I just drove my Volt 3,000 miles. Mostly on gas. About 40 miles from home the check engine light came on. The message displayed, Service High Voltage Charging System. The car will not charge now. (on level 1 or level 2) I have asked onstar for the codes. (P1E00 and P1FFE) I have tried to research the codes. From what I have found it could be 3 things, the coolant may be low, the coolant sensor may be bad, the coolant pump may be bad. I have an appointment at the dealer today. I want to know as much as possible, before I go to the dealer. So, any ideas? How do you check the coolant? Thanks.
2012 Volt Service High Voltage Charging System
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6,863 Posts
Open hood, look for the two plastic tanks, the one on the left is the one you want to inspect. It's also outlined in the Owners Manual.
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2,737 Posts
The battery coolant tank came from the factory with the fluid at the mid seam, it was later revised to the top of the black label as the correct level. If the level is now below the mid seam, it could be just a level problem (air bubble finally came out). But, now that the error code has been tripped, the dealer must reset it. They will also check for internal leaks, just in case, and they should fill the tank to the top of the label.
This is covered under the Voltec warranty (I think 8 year 100k miles), don't let them try to get out of that. Assuming not caused by damage. I just had the Service High Voltage Charge system light as well and they had to redo a wiring harness for the coolant level sensor and reprogram a module since the code gets stuck. Each case is a little different though.
It's not like me to make a long story short, but here's my attempt: What you have is a very common complaint in early MY Volts, if it's not already been corrected. The battery coolant level should be near the top of the reservoir, not where the original factory fill left it. If it drops even slightly you will get this message and codes. Most likely you just need it topped off, but the dealer should check for leaks and eliminate the more serious possibilities. The anti-tamper bracket is there for a good reason.
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499 Posts
There is nothing about these cooling systems that will prevent some absorption or leaks. Every Volt owner needs to check the battery and HV coolant tanks once a month. It says that in the owner's manual. On long trips all the underhood checks should be made before starting and at the first stop.
The heat exchanger for the battery is right up front where it is vulnerable to hits by a tire carcass, small animal or rock (look up Voltscreen).
The heat exchanger for the battery is right up front where it is vulnerable to hits by a tire carcass, small animal or rock (look up Voltscreen).
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2,298 Posts
That 'guard' hardly offers any protection. Search the forums for VoltScreen. Adding this or similar may have been able to save you the $1200...
Sounds like a road hazard did the damage. File claim with car insurance.
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2,737 Posts
The GM guard is worthless, get a VoltScreen.
Sorry I'm late to this party. Exhaustion is setting in here. RCFulk- Go back to the dealer or call them today. Have the service writer or manager look up TSB #13-06-02-001 NHTSA ID #10052044. This discusses the radiator puncture issue and extends a warranty for it. If you can, get a VoltAdvisor to help out. Here is a link to the latest information about how the VoltAdvisor program has apparently recently been re-organized or folded into GM Customer Service as a whole. Regardless, call the 800 number, explain the situation and ask for help. Service folks in dealerships won't believe that a radiator is ever covered for a puncture, but a LOT of Volt radiators have been. And because this is an unusual deal, they don't even begin to think about looking for a TSB, or warranty coverage. If you go directly to the dealership with this, I would approach it gently- Many folks don't really like being schooled or corrected by outsiders on stuff like this....
Even if you have already picked up the car, I would go back to them on this. If nothing else, you are helping the next guy that brings the same problem into that dealership.
Full disclosure- I am the VoltShelf and VoltScreen guy. Thanks to those above that thought to mention the VoltScreen. I tend to agree with them. But I do have a dog in that fight...
Good luck and report back on the outcome, please.
Even if you have already picked up the car, I would go back to them on this. If nothing else, you are helping the next guy that brings the same problem into that dealership.
Full disclosure- I am the VoltShelf and VoltScreen guy. Thanks to those above that thought to mention the VoltScreen. I tend to agree with them. But I do have a dog in that fight...
Good luck and report back on the outcome, please.
Metal Fatigue was the cause
After the radiator was pulled, it could be completely examined. The radiator was not pierced. The bottom of the radiator fatigued and began leaking. The car is a 2012 yet it was built at the end of 2011. So, the radiator was over 5 years old. It simply failed. It was serviced by Graham Chevy in Mansfield, Ohio.
