[BrunoNiko]

Ive got a 2015 Volt. When I plug the charger into the vehicle, I get nothing. Usually theres a click followed by the charging light coming on and then the horn beep. But...nothing. Its been fine for the last 2 years ive owned it.

The charger has a green light. Not sure what else to say. Anybody else have this problem or know how to fix it?

 

[canehdian]

Try opening the car door. If it still doesnt come to life, turn it on while plugged in - does the dash say cord connected?

 

[Steverino]

The EVSE lights are all green? If so, and assuming there is not a CEL on your dash, my guess is the handle is not pushed in far enough to "click" (engaging the handle lock).

P.S., the Charger is a big metal box mounted behind the right front bumper. You are referring to the charge cord or EVSE.

 

[llninja]

Check the EVSE J1772 plug and socket. Years ago when I was plugging in my volt, a big moth went towards the light in the plug and kamikaze'd himself as I was plugging in. Without a clean connection, the car would not charge. A flashlight, small screwdriver, some scraping, and a shot of compressed air did the trick.

 

[Mister Dave]

Try opening the car door. If it still doesn't come to life, turn it on while plugged in - does the dash say cord connected?

I second this.

 

[Sean-a-Tron]

I second this.

Yep. I recall having that issue before. I think the computer just goes to sleep/glitches and doesn't realize there's an AC power source. Opening the driver door will activate/wake up the computer and it'll then start the charging process.

If that doesn't help. You could check the charge port for damage or debris.

 

[Sly Bob]

Had the same issue some time ago with my 14. The first generation cars had issues with micro cracks in the socket on the outside of the car. Warranty if you are still under the Voltec warranty. They will install a new socket on the car.

 

[tofelec]

check also the hybrid battery pack coolant...

 

[Steverino]

Had the same issue some time ago with my 14. The first generation cars had issues with micro cracks in the socket on the outside of the car. Warranty if you are still under the Voltec warranty. They will install a new socket on the car.

Yes, though this would manifest itself during or after rain as water wicked into the cracks.

 

[BrunoNiko]

Try opening the car door. If it still doesnt come to life, turn it on while plugged in - does the dash say cord connected?

This simply didn't do the trick. I tried it multiple days and nothing. Dash does NOT say cord connected..

The EVSE lights are all green? If so, and assuming there is not a CEL on your dash, my guess is the handle is not pushed in far enough to "click" (engaging the handle lock).

P.S., the Charger is a big metal box mounted behind the right front bumper. You are referring to the charge cord or EVSE.

View attachment 136825 View attachment 136833

Yes, the chargers lights are green. There's no check engine light. There's the mechanical click of the handle into the socket, then nothing.

Check the EVSE J1772 plug and socket. Years ago when I was plugging in my volt, a big moth went towards the light in the plug and kamikaze'd himself as I was plugging in. Without a clean connection, the car would not charge. A flashlight, small screwdriver, some scraping, and a shot of compressed air did the trick.

This is what I'll try now. Did you remove the socket from the car? Did you focus on the socket or the plug...

I second this.

Yep. I recall having that issue before. I think the computer just goes to sleep/glitches and doesn't realize there's an AC power source. Opening the driver door will activate/wake up the computer and it'll then start the charging process.

If that doesn't help. You could check the charge port for damage or debris.

Yah, definitely isn't the door. I'll try cleaning the plug/socket.

Had the same issue some time ago with my 14. The first generation cars had issues with micro cracks in the socket on the outside of the car. Warranty if you are still under the Voltec warranty. They will install a new socket on the car.

Out of warranty unfortunately.

 

[Genecpu]

Have you tried a different charger? a different EVSE charger, such as commercial one? Perhaps even though your charger shows "green" lights is may not be generating the pilot signal to the vehicle to identify a cable plugged in. Or try your charger in a different EV car to be sure it works. Eliminate the charger as a problem. Seems like you are assuming the vehicle is the problem.

 

[flyingsherpa]

^^ second this, always try a different EVSE, preferably a known-good commercial one somewhere.

Curious how you're out of warranty on a 2015 you've had for 2 years? Voltec warranty is 8 years / 100k miles (more in CA), do you really have that many miles already? FWIW, I had to have my charge port replaced, but the symptoms were different than yours, so doesn't seem to apply.

 

[DrMiguelitoLoveless]

Check the EVSE J1772 plug and socket. Years ago when I was plugging in my volt, a big moth went towards the light in the plug and kamikaze'd himself as I was plugging in. Without a clean connection, the car would not charge. A flashlight, small screwdriver, some scraping, and a shot of compressed air did the trick.

