[lezouave]

I bought my 2013 Volt in the beginning of December, and a week later experienced that cold wave coupled with another a stroke of bad luck, the ±50 year old wiring to my garage lost its ground (intermittent prob, then broke on the coldest day) and my evse wouldn't charge. Took a week or so to get it sorted, and now I have a new circuit with 240v @ 20 amps and a level 2 charger. Very nice.

Now we're having another cold spell, (lows of 4° F) and I am longing to do the erdtt mod- I love the silence - Problem is, I don't have a warm place in which to do it myself.

So, does anyone know a shop here that might help me out with this? I'm in 60625, but anywhere within 15 miles is great, or 30 if they have an evse on site (Right now I'm off to the Home Depot to pick up some pipe insulator to stuff into the front lower grill... )

Thanks for reading

Steve

 

[voganni]

We are in the throes of a cold snap just like yours. Wednesday I drove Hal to work (24 miles) will full ERDTT (and no electric heat!). I saw temps as low as -15°. Used 1 quart of gas and arrived with 14 miles range left! Charged up at work, used .38 gal of gas and arrived home with 19 miles of range remaining. I know ERDTT is annoying if you have a short commute, but it doesn't really use a lot of gas, and for my drive is not really a bad thing. We aren't below 15° that often over here. The engine is running to produce heat, but it also makes some electricity. So I'm saving a bit on electricity as I spend more on gas.......

 

[lezouave]

I hear you, nevertheless, I would like to do the mod.

 

[voganni]

Lots of info here about doing that mod. Getting a shop to do it could be problematical as it is a modification to the car's systems. (unless a sympathetic Volt owner near you chimes in with a warm shop to donate). Sounds like a 47k resistor in parallel with the existing sensor will raise the temp reading by 30° F. The car needs to be asleep when you disconnect the sensor. Best way I know of to assure that is disconnect the 12v battery negative terminal. Alternately you can remove all fobs from vicinity of the car and wait 15 minutes or so. Don't open any doors in the interim, or it'll wake back up. Hope you can find a way to heat your garage!

 

[Steverino]

Maybe go to an underground parking garage like Grant Park? Go to the lowest, warmest level. Do it there. It will cost you a parking fee, but will be relatively warm. Or wait for one of those sunny, 34+°F days.

 

[llninja]

Do the mod in your own garage. Just make sure you change the setting in the Config menu to not allow the engine to start while plugged in, then start the volt, crank up the heat, open the windows, and open the hatchback to use the volt's resistive heater to warm the garage. Give it 20-30 min. I do this all the time, even swapped in my snow tires using this technique. Just make sure you shut off the car when you get to actually doing the ERDTT mod.

 

[llninja]

Maybe go to an underground parking garage like Grant Park? Go to the lowest, warmest level. Do it there. It will cost you a parking fee, but will be relatively warm. Or wait for one of those sunny, 34+°F days.

Parking in Grant Park is horrendously expensive.

 

[caronjeff]

You guys who insist on doing this mod are going to end up with damaged engines from lack of lube, internal condensation and internal rust. Then the 30 cents a day you save is going to become thousands in expense. I love the heat provided by my ICE anytime it's below 26 degrees. Been doing this 5 winters. You'll learn after a couple.

 

[llninja]

You guys who insist on doing this mod are going to end up with damaged engines from lack of lube, internal condensation and internal rust. Then the 30 cents a day you save is going to become thousands in expense. I love the heat provided by my ICE anytime it's below 26 degrees. Been doing this 5 winters. You'll learn after a couple.

Engine maintenance mode should take care of a periodic lube and eliminating condensation and rust. Though I'm not at fan of defeating ERDTT either. I like ERDTT and have mine set to the higher temp setting.

 

[somms]

You guys who insist on doing this mod are going to end up with damaged engines from lack of lube, internal condensation and internal rust.

You would think Volt owners from the warmer climates that have never experienced ERDTT would be reporting seized engines left and right here on these forums if there was any truth to this statement. Thus far only crickets!