After the radiator was pulled, it could be completely examined. The radiator was not pierced. The bottom of the radiator fatigued and began leaking. The car is a 2012 yet it was built at the end of 2011. So, the radiator was over 5 years old. It simply failed. It was serviced by Graham Chevy in Mansfield, Ohio.
Greetings, everyone. I haven't really participated on the forums for several years, mainly because my Volt has been running like a champ for most of that time. Unfortunately, I had the "service high voltage charging system" fault pop for the second time in 2 weeks earlier tonight.
I had actually had this happen once before a couple years ago, IIRC, but I was due for a firmware/software update, and the fault was cleared after the update. Not sure if it they did the full inspection or not, but hadn't had a problem again with it until 2 weeks ago. This time, both recent incidents seem to somewhat correlate to high ambient temperatures over 100 degrees F by the outside air temperature readout (here in SoCal, San Fernando Valley area), but I don't recall high temperature being a factor the one time a couple years ago. They both also seem to correlate to happening shortly after one of the coolant loops had been running automatically. (I.e. when it gets warm enough so that the cabin air starts feeling like the air conditioning is on even when you have selected fan only.) Two weeks ago, it was when I was on the road and the cooling had started maybe 5-10 minutes prior. Tonight, I had gotten home and charged successfully for a couple hours and then gone to class without issue (around ~6PM), but several hours later when I started the car to go home it showed the fault.
The time this happened two weeks ago, the local dealer appeared to have done the inspection and found no issues; I was worried it would happen again the next time it got pretty hot, and apparently it has. Both two weeks ago and now, I have inspected the area on the underside of the car as best I can and the ground where the car sits and have seen no evidence of coolant leakage. The tank fluid level is at the old seam in the middle level and hasn't appeared to change as long as I can remember. It is a 2012, but I don't know if service campaign 14114 applies or not.
My immediate questions are the following:
1) I assume it has to be reset at the dealer or someone with the correct diagnostic equipment, and just trying to put Dex-Cool in it yourself up to the black label won't be sufficient even if it's just a fluid level issue?
2) If it's a bad coolant sensor or wiring harness thereof, has anyone who's had it replaced remember how long the car was down for? (I have a trip next week for which I'd really like my car to be up and am trying to set expectations for myself.)
Thank you all very much for your assistance.
I had actually had this happen once before a couple years ago, IIRC, but I was due for a firmware/software update, and the fault was cleared after the update. Not sure if it they did the full inspection or not, but hadn't had a problem again with it until 2 weeks ago. This time, both recent incidents seem to somewhat correlate to high ambient temperatures over 100 degrees F by the outside air temperature readout (here in SoCal, San Fernando Valley area), but I don't recall high temperature being a factor the one time a couple years ago. They both also seem to correlate to happening shortly after one of the coolant loops had been running automatically. (I.e. when it gets warm enough so that the cabin air starts feeling like the air conditioning is on even when you have selected fan only.) Two weeks ago, it was when I was on the road and the cooling had started maybe 5-10 minutes prior. Tonight, I had gotten home and charged successfully for a couple hours and then gone to class without issue (around ~6PM), but several hours later when I started the car to go home it showed the fault.
The time this happened two weeks ago, the local dealer appeared to have done the inspection and found no issues; I was worried it would happen again the next time it got pretty hot, and apparently it has. Both two weeks ago and now, I have inspected the area on the underside of the car as best I can and the ground where the car sits and have seen no evidence of coolant leakage. The tank fluid level is at the old seam in the middle level and hasn't appeared to change as long as I can remember. It is a 2012, but I don't know if service campaign 14114 applies or not.
My immediate questions are the following:
1) I assume it has to be reset at the dealer or someone with the correct diagnostic equipment, and just trying to put Dex-Cool in it yourself up to the black label won't be sufficient even if it's just a fluid level issue?
2) If it's a bad coolant sensor or wiring harness thereof, has anyone who's had it replaced remember how long the car was down for? (I have a trip next week for which I'd really like my car to be up and am trying to set expectations for myself.)
Thank you all very much for your assistance.
