Time for a new battery, the one you have can't hold a charge

 

Either your battery is on the way out or something in your Volt is draining it.

You did say that the battery holds a charge but you didn't say for how long. You might have it load tested just to be sure the battery is not the problem.

If the battery is not the problem then there are several threads that identify load conditions (eg, blue tooth issues) that could drain the battery.

FWIW I plan to replace the 12v battery in my early MY2012 when it reaches the three year mark in November. I don't want to rely on the original battery through another winter.

KNS

 

Could be a faulty battery. Lead acid batteries don't last long after they've been drained a couple times.
It's possible it's the auxiliary power module as well, but I would start with the battery.

 

Sounds like a defective 12V battery to me. A charged 12V should rest at 12.6 or a little higher. The 13.3 and 14.3 you mentioned are both betting provided by external sources - the charger module during charging, and the APM which replaced a normal car's alternator while the car is on.

 

After 20 some months on my 2011 Volt, I had a dead battery incident. There were several suggestions that I had a bad battery and needed to replace it. I chose to charge it up with a good external battery charger instead to see what might happen. It has now been 19+ months since then and the battery seems to be just fine. (Yes, I am knocking on wood.)

My personal feeling is that the Volt 12v charging system can do fine maintaining the 12v battery, but if it does go down then you really need to bring it back within a "normal" range with an external charger. YMMV

VIN # B0985

 

My 12' had (1) one incident like this. Had it towed home. Plugged it in, charged it up, all is OK.

Left it at the dealer for several days. Picked it up, they said couldn't replicate the problem. Not sure what if anything they did.

I was thinking it was related to the "Blue tooth" phenomina since it would act like I was making a call when I wasn't in the day leading up to the event.

Hasn't been an issue since.

Based on your case, you may need to replace the 12V battery.

 

Cool, thank you all. I will try charging with a outside charger, but it might just be a dead or shorting cell.

 

My Ampera failed to start one morning due to a dead 12V battery. I've since noticed twice after returning to my parked car, that my main display hadn't turned off, but showed the parking brake (P) symbol. I suspect this was what drained the battery.

 

If you had your keyfob in your pocket, the Volt may be sensing this through proximity and could be why the driver's display may be powered on momentarily in order to display the charge time remaining. Does your Volt exhibit this same behavior if you don't have the keyfob?

 

I had a recent experience with the 12V battery in a 1st Gen Honda Insight.
I had a few cases of the battery inexplicably going dead or almost dead, once immediately after 40 mile road trip out of town.

This battery tested fine twice with the classic auto parts store 'Load Tester'.
This is a 500 CCA battery. The load tester hits the battery with a quick load to watch the voltage drop.

So I charged it overnight and tested it on an Aviation type 'Capacity Tester'.
This test is a steady load and lets the battery discharge to 10.0V, stops and records the minutes.

Automotive batteries do not have an Amp/hour rating.
They use a 'Reserve Capacity' number in minutes with a set discharge at 25A @ 70°F, to 10.5V.

My Insight battery is rated as 'RC' of 85 minutes. It tested 9 minutes to 10.0V...

I bought a brand new battery and did the same test after an overnight charge on a 2A Batteryminder.
It was still at 12.3 Volts after 25 minutes with a 25A load.
I stopped the test at that point and recharged it.

The lesson is: A quickie automotive 'load' test does not really tell the condition of the battery.

A Capacity Test is needed for the Volt battery.
In the Volt the 12V battery never sees a High Amp load, (like cranking a cold ICE), it only boots up the system and also powers the system when not in ready mode.

edit:
Some Volts sat on the lot a long time. A Lead Acid battery goes bad quickly if left discharged.
There is only one test to see if a battery is meeting its capacity spec.
Many aircraft batteries get a yearly 'Cap Check'.

 

I have wondered if the Volt will start on only 5 cells which may still read at 11 -12 volts.
the charging circuits I guess may still throw a code

 

this thread is the closest I found so far to the problem I am having.
My Volt's 12 volt battery discharges to 9-10 volts randomly. Sometimes while the car sits in garage over the weekend, other times 4 hours after I get to work. Its happened on multiple consecutive days, and gone months without. Nothing is left on, and have even disconnected bluetooth.
Taken it in to shop 3 times, this last one I did not jump battery and just called RA to tow in dead. Its been a week, Dealer can not find why or replicate. I last talked to service advisor Friday, he was just going to let it sit. No call today so I guess no joy.
My thinking is that is something silly.
Welcome any ideas, advice or suggestions.

 

Welcome any ideas, advice or suggestions.

You did not indicate if this battery had been replaced. Has the service dept actually replaced this AGM battery yet!?

 

when I first got my 2013 i periodically had a 12 volt dead battery.. I found that leaving the key fob in the car with the car NOT plugged in, would sometimes power up the dashboard...

at some point a software update was done and that hasnt happened in a long time and I always leave my keyfob in the cupholder when its parked in the garage regardless of whether plugged into my L2 or not...

maybe yours needs a software update?
-Christopher

 

Originally Posted by 2002tiithis thread is the closest I found so far to the problem I am having.
My Volt's 12 volt battery discharges to 9-10 volts randomly. Sometimes while the car sits in garage over the weekend, other times 4 hours after I get to work. Its happened on multiple consecutive days, and gone months without. Nothing is left on, and have even disconnected bluetooth.
Taken it in to shop 3 times, this last one I did not jump battery and just called RA to tow in dead. Its been a week, Dealer can not find why or replicate. I last talked to service advisor Friday, he was just going to let it sit. No call today so I guess no joy.
My thinking is that is something silly.
Welcome any ideas, advice or suggestions.

