[yfrqnk14]

2012.
new 12 volt battery.
when the old battery died, i assumed it was old age and replaced it.
i am out of work with an injury, only using car once or twice a week, since i put in the new battery.
after sitting for 4 days, battery was dead. doors would not unlock. display would not light up when i opened the door.
assumed new battery was not fully charged, charged it for an hour. shop charger/starter, not a trickle charger.
next day, dead. jumped with portable jumper. drove for two hours, stopped twice. car started.
i am assuming it is not the battery because it holds the charge for a few hours.
i searched on here and saw similar problems with suggestions of a bad battery or onstar drain.
my onstar is not active.
i am thinking of charging and then disconnecting the battery and let it sit for 2 days.
if it starts, i believe that will eliminate the possibility that it is the battery.
if it starts, i will then try pulling the onstar fuse, F9, is it?

anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[Steverino]

Something is running or shorted. Do you have paired bluetooth phone? That would be my guess. The car is still running the bluetooth connection even though you removed the phone.

See http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?19490-Battery-Drain-and-Blue-Tooth

 

[yfrqnk14]

Something is running or shorted. Do you have paired bluetooth phone? That would be my guess. The car is still running the bluetooth connection even though you removed the phone.

See http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?19490-Battery-Drain-and-Blue-Tooth

bluetooth died awhile ago. i assumed it was part of onstar and i lost it when i didnt renew onstar.
is there a way to disable bluetooth? a fuse i can pull?

 

[SharkVolt]

Just go in the car menu and disable/delete any bluetooth pairing that shows up.

 

[voganni]

Bluetooth has nothing to do with Onstar. I do remember some problems with early Volts running 12v batteries dead with bluetooth staying active, but my '13 has never done it. You should just be able to unpair your phone. Be sure there's no keyfobs left near the car.
Yes, if you fully charge the battery and disconnect it, it should last for a month or more. That would be a good test. I just had a 15 mo old AGM battery die in my motorcycle, some kind of internal open connection. So they can fail prematurely. It won't even take a charge though. If you pull the Onstar fuse you will also lose hands-free calling (which also requires bluetooth). They're on the same fuse. (Ask me how I know!)
Properly working Volts have very low parasitic drain, under 30 ma as I recall. You could check it with a DC clamp meter.

 

[yfrqnk14]

i will try unpairing the phone first.
since bluetooth is not working, it makes sense bluetooth just constantly searches for the phone.
i suppose it is possible the old 12 volt battery died a natural death, when car powered back up with the new 12 volt battery, it defaulted to factory settings and bluetooth was turned on.
i will check bluetooth settings, if that doesnt work, i will disconnect the battery, to make sure it is not the battery.

 

[hellsop]

Maybe the reason that the Bluetooth isn't working is because the module failed and now it just never shuts off either, draining the battery.

 

[yfrqnk14]

i just checked. i dont have a phone menu.
no bluetooth settings. nothing.
i pulled the onstar fuse, just to eliminate that possibility.
maybe bluetooth and phone got messed up when the 12 volt battery died.
is there a way to restart bluetooth, or reinstall?

 

[somms]

Have you confirmed that when plugged in and actively charging your Gen1 when turned off the Lear 3.3kW on-board High Voltage Charger is keeping the 12V AGM topped off as designed? This can be verified by measuring the DC voltage between the two battery terminals which should raise the DC voltage to above @13VDC when the Volt is plugged in and charging as it does on my Gen1...

 

[yfrqnk14]

i cant charge the main batteries.
car wont let me charge it.
service high voltage battery message is on.
havent been able to find anyone that knows what a volt is, let alone service it.
i was going to call chevy and ask for a mechanic anywhere in the country, that they knew could service a volt, then i would pay to ship the car to them.
but, now i am out of work for 4 months with a illness and i have no money.
i have been through two dealers so far. had to break into the charger to replace the 120volt cord and a $1.00 fuse. cord had a short in it. it was melting through the plug and was starting to melt outlets. dealer refused to service or replace, said there was nothing wrong with it. finally melted all the way through and blew the fuse. no easy way into the charger. it is now held together with duct tape.
second dealer insists there is nothing wrong with a whole list of problems.
i havent had good cabin heat for three years.
now, i have no cabin heat on electric.
they seemed to be unaware that the volt gets cabin heat from both the gas engine and an electric pre heater, when it is on electric. they dont know how to isolate the two systems for a test.
i would just keep the hood closed while on electric so the gas engine does not come on, then turn the heat on, but ,i am not a chevy certified volt mechanic, what do i know.
someone on here gave me the test procedure from chevy, for the heat control module, including the notice that 2012's had a defective module and telling the dealer to replace it if it was made before a certain date.
gave it to the dealer, asked them to test the module, offered to hold their hand while they did it.
5 minutes later they told me they couldnt pull the codes.
computer was not communicating with their scanner.
wanted me to drop the car off while they traced all the wires.
when i got home i pulled the codes with my scanner.
i assume they could not find the port to attach the scanner to.
so, that is why i cant charge the car.
good news is, now that it is always on gas, i have cabin heat.
and this is the short list of problems.

 

[somms]

i cant charge the main batteries.
car wont let me charge it.
service high voltage battery message is on.

You may want to resolve this issue first prior to figuring out why your Gen1 is now eating 12V AGM batteries I suppose.

If you can get a GM service dept. to successfully clear the latched DTC code(s), you should consider buying WOT's bypass plug in order to prevent latching this code in the future that prevents your Gen1 from charging...

 

[yfrqnk14]

You may want to resolve this issue first prior to figuring out why your Gen1 is now eating 12V AGM batteries I suppose.

If you can get a GM service dept. to successfully clear the latched DTC code(s), you should consider buying WOT's bypass plug in order to prevent latching this code in the future that prevents your Gen1 from charging...

if there was a mechanic available, i would gladly resolve this issue first.
i do not believe there are any volt mechanics in the world, i think all you guys sit in your driveways with volts that do not run and make engine noises.
you have all assured me, repeatedly, that you have no problems getting your volts serviced. i will believe it when i find a volt mechanic.three years with poor cabin heat, now no cabin heat and a gas engine skipping, i am not very hopeful.
i am certain i cant charge it because the battery coolant system is still leaking from the last time they "fixed " it.
when i get back to work, i will start my journey to find a mechanic, but i cant right now. even if i found one, i have no money to pay him.
i can only fix what i can fix.
if i have to jump it every time i need it, so be it.
i drove it through 3 CT winters with the heater suddenly shutting off, i can survive jumping it at every stop.
you dont know what cold is until you have to use the A/C to defog your windows at 10 degrees.i drove with a winter coat, hat, gloves and scarf. i considered opening the windows to warm up.
i got a nice portable jump starter.

 

[yfrqnk14]

after pulling the onstar fuse , i let it sit for a week and it started.
I will have to assume something with onstar was turning on and draining the battery.
unless something else is on that fuse.
whatever, i dont care. i can live with that fuse out.