 

[caronjeff]

I knew I would get some feedback on that statement, and yes I may be exaggerating slightly. Comes from disassembling engines through the years and seeing the effects of sitting dormant.

 

[llninja]

I knew I would get some feedback on that statement, and yes I may be exaggerating slightly. Comes from disassembling engines through the years and seeing the effects of sitting dormant.

Hmmm, maybe I need to start my BMW 535i more than once a year then.

 

[supchrgamx]

wonder what cooked oil pump in one volt

 

[somms]

I knew I would get some feedback on that statement, and yes I may be exaggerating slightly. Comes from disassembling engines through the years and seeing the effects of sitting dormant.

We'll give you a pass this time but do you honestly think that multiple short ERDTT events that fail to adequately warm the engine up to its normal operating temp is better for the longevity of the ICE than preventing turning the ICE over at all in the cold thru this simple resistor mod if possible?

 

[lezouave]

Wow. You gotta love the Internet. What a voluminous response!

You guys who insist on doing this mod are going to end up with damaged engines from lack of lube, internal condensation and internal rust. Then the 30 cents a day you save is going to become thousands in expense. I love the heat provided by my ICE anytime it's below 26 degrees. Been doing this 5 winters. You'll learn after a couple.

Thank you old timer. These wizened bits of lore warmed the cockles of my heart.

Do the mod in your own garage. Just make sure you change the setting in the Config menu to not allow the engine to start while plugged in, then start the volt, crank up the heat, open the windows, and open the hatchback to use the volt's resistive heater to warm the garage. Give it 20-30 min. I do this all the time, even swapped in my snow tires using this technique. Just make sure you shut off the car when you get to actually doing the ERDTT mod.

Interesting technique. I will check this out, if only for the novelty of heating my garage in this manner!

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[kns]

...Go to the lowest, warmest level...

Wouldn't the lowest level have the coldest, heaviest air?

KNS

 

[Ron in Omaha]

Considering where you live, I would think you'd own a propane heater. I have 4 in various sizes. When I got my 2013, I was obsessed with only operating on electricity for a good 6 months and seriously considered doing the ERDTT defeat modification. However, I gradually stopped worrying about it and just drove the car. This year I actually changed my setting to have ERDTT start at the higher temperature. I also switch to Hold mode for the first 4 or 5 miles when the temperature is really cold so the engine gets fully warmed up and makes lots of heat for the cabin. I figure since the engine is going to run anyways, I might as well be comfortable. The amount of heat entering the cabin on ERDTT is noticeably higher than what electric heat alone can provide. A fully warmed up engine makes twice as much heat as the ERDTT mode. This is because ERDTT only warms the coolant to about 138 degrees. I'm happy to trade a buck worth of gas for the comfort it provides.

Since you seem more interested in doing the mod than getting talked out of it, I'll suggest buying a propane heater and insulating your garage first. That's one of the best upgrades I made to my garage. Spray foam insulation is the best without doubt, but it's expensive. I used fiberglass batting and have regretted not spending more to get the foam ever since.

 

[somms]

The amount of heat entering the cabin on ERDTT is noticeably higher than what electric heat alone can provide.

Exactly how toasty do you need your cabin to be?
A properly working CHCM should have no issue eventually producing +100F heat exiting the vents as shown in the video above.

I have yet to run into a situation where I had to supplement the electric heater with the ICE using either HOLD or MOUNTAIN mode. Possibly if I lived a litter farther north I wouldn't be able to say this!

 

[Ron in Omaha]

Exactly how toasty do you need your cabin to be?

I've never measured the temperature. I just know it's a lot warmer when the engine is running. When I'm freezing, I'm not interested in "eventually producing 100F", I want way hotter than 100 right NOW!

 

[Mister Dave]

Hmmm, maybe I need to start my BMW 535i more than once a year then.

Ummm...... probably.