Good Morning 2002tii,

It appears you are just trying to gather feedback from the forum, but let me know if you're interested in getting your Volt Advisor involved. They are a fantastic resource to utilize when you're experiencing difficulties or the dealership is having trouble diagnosing the vehicle.

Katie O.
Chevrolet Customer Care

 

Key fob

It's best to never leave the key fob in the car when parked, even in a locked garage

 

Here are my videos from many years ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29p2UhqAKUc&sns=em

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kURF3oHXm8&sns=em

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIZwkQUDdE0&sns=em

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR6G6w2g00k&sns=em

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk2lpLW-Yto&sns=em

Here is the link to the original post I made a few years ago.....
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?26769-I-am-experiencing-blue-tooth-dead-battery-bug

 

In summary, always first remember to turn OFF the Volt when you park.

Next, make sure when you open the driver's door that the center screen turns off, so that it's completely dark. If one typically listenes to music on the radio like I do, also make sure the music turns off when the door opens. If the screen stays lit, or music keeps playing, or the car still is in Bluetooth connected mode when the door opens, the bug event is happening and the 12v battery WILL go dead.

 

thanks for all the comments.
Battery has not been replaced.
The problem will manifest with no paired bluetooth devices.
Software is all up to date.
Have not experienced radio volume or just plain staying on issue.

Katie Momentum Chevy and SA Dave are Diligently working the issue with my car.
I know him and the techs are flummoxed by this peculiar glitch.
Last we talked, I believe he was going to contact GM techs.
I really hope they find something, anything for peace of mind.
Still I find the Volt to be an incredible vehicle which suits my needs and alert schedule to a tee.

thanks all

 

Battery has not been replaced.

You may want to kindly suggest to your service dept to start there!?

 

I'd call it a real longshot that OnStar has anything to do with it. Has the dealer checked what the current drain is with the car off? That is something you could check pretty easily with your (or friend's) meter. If high, you could probably isolate the offending circuit by pulling fuses until the current dropped to very low level. If drain is as low as I would expect, that gives you ammunition for a battery swap.

 

update on my volt's 12 volt battery drain issues.
I now have the car back from dealer, 52 days bout 60 total. (my loaner was a volt with HOV sticker)
They were not able to duplicate the issue.
They replaced the shifter interlock switch, after another volt in the lot drained the battery, when they left the shifter off parking.
Fingers crossed.
Right after GM told me I had no buy back chance, and following my car pickup; I went back to dealer and leased a Spark ev.
I could not pass the deal after I test drove one, no down almost nothing a month. But I digress.
My wife has been driving the Volt while I was away this last week. No problems, maybe the interlock worked, or maybe she is doing something right.
I will keep you all posted.
By the way, I still think the Volt is the current best solution for low emissions vehicle.
It may not be the best car I've ever owned, but it sure is the best commuter I've ever owned.
What a great car.

 

Our Volt's battery has held since the dealer returned the car. The only difference since the dealer serviced it, is that before then it was driven by me exclusively. Now that we got a Spark EV, my wife has been driving it. Her commute is similar to mine in distance, but the car does not sit as long. Maybe the interlock swap worked, either way if time permits I'll get a reading of the battery this weekend.

aunque naciera en la luna

 

Hello, I have had two occurrences of a dead 12v battery in the last 2 months. The first time I assumed that I might have left something powered on in the vehicle but I couldn't really think what that might be. Chevy Road Side assistance came out and jump started the car. When I got home I put a 12 charger designed for RG batteries on the car and for two months life was good.

Yesterday I had it happen again and I feel confident that the car was turned off, it was in park and there were no accessories draining the battery. I got a jumpstart and I was on my way. I called OnStar to ask if they have anything in there database about this problem but they had not.

At this stage I am planning to book the car in to have it checked out but I suspect that they won't come up with anything. I guess that it could be a bad RG battery but I have had these things in my airplane and my experience is that RG batteries usually have a long life.

If anyone has had a resolution to this issue I'd appreciate hearing from them

 

I guess that it could be a bad RG battery but I have had these things in my airplane and my experience is that RG batteries usually have a long life.

I work in aviation and some larger aircraft get an annual Capacity Check of the battery.
This is a set amperage load is put on the battery and when the voltage drops below the cutoff point the load stops. It is measure in minutes.
Aircraft batteries have an Ahr rating. In cars the equivalent rating is the RC, Reserve Capacity.

In the automotive world there is only the simple Load Check.
They hang that big cable tester on the battery and see if it will put out 100 A for a few seconds, or whatever the particular tester is rated for.
This is not a good test to measure the health of a battery.
I've been snagged by a car battery passing the simple load check but fail miserably on a capacity check.

Good luck finding an automotive shop that is able to do a Cap Check.
btw, what is 'RG batteries'? I thought the Volt is an AGM type lead acid battery.

 

Lots of Aviation batteries are annually Cap Checked. This runs the battery down at a steady load according to the Ahr rating of the battery to 10 V, then stops the test.
Measured in minutes. Then charged up.

Car batteries have a Reserve Capacity (RC)measured in minutes. Always with a 25 A load and stopped at 10.5 V. Measured in minutes. Then charged up.

These test are identical in function.

Of course no one in auto shops ever performs a Reserve Capacity test.
They only do old school Load Tests.

Both of these test would harm a lead acid battery if it is discharged to zero VDC.