[quirkySquirt]

I recall vaguely that if plugged in while full, the Gen 2 Volt will use mains to keep the battery back warm/cool to maximize longevity (probably Gen 1 does this too). A quick search in the manual and forums didn't yield anything but I'm pretty sure this is the case.

Does anyone else recall if this is the case, or am I just wishfully dreaming?

I'm convinced this is the case cause before I went to sleep, I saw frost on my Volt but when I woke a few minutes ago, I noticed the Volt was frost free! But then I noticed other cars on the street were no longer frosted over either. Low and behold, local weather stations indicate a 2F rise in temperature, which probably accounted for the frost disappearing.

I'm still hoping someone here with better memory can recall the Volt will use mains to heat/cool the battery pack to keep it from going into deep freeze or overheat.

EDIT: Dang it, found the entry in the 2017 manual, pg 27 under "Vehicle Charging/Maintenance":

Keep the vehicle plugged in, even
when fully charged, to keep the
battery temperature ready for the
next drive. This is important when
outside temperatures are extremely
hot or cold.

Didn't find it on my initial search using the term "heat".

 

[DonC]

For battery longevity cold is not a problem so the car is not going to heat the battery when plugged in unless the temperature is very low, far lower than what you're describing. This is so the battery can function, not to prevent a shortened life. Note that the manual refers to "extremely hot or cold".

I don't know how the cooling and heating on the new Volt works. On the old one, when the temperature was so hot that the car needed to cool the battery, it also cooled the cabin because the battery pack and cabin shared a compressor. Heating was on separate loops.

 

[rcuz]

For battery longevity cold is not a problem so the car is not going to heat the battery when plugged in unless the temperature is very low, far lower than what you're describing. This is so the battery can function, not to prevent a shortened life. Note that the manual refers to "extremely hot or cold".

I don't know how the cooling and heating on the new Volt works. On the old one, when the temperature was so hot that the car needed to cool the battery, it also cooled the cabin because the battery pack and cabin shared a compressor. Heating was on separate loops.

I've noticed on my G2 when it's been hot, and/or the car has been sitting in the sun, that after I unplug, or even (I think) when unplugged, the car has cooled the battery so that on occasion when I turn on only the fan, I am getting cool air.

I have not noticed this as far as a really cold day making the battery heat itself and then getting warm air on fan.

Best,
Rick

 

[canehdian]

The battery keeps itself in optimum range whenever it is plugged in, using heating, cooling (with/without AC or radiator fans).
As soon as it is turned on it will also engage thermal management to a tighter degree than standby management (e.g. the cooling point while in standby is less aggressive than while actively driving - it may not be hot enough to trigger when parked but will start immediately when you turn the car on to drive)

Cooling will activate when unplugged and temp is critical. Heating will not. It will fall back to engine operation if battery is too cold to be useful.