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23,699 Posts
Have you replaced the coolant tank sensor with the WOT Sensor? The OEM sensors are know to be flaky. By the way, the new recommended level for the coolant tank is at the top of the black label, considerably above the weld seam (not that that caused your issue).
Steverino, thanks for your reply. I had only discovered the WOT sensor plug in my research last night; will probably order one as soon as practical. Just talked to the dealer and will bring it in this afternoon to have it looked at and probably have the charging system module reset/reflashed, but I did suggest the potential conditions from the PI0961A (bad sensor, etc.); at least they're waiving the fee to diagnose it this time.
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388 Posts
WOT's to the rescue
Sorry about not giving an update earlier, but life's been pretty crazy for the past few weeks. My apologies another long post, but going into detail seems to help with troubleshooting and also may help others with the same problems.
The day after my previous post (July 6th), I brought the car in to the dealer and talked briefly to the same service rep I had worked with before about the bulletin 14114 and the sensor/wiring harness/etc., and he seemed to trust that knew what I was talking about. Fortunately, they offered to only charge me for parts and no labor since they didn't fix it the first time; it was done the next day, and they replaced the sensor and wiring harness (total about $60).
I also ordered one of WOT's sensor plugs, but I'm guessing I'm in the backlog queue from his vacation, and it hasn't come in yet.
The system basically worked fine until yesterday, except for a probably unrelated separate fault. Near the beginning of August, I had gotten the not-as-dreaded "AC off due to high engine temperature" fault on a long drive a little after going into charge sustaining mode, but it was cleared with a Scan Gauge at the end of that drive; this showed the not-helpful B2AAA code. On the return trip, the check engine light came on with no vehicle messages right at the end of the drive IIRC and was also cleared. A few days later, I again got the check engine light with no vehicle messages; my Navdy HUD (I guess I'm an aviation geek) had just gotten a firmware update to display OBD codes, and it showed P2181 before I cleared it with the Scan Gauge. I assessed that the the 2nd and 3rd occurrences were probably transients that tripped the BIT but would have been cleared on their own if the car was restarted 5-10 times without the out-of-tolerance being detected.
Yesterday, it was again just around 100 degrees F in LA area, and on my way to meet with some family I got the "service high voltage charging system" fault again; the HUD showed P1E00, P1FFD, and P1FFF. Assuming the problem had come back yet again, I unsuccessfully tried to divert enroute to a couple area dealers to see if I could pay someone to do a quick reflash of the HPCM2 module without further troubleshooting; as it was Saturday afternoon, one place was already closed, and the other had no techs with that skill set that late in the day. I went to do research and saw the stuff in the main WOT sensor plug thread with the 24.7K ohm resistor (on about page 31-32), so I stopped at Fry's to get some resistors before continuing on. While at the parents', I soldered the resistors (22K + 2.7K) and tried to test fit them in the sensor cable a couple times, as I decided since the sensor had already tripped the HPCM2 I wouldn't make the situation any worse by pulling the cable.
When I finally got home, I tried to check the codes with the Scan Gauge just for the heck of it (and to clear any spurious codes that might make the service techs do other unrelated procedures unnecessarily if I were to bring the car in Monday). The HUD had said the 3 codes, but I noticed the Scan Gauge showed 4 codes, with the additional one being P2181 again; no additional vehicle messages other than "service high voltage charging system". I tried to clear the codes at that point, and miraculously the check engine light went out, and the vehicle messages page went from 1 to 0 vehicle messages. I put the car on the charger shortly after, and it's currently charging normally so far.
Not sure why I was able to clear it this time when previously trying to clear codes has been fruitless.
I'm considering trying to install the resistors temporarily until the WOT plug arrives, but I'll make a post about that in the main WOT plug thread, as there seems to be some recent discussion there.
Thanks again, everyone, for your feedback and helpful inputs.
The day after my previous post (July 6th), I brought the car in to the dealer and talked briefly to the same service rep I had worked with before about the bulletin 14114 and the sensor/wiring harness/etc., and he seemed to trust that knew what I was talking about. Fortunately, they offered to only charge me for parts and no labor since they didn't fix it the first time; it was done the next day, and they replaced the sensor and wiring harness (total about $60).
I also ordered one of WOT's sensor plugs, but I'm guessing I'm in the backlog queue from his vacation, and it hasn't come in yet.
