[Arcanox]

I tried to remote start my Volt on my way down to the garage at work today. I found it not running when I got down there, thinking maybe the OnStar app lost connection before it could start. I got in the car and saw "1 mile" on the EV range, but the battery gauge was full (I parked it with ~40% battery, 25 miles left). It also said "Unable To Charge" despite not being plugged in.

The first two times I tried to start it, it did the spinning animation on the dashboard similar to when it starts in cold weather and the ICE kicks in, but the "Ready" indicator at the bottom never showed up. I called for a ride home with it "half on" after the second attempt, and while I was on the phone, I decided to shut it off and try one more time. When I shut it off, the battery range started climbing rapidly from 1 mile up to the 25 I had parked it with, and it finally started, but the MIL remained on. The engine never came on during any of this, so it never went into any sort of "limp mode". I scanned it with Torque and got the generic "P1E00 Powertrain" code, so I drove it to the dealer up the street from work. The dealer was also only able to pull that code and nothing more specific, and asked me to leave the vehicle overnight.

I'm expecting them to call me tomorrow and say I need a new Battery Control Module from other similar problems I've seen here...I just hope that whatever it is, it's covered by the Voltec warranty.

Time to update my forum signature again!

 

[Arcanox]

Just heard from the dealer....apparently the traction battery coolant was leaking into the battery itself! They're going to replace my entire hybrid battery under the Voltec warranty. It makes me wonder how long it's been slowly leaking, and what the actual fault was that it detected (short circuit? low coolant?)...

 

[dannycamps]

Just heard from the dealer....apparently the traction battery coolant was leaking into the battery itself! They're going to replace my entire hybrid battery under the Voltec warranty. It makes me wonder how long it's been slowly leaking, and what the actual fault was that it detected (short circuit? low coolant?)...

Wow that sounds kind of dangerous.

 

[jcanoe]

Wow that sounds kind of dangerous.

Unless the battery pack has been damaged as could happen in a strong collision there is little risk of a battery fire. The Dexcool coolant used in the Volt uses specially de-ionized water in the coolant pre-mix. So if the Volt's Dexcool coolant comes in contact with the high voltage present inside the battery pack it will not conduct the electricity. A battery fire could result if a battery cell shorts, ruptures as the electrolyte inside the cell is flammable. That fire could potentially ignite the Dexcool.

 

[Arcanox]

Just got my car back! Unfortunately I work a fair distance from home, the dealer was near work, and the car I've been driving belongs to my mother, so I had to put my car in the garage at work for the weekend until someone can take me to pick it up.

It turns out the root case was a bad Battery Energy Control Module as I had suspected. The tech started performing the service bulletin regarding the faulty BECMs that my model year suffered from, and when he took the cover off the battery to install the new module, he found pooling coolant inside and had to order a new battery.

I actually got to meet the tech when I picked the car up, and he was super interested in showing me the old battery and explaining what happened. He's a Volt owner himself and he said he's fixed a ton of bad BECMs, but has never seen coolant inside a battery, which is likely due to faulty workmanship from a past service visit.

 

[sosmerc]

Just got my car back! Unfortunately I work a fair distance from home, the dealer was near work, and the car I've been driving belongs to my mother, so I had to put my car in the garage at work for the weekend until someone can take me to pick it up.

It turns out the root case was a bad Battery Energy Control Module as I had suspected. The tech started performing the service bulletin regarding the faulty BECMs that my model year suffered from, and when he took the cover off the battery to install the new module, he found pooling coolant inside and had to order a new battery.

I actually got to meet the tech when I picked the car up, and he was super interested in showing me the old battery and explaining what happened. He's a Volt owner himself and he said he's fixed a ton of bad BECMs, but has never seen coolant inside a battery, which is likely due to faulty workmanship from a past service visit.

Man, do you know how lucky you are to have a tech that knows what he is doing and actually cares? And the fact that he is a Volt owner is an added bonus. You are also lucky that the dealership let you talk directly with him....because my experience has been they don't want you to get "chatty" with the techs...they think you are wasting their time.
So glad you are back in business again. Fingers crossed, my 2017 with just under 30,000 has been perfect.

 

[Mike-o-Matic]

he said he's fixed a ton of bad BECMs

A TON? That's not the most confidence-inspiring thing I've heard recently

 

[Arcanox]

A TON? That's not the most confidence-inspiring thing I've heard recently

There's been a known VIN-range affected by faulty BECMs that are almost guaranteed to fail during the life of the car for a while, and a service bulletin to cover replacing them when they do fail. I believe it's all 2016 model-years plus early 2017s. The tech said he's fixed over a dozen failed BECMs from the known VIN range, but hasn't had any fail outside that, which at least means the failures are contained within the known batch. I'd love to know exactly what fails with them and why....

 

[stevenwm]

If anyone manages to find this VIN range, it would be great if you could post it. I have a very early 2017 build (June 2016) at 42k (with only a single service visit in 2 years, and I probably jinxed myself by typing that). I am wondering if/when I am going to experience the BECM failure.