[Blackmax]

The other day I was able to connect to a free 240 charger in a parking lot. When I tried to check the charging status/rate, most of the charging screen was grayed out. The only selection available was the 8 or 12 amp charge rate which of course only applied to the 110 cord. I tried this with the car running and with it off with no difference.

My center display did show that it was charging. I’ll try to attach a photo.

 

[lagagnon]

The energy screens are really only available AFTER a full charge, not DURING.

 

[Blackmax]

Well that’s somewhat useless...
Thanks just the same.

 

[lagagnon]

What information about charging were you hoping to see? The only charge status supplied by the Volt is the number of flashes on the green charge indicator light. Otherwise the voltage and current limit are set by the actual EVSE unit that you were plugged into and that cannot be changed from the Volt anyways.

Many public Level 2 EVSE systems are in fact 208 volts (not 240) and the owner of the EVSE will determine what maximum amp rate they will charge at. The Volt itself has a maximum 3300 watt charger so will only draw a maximum of about 16 amps at 240VAC.

 

[jcanoe]

If you select the charging information screen before you begin charging the Volt will provide an estimated time for when charging would be completed using Level 1 charging or Station Charging (Level 2 charging.) You can obtain a more accurate estimate of the charging completion time after you turn off the Volt, plug in the charging connector. Even though the Volt is powered off, when you open the driver's door, the Driver Information Display will display an updated charge completion time. In the case where you use a public level 2 charging station the charge completion time will be adjusted for the public charging installation. The Volt will display an updated (later) charge completion time taking into account the 208V commercial charging voltage typically seen at public charging stations versus the 230V/240V normally associated with residential 230V circuits.

 

[Norton]

Some public charge stations with a J1772 cord are L1. Could this be what the OP is talking about?
I found this out once when I returned to a rental Fiat 500e and it only got a few miles while we had breakfast at a Las Vegas casino.
I was expecting 6.6kW charging...
But what do you want for free??

 

[Blackmax]

I’m my photo, in the top right corner it shows the current time as 1:13 and then a completed charge time of 3:00 for “Station” so there is that coming through. I guess I was hoping that the large horizontal button for “Charge Rate Information” would be usable rather than grayed out. I would just like to see what amount of power is coming through to the car.

 

[jcanoe]

I’m my photo, in the top right corner it shows the current time as 1:13 and then a completed charge time of 3:00 for “Station” so there is that coming through. I guess I was hoping that the large horizontal button for “Charge Rate Information” would be usable rather than grayed out. I would just like to see what amount of power is coming through to the car.

You can see the net power going into the battery if you turn on the Volt while it is charging. Select the Classic Enhanced option for the Driver Information Console. The power number (+/-) is displayed on the right. Keep in mind that the Volt uses 0.5kW when it is powered on so the number you see will reflect this power usage.

 

[lagagnon]

Hey jcanoe: had not thought of that or tried it! Thanks!

 

[jcanoe]

You can see the net power going into the battery if you turn on the Volt while it is charging. Select the Classic Enhanced option for the Driver Information Console. The power number (+/-) is displayed on the right. Keep in mind that the Volt uses 0.5kW when it is powered on so the number you see will reflect this power usage.

If the power going into or out of the battery is greater than 1kW the Volt will only display the power in whole kW, not to any decimal places.

 

[wws]

If you look at the Vehicle Status screen on the MyChevrolet app, it will show the % of charge on the battery. Note the app doesn't update continuously - you have to swipe the screen down to get it to update.

Also be aware that at a lot of non-residential charging locations, the voltage is 208v, not 240v. (It is a 3-phase power thing that doesn't apply to residences.) This can cause charging to take a bit longer than one might otherwise expect.

 

[Blackmax]

All good ideas. Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I’ll check those out next time I’m plugged in.