The system basically worked fine until yesterday, except for a probably unrelated separate fault. Near the beginning of August, I had gotten the not-as-dreaded "AC off due to high engine temperature" fault on a long drive a little after going into charge sustaining mode, but it was cleared with a Scan Gauge at the end of that drive; this showed the not-helpful B2AAA code. On the return trip, the check engine light came on with no vehicle messages right at the end of the drive IIRC and was also cleared. A few days later, I again got the check engine light with no vehicle messages; my Navdy HUD (I guess I'm an aviation geek) had just gotten a firmware update to display OBD codes, and it showed P2181 before I cleared it with the Scan Gauge. I assessed that the the 2nd and 3rd occurrences were probably transients that tripped the BIT but would have been cleared on their own if the car was restarted 5-10 times without the out-of-tolerance being detected.
Yesterday, it was again just around 100 degrees F in LA area, and on my way to meet with some family I got the "service high voltage charging system" fault again; the HUD showed P1E00, P1FFD, and P1FFF. Assuming the problem had come back yet again, I unsuccessfully tried to divert enroute to a couple area dealers to see if I could pay someone to do a quick reflash of the HPCM2 module without further troubleshooting; as it was Saturday afternoon, one place was already closed, and the other had no techs with that skill set that late in the day. I went to do research and saw the stuff in the main WOT sensor plug thread with the 24.7K ohm resistor (on about page 31-32), so I stopped at Fry's to get some resistors before continuing on. While at the parents', I soldered the resistors (22K + 2.7K) and tried to test fit them in the sensor cable a couple times, as I decided since the sensor had already tripped the HPCM2 I wouldn't make the situation any worse by pulling the cable.
When I finally got home, I tried to check the codes with the Scan Gauge just for the heck of it (and to clear any spurious codes that might make the service techs do other unrelated procedures unnecessarily if I were to bring the car in Monday). The HUD had said the 3 codes, but I noticed the Scan Gauge showed 4 codes, with the additional one being P2181 again; no additional vehicle messages other than "service high voltage charging system". I tried to clear the codes at that point, and miraculously the check engine light went out, and the vehicle messages page went from 1 to 0 vehicle messages. I put the car on the charger shortly after, and it's currently charging normally so far.
Not sure why I was able to clear it this time when previously trying to clear codes has been fruitless.
I'm considering trying to install the resistors temporarily until the WOT plug arrives, but I'll make a post about that in the main WOT plug thread, as there seems to be some recent discussion there.
Thanks again, everyone, for your feedback and helpful inputs.
Resetting the High Voltage Charging Sys?
If my "Volt Service High Voltage Charging System" light went on and my battery coolant is low, is refilled can a reset by myself with a ECM code reader and clearer is reset will it shut it off OR this still needs to be done by a Chev dealer because they do something else that we cant? Thanks!
If my "Volt Service High Voltage Charging System" light went on and my battery coolant is low, is refilled can a reset by myself with a ECM code reader and clearer is reset will it shut it off OR this still needs to be done by a Chev dealer because they do something else that we cant? Thanks!
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·THANK YOU SCARLETT1 !!
THANK YOU SCARLETT1!! More than a $1K saved! I went ahead and ordered your VoltScreen that is also priced very fairly, so thank you 2 more times!
Dude, I was looking for the check engine problem of my Volt on google and this thread came up and then I read your very toughtful comment. Went ahead and get the car to the dealer and he told me the repair was not on warranty. I then used your TSB numbers and he came back thanking me, saying it was in fact on warranty, and that info will be useful for future customers.
THANK YOU SCARLETT1!! More than a $1K saved! I went ahead and ordered your VoltScreen that is also priced very fairly, so thank you 2 more times!
G
Guest
·Dude, I was looking for the check engine problem of my Volt on google and this thread came up and then I read your very toughtful comment. Went ahead and get the car to the dealer and he told me the repair was not on warranty. I then used your TSB numbers and he came back thanking me, saying it was in fact on warranty, and that info will be useful for future customers.
THANK YOU SCARLETT1!! More than a $1K saved! I went ahead and ordered your VoltScreen that is also priced very fairly, so thank you 2 more times!
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