Umm... I would STRONGLY advise turning the EVSE breaker off BEFORE cleaning the connector with a screw driver.

 

[captainofiron]

OP, did you get it resolved?

I was having a similar issue, turned out to be my charge cable was bad (supposedly)

 

[canehdian]

Umm... I would STRONGLY advise turning the EVSE breaker off BEFORE cleaning the connector with a screw driver.

Yes, just as it's strongly advised that you turn off the breaker to tinker with a light fixture.
But realistically, flipping the switch is good enough for most jobs. And most people do just that.
Test with a multimeter if you want to confirm the unit is working as intended, there should be no power flowing when disconnected from the car.

 

[Upper5Percent]

Out of warranty unfortunately.

http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?175914-Voltec-Warranty-Coverage&p=2527698#post2527698

 

[BrunoNiko]

Ok, so I fixed the problem. I've attached photos of the fix and a description under each. But basically here's the synopsis:

Problem: When plugging in the charge cable, my volt didn't charge. The green charge light on the actual charger would come on fine (no red light). The green light on the dash would not come on. There wouldn't be the 'charge cord connected' message in the instrument panel. Basically the car wasn't seeing that the charger was connected at all.

What I tried: Blowing out with an air hose the charger plug and receptacle on the car. Opened and shut car driver door per suggestions on here.

Solution: I took apart the charger's plug. Inside the chargers plug there is an electric switch that went bad. That switch is activated from a mechanism that has to do with that thumb button on the handle that you depress to unplug from the car. I cut out that switch and bypassed it with a wire nut.

Tools: Torx set. Screwdriver to pry apart handle. Multimeter (not necessary). Wire Stripper/Cutter. Wire nut.

Cost: Less than $10.

Basically its a cheap ass part and the only reason its there is as a safety device to stop voltage from always being at the plug terminals. Something to keep in mind if you've got kids or something, but for me, I bring the charger to work to charge so its either being used or unplugged in the trunk.

Let me know if you have any questions and I'll help.

This is the faulty switch.

You can see the grey wire nut being used to bypass that switch after I cut it out

The switch was a part of a mechanism that included all these white plastic parts. I removed all these white plastic pieces. One of the pieces was already broken, I'm not sure if it was already broken or if it broke when opening the handle.

Here is where i routed the wire nut and right before I put the handle back together. Note: I kept the thumb release button and the metal tab that gives it spring. Also, I tested the DC voltage coming off of the terminals after the fix using the multimeter; I was getting voltage readings from both of the large terminals using the bottom single large terminal as the ground.

 

[marcusm]

My 16 volt just did the same thing on 240. Got three interrupted charge alerts in a row one minute apart, then when unplugged and replugged said "plugged in" on app and on DIC but not charging. Then opened door, started car, stopped, restarted. No change. Said charging interrupted override, charge cord connected, orange dash light solid. Then shut off and turned on breaker to Circuit. Still solid orange dash light. No change. EVSE lights all showed as normal but when plugged into other volt same result so knew it is not the car. Orange dash light again. Finally unplugged EVSE from power line and replugged it then it came back on. Now charging normally. What is up?


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[llninja]

My 16 volt just did the same thing on 240. Got three interrupted charge alerts in a row one minute apart, then when unplugged and replugged said "plugged in" on app and on DIC but not charging. Then opened door, started car, stopped, restarted. No change. Said charging interrupted override, charge cord connected, orange dash light solid. Then shut off and turned on breaker to Circuit. Still solid orange dash light. No change. EVSE lights all showed as normal but when plugged into other volt same result so knew it is not the car. Orange dash light again. Finally unplugged EVSE from power line and replugged it then it came back on. Now charging normally. What is up?


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Just a guess, the EVSE needed to be rebooted, and your shutoff and turn on of the circuit breaker might not have been long enough to completely empty out the bits in the EVSE. Maybe shutting off and counting to 30 before turning it on would have achieved the same result as unplugging and replugging.

There are many Nintendo wii's that get thrown out because people get the red light of death, but didn't knew that if you unplug it for 30 minutes to an hour, then replug it in, it's a good as new.

 

[marcusm]

Just a guess, the EVSE needed to be rebooted, and your shutoff and turn on of the circuit breaker might not have been long enough to completely empty out the bits in the EVSE. Maybe shutting off and counting to 30 before turning it on would have achieved the same result as unplugging and replugging.

May well be right. I do think the EVSE needed to be rebooted for some reason. I only counted to 3 before cycling the breaker. I left it unplugged for about 10 seconds before replugging.


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