The NO CHARGE saga...please help.

6341 Views 49 Replies 18 Participants Last post by thisadviceisworthless, Oct 20, 2017

SmjVolt

Discussion Starter · Sep 7, 2017

I have been on and off GM-Volt for several months now in hopes to somehow just find a solution to my woes. I have a 2011 volt that has been struggling to charge for well way too long now. The weird thing is, it will just work for a couple days in a row here and there and I get so pumped that I think it will just work forever again! That is now the case however. Here goes nothing...

Several months ago I started having this problem where I would plug the car in like usual at ANY ANY plugging unit (Home, parking lot, work, anywhere, plus different units) and the car would blink green and later I would come back to find it with no color at all. Now sometimes the on star app lets me know that "there is a charge interuption" so then I would go out and see what is up. Sometimes just a simple unplug and replug would do the trick, however most of the time not. I would plug back in, get orange then hear some clicking in the engine bay and either stay orange or just go out completely.

So I thought it was definitely my 240 charger from Clipper Creek, so I contacted them (one of the best businesses I have every dealt with btw) and we trouble shot over the phone and I was in warranty so even though it didn't seem to be their unit I got a new one. To no avail same problem. The weirdest thing is that it is so random, like now for several weeks it has been very consistent not to be charging at all ever. When my car texts me through the on star and it says completely changed I draw attention to myself because I'm so pumped, this shouldn't be.

I have taken this to a dealer (in the sticks of MN) and have gotten absolutely no where, once my car was completely dead to the point of towing it to their garage over night. The next day was Saturday and the Volt tech was not in. I went to the car and I fixed it myself trouble shooting from this website. So the next time I brought it there I was worried as usual and then they seemed to have gotten it fixed, they said the plugged in their unit to see the codes and such, reprogrammed some things and $150ish later they plugged in to charge and said it did. That very night I plugged it in and the same thing happened no charging...

So I come to all of you, I have been trying to reach ANYONE for too long and finally got a reply from some folks saying start an new Thread, well I hope that helps, there are a ton on here with charging issues. I tried posting there as this is a charging issue, but here I go with a new thread PLEASE HELP

. I love this car and want it to keep working.

The latest trial and ERRRRROOR

is the replacement of the 12v battery in the back. I hooked up a new one and tried to let the computer sense it and such and then plugged in the main charging unit...NOPE same thing.

HELP: the codes I'm reading are the same as many P1e00 and Pod17

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CCIE

· #2 · Sep 8, 2017

There aren't a lot of threads referencing the P0D17 code. It looks like it's sometimes an issue with the actual charge port on the car. You can try cleaning the contacts in the charge port with q-tips and electronics contact cleaner. Otherwise, the dealer will probably have to change the port.

The guy in the thread below below also needed the battery junction block changed and had a battery coolant leak. Hopefully that's not the case for you.

http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread...nt-Problem-Trying-to-Charge-Car-Advice-Sought

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CCIE

· #5 · Sep 8, 2017

I also read in one of the P0D17 threads that someone had a loose manual service disconnect. You could try ensuring it's properly seated (push it down). Just don't pull it out or you'll have other issues.

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CCIE

· #6 · Sep 8, 2017

Steverino said:
inside? outside? 120v? 240v? EVSE light colors on failure? Dash messages?

He's posted in some other random threads. From what I can tell he has tried multiple home and public chargers. He comes back to either a yellow or off light. That jives with what other people say about DTC P0D17. It looks like that DTC clears after 4 drive cycles, so that's why he can sometimes start charging and then it fails again. Definetly sounds like a poor/intermittent connection somewhere.

