I will take it to the dealer to have them try and pinpoint it to which module is bad.

Thanks
EzBusiness [/I]

 

[EzBusiness]

Mountain Mode is designed to maintain an extra amount of battery buffer for use when driving up steep hills (for a Gen 1 Volt, that’s ~4 bars of power), and includes a "feature" that recharges the battery to the MM-maintained level if you don’t have time to stop and recharge before driving into the mountains. You could try to put some charge into your Volt using this feature.

If you switch your 2011 Volt into Mountain Mode (the Self Charging Chevy Volt youtube video shows it being done with a 2012 Volt while parked), and if this feature is still working on your Volt, the engine should start, it should then recharge your battery to that level in ~15 minutes, using ~0.36 gallons of gas, and then turn the engine off. If you then turn the car off and back on again, that battery power should be available for use (unless the problem you are having is not limited to recharging from the wall).

Hello wordptom

Thanks for your post, it was very helpful. I put it in mountain mode and it did charge the batter 3 bars in 15 minutes. At least it showed m the internal charging system is working as it should.

Now my problem is limited to why it instantly triggers a code the second I connect any 110 or 240 charger mine or public chargers. It is an instant code and the dash light never changes from orange to any other color.

Thanks
EzBusiness

 

[Sabuu]

I'm sure someone with a better understanding will come along with a better/more informed suggestion, but to me if MM works at charging the battery, there my assumption would be that might be some sort of issue between the on board charger and the actual connection point where you plug in the EVSE on the car - maybe faulty wiring or a broken plug point?

 

[Cord]

Give us all the codes

any service high voltage charging system codes WILL need a re-program/flashing of module not just clearing.

as you did get a charge into the battery via mountain mode that looks good.

make sure Battery fluid tank level is full almost to the top.


Even hitting a big bump with low fluid will make a dealer visit to re-flash needed to make computer close the contacts to charge via charger cord.

Plus the 2011-2012 volts had a retro-fix fluid tank and sensor added that may need replacing.

Lots of other posts on this topic.
There are some on do-it-yourself re-programming