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2013 Volt - Intermittent charge issues

8436 Views 49 Replies 13 Participants Last post by  lexcyn, 
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So here's a weird issue that I can't figure out. Periodically I will take a short drive in the morning (maybe 10km or so), then come home and plug in. Yellow light will stay on and I will get the message "Unable to charge" and my range is now down to 0. Turn the car on and get the "Service High Voltage System" and "Propulsion power reduced" messages. OK. Remove 12v negative, put it back, messages are gone, car will charge fine and range is back to where it should be, no issues.

I just replaced the 12v battery with a new one thinking that was the problem, but it still persists. This has happened to me twice in the past month, always in the morning. I'm wondering if it could be my L2 charger (using an EVSEUpgrade.com Nissan unit) or maybe the dreaded coolant sensor issue?

Dealer had "fixed" this in the winter by "reprogramming" the battery computer but I'm assuming they just reflashed it and it reset the errors.

The only codes I could get were from a check engine light that I normally receive when there are power quality issues with charging (P1E00 & P0D22). After I reset the 12v there are no codes and everything works fine.

Specs:2013 Volt, 106,000km, L2 charging (EVSEUpgrade.com Nissan unit @ 20amp) plugged into 30a dryer plug

Help! :)
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I don't want to jinx it but they replaced my onboard charger and things seem to be working fine now. What a long strange trip it's been.
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lexcyn said:
I don't want to jinx it but they replaced my onboard charger and things seem to be working fine now. What a long strange trip it's been.
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Well I jinxed it, this morning I tried to pre-condition and noticed it wasn't charging even though it was plugged in. Threw a P0D22 code. Then I tried to unplug and plug it back in and bam, P0AF8 again.

WTF.
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See this thread: http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread...e-Car-Advice-Sought&highlight=cooperthebeagle

Sounds similar to what I experienced. Let me know if you have questions.
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cooperthebeagle said:
See this thread: http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread...e-Car-Advice-Sought&highlight=cooperthebeagle

Sounds similar to what I experienced. Let me know if you have questions.
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Yeah I think at this point it must be something with a section of the battery or maybe one of the BCMs. We'll see what the dealer decides to do next.
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What I've noticed is that if there is a low ambient temperature, it will refuse to charge even if I reset the code and even if the car says "plug in to charge." Once the temperature is higher (above lets say 15 degrees C) it will charge.

Almost makes me wonder if there is a lose connection that is expanding/contracting with the temp. That theory sounds plausible since it's only when metal would contract in cold temps it doesn't charge.

Either way - it's going back to the dealership tomorrow.
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I feel used and abused again by the Chevy dealer. Out of the blue the car would not charge, giving the old "Service High Voltage Charging" message. I wasn't concerned because I have less than 100K miles, and of course we have the 100K Voltec warranty (of which charging is included).

The dealer said they had to "upgrade the software" at a fee of $250 +tax. Reading below I see others have corrected similar issues by re-booting (disconnecting the 12V battery). Dealer made no attempt at anything else but the one thing (they claim) they could charge for.

Questions:
1.) Has GM built in a time bomb so the car would not work after some predetermined time or when a software upgrade is available (as the dealer is implying) necessitating a mandatory upgrade?
2.) Why do we have to pay to have software upgraded, especially during the warranty period? Isn't $45K enough to pay for a working car?
3.) Could they have fixed the issue rather than upgrading the software? It worked just fine before the upgrade until something happened they should have repaired.
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Floridiot said:
I feel used and abused again by the Chevy dealer. Out of the blue the car would not charge, giving the old "Service High Voltage Charging" message. I wasn't concerned because I have less than 100K miles, and of course we have the 100K Voltec warranty (of which charging is included).

The dealer said they had to "upgrade the software" at a fee of $250 +tax. Reading below I see others have corrected similar issues by re-booting (disconnecting the 12V battery). Dealer made no attempt at anything else but the one thing (they claim) they could charge for.

Questions:
1.) Has GM built in a time bomb so the car would not work after some predetermined time or when a software upgrade is available (as the dealer is implying) necessitating a mandatory upgrade?
2.) Why do we have to pay to have software upgraded, especially during the warranty period? Isn't $45K enough to pay for a working car?
3.) Could they have fixed the issue rather than upgrading the software? It worked just fine before the upgrade until something happened they should have repaired.
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I had the software updated at the beginning of my saga which was included with the Voltec warranty. Another dealer tried to make me pay for the upgrade a second time, but I had my previous invoice so they were able to look it up and indeed it was covered. If you need a copy of my invoice to show them I can e-mail it to you. It is *definitely* included in the Voltec warranty.
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Another update ... I was able to reproduce the issue at the dealership with their charger, they are now replacing the battery contact assembly (this holds the main fuse and charging relay that connects at the front of the battery). GM basically said if this doesn't fix it the whole battery needs to be replaced.

GM also gave me an offer to buy my car back and get me a new Volt, but I have yet to hear this offer... if it's good enough, I will take it. :)
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Battery contactor / relay assembly replaced today. I'll monitor and update with what happens, which is hopefully a reliably charging car!
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Looks like that part was the issue. It housed the battery contactor assembly, plus some relays and the main 300a fuse.

They let me check out the one they took out of the car while they had the battery out (which was cool to see!) and I couldn't see any obvious signs of damage or corrosion ... must have just been a bad connection.
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