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CCIE

· #10 · Sep 8, 2017

SmjVolt said:
Thank you Thank you Thank you all for responding and CCIE for assistance on this Forum. I will try some grease like that but I'm really thinking it has to be loose something. Can I get to that thing under the bumper you speak of? I actually purchased a different charge port to do myself if need be. Right now I have just got into where the charge port sits, I reach in there and unplug the orange connector and plug my different on in...to no avail, so I'm thinking I ruled that out unless there is some procedure I need to do after I plug in the different one. I just can't figure out why it would go green and sit like that for minutes at a time and then just say "nope we're done" and then orange and then no color. If I clear those codes I can "most" of the time get it to go green right away but then goes out, but if I dn't clear those codes then it "most" of the time will just be orange. Thanks again all, I just know with all of your help and other things happening to these cars we can get it.! Go team.

I would also check the service disconnect in the bottom of the armrest. The thread linked below says that someone was able to fix this issue by just pushing it down a little to fully seat it. Again, do not pull it out.

http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?285825-P0D17-Fault-Code&p=4029921#post4029921

Also, how many miles do you have on the car? The 8/100 Voltec warranty may cover this if you're under 100k miles. If that's the case, I'd find a good dealer, even if it's far away, and have them fix it.

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CCIE

· #14 · Sep 8, 2017

saghost said:
Low coolant levels will cause a charge failure, and set the "Service High Voltage" DIC message. That does not fit with the symptoms you've described.

The only way you can get the silent failures you've been describing is if the car doesn't think there's anything wrong; it just thinks it's been unplugged. That means charge port or wiring since you've ruled out the EVSE.

Agreed that it's not the battery coolant level or level sensor. If it was the coolant or sensor, it sets different DTCs, triggers the Service High Voltage Charging System message, and prevents all charging until the dealer fixes it.

The failures he's getting aren't really silent. He has the MIL (check engine light) illuminated and is seeing DTC P0D17. It's a rare code, but others have seen it as shown in the links I previously posted.

Hopefully his Voltec warranty is still active and he can get it to a dealer with a good Volt Technician.

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CCIE

· #20 · Sep 8, 2017

SmjVolt said:
Okay a so update. I was playing with options all afternoon. I did pour dis water, just a little to bring level up. Right away things changed. Granted I got in the car turned it on clear the codes shut off the car then plugged it in! But then it seemed to charge for quite a while meaning 5 minutes 10 minutes. Which has been the longest for a couple weeks for sure. So then the text came again that there was a transfer interruption or something like that. So then I poured a little bit more in and similar thing it worked for a while again. Now it's parked and charged an again and it's been that way for 7 minutes ish and still charging! So any other thoughts? It Is by no means fixed yet but maybe closer! So does this have to do with the level possibly?
So now I'm wondering about what's happening maybe good things! But to answer the other question I have a salvage title on this car which again doesn't help at the dealer... So so as for the warranty I only have about 70 K on the car so maybe they would help but I had a doubt it.
Yes I saw the moth Kamikaze thread a while back in so I blew it out a little bit and really looked with flashlight and such and did not see anything. But thanks for that I was hoping that was my easy fix.
I will keep updating you all but please be thinking why it's so random and if the coolant level has something to do with this.
Thank you thank you again for all the responses I'm feeling a bit better about my problem.

You would get different DTCs if the issue was low battery coolant. Also, you should use deionized water and dexcool if you're adding to any of the three reservoirs.

If you've tried changing the charge port and you've verified the MSD is properly seated, then it's time to start checking wiring. It'll be hard since the issue only happens after the car has been charging a few minutes. That seems to indicate that something heats up and causes the low voltage condition which sets DTC P0D17.

Maybe someone has the service manual procedures to troubleshoot that DTC?

What happened to your car to total it? What was done to repair it?

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CCIE

· #27 · Sep 12, 2017

SmjVolt said:
I am sorry that I lost your interest. I just can't seem to figure out why this can't be fixed or why this has not happened to anyone else out there in the World Wide Web as they say? :-( Now I'm at the point of looking if someone might have a honda civic HX from back in the day with a manual transmission. I mean I love the 48/50 mpgs on the generator but come on what is the deal with driving an electric car on petro.
Not really any update, I mean I think I might take some fluid back out of the front passenger side reservoir because that seemed to at least get me some charge. I"m just at a loss, I feel I have tried many things.
Am am resorting to taking in my precious Volt in hopes of seeing it in the next week or so, I just never know what happens to her when she is in. I know this is a difficult car to work with but it has been around for quite some time now...get a clue. I'm sorry I don't drive a v10 in the city moving just myself around. This sucks, I can't believe this is that hard...plug in wires go to charger it works. There has to be something loose because it still will go green for seconds at a time and it worked just the other week...idk

Please is there any more advice out there as to what I'm going to tell them to hopefully have them look up something correctly in their computer? Please let me know of the situation about the sensor to the coolant again, I mean that was supposed to be switched or something, details about that from ANYONE ANYONE? Also any details I can steer them to with the charge port situation form years back, or a situation with the large metal box that was shown here on this thread?

Lastly could anyone answer me the last question I asked the reply before this on. Once you take the neg off the 12v what does that do, I mean do I have to take the car into a dealer to have them really clear the codes? Does my phone ODII clear these codes? Lately when I go into the system with my phone to clear the P1e00 and Pod17 they just pop right back up...any help before 9:00 a.m. tomorrow would be greatly appreciated...don't leave me know community.

We've tried our best, but it seems like you're not listening to a lot of what we're saying. Stop adding coolant, that's not the issue. Did you make sure the Manual Service Disconnect (MSD) inside the armrest it firmly seated, as I've suggested a few times?

A few other people have had the issue you've seen, but it is uncommon. I posted the relevant threads for DTC P0D17. And Mister Dave sent you the repair manual steps to troubleshoot that DTC. Either follow those procedures, or find a good dealer to do it. But, if the dealer does it, expect to pay thousands of dollars.

Honestly, given that the car is a 2011 and has a salvage title, it may not be worth paying to fix it. Just drive it as a non-plugin hybrid.

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CCIE

· #35 · Sep 14, 2017

As other have said, just pay them for what they did and take the car back. It sounds like they cleaned up the connector so maybe it'll keep working. If not, you know where the issue is now and can deal with it if you like. Definitely not worth putting thousands of dollars into a salvage title car.

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CCIE

· #41 · Sep 15, 2017

hellsop said:
Ah. It's seeming that buying a "salvage" Volt, even if its your own, is about as money-effective as buying flood-damaged laptops.

If you're going to pay someone to fix it, then it definitely doesn't make sense. If you have the tools, knowledge, and time it can make sense. I'm sure the OP could buy a used charger and cable assemblies for a decent price. But that would require installing it himself and dealing with GDS2 & SPS to do the required reprogramming.

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CCIE

· #44 · Sep 18, 2017

hellsop said:
Exactly. Being even ABLE to fix something costs about $2000 (MDI, cables, GDS2 subscription for a month, service manual subscription) even before you buy the parts and that presumes you've got a gearhead's normal toolchest already. PLUS the cost of the salvage car, plus the parts, and you're within a grand or two of buying the same car with a clean title from Carmax or someplace. Sure, once you've bought the MDI, you don't have to buy it again, so you're all set to rebuild other salvaged GM cars, but you're pretty committed to keeping it because that's going to be the first thing you have to reach for when something goes funny in the future.

Yeah, not worth paying all that. I have a copy of the service manual, which is pretty easy to find online. And I got a VCX Nano on Amazon which includes GDS2 for $139. There is no avoiding the SPS subscription @ $55 for two days, if you need to update firmware on any modules.

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CCIE

· #47 · Oct 2, 2017

Floridiot said:
After my last experience with the Chevy dealer I have found the perfect answer. I am going to sell the Volt, and buy a Dodge product.

I don't know if Chrysler, or now FCA, has ever made any reliable car. I like Jeeps, and had a Wrangler, but can't deal with that level of unreliability. Be sure the buy an extended warranty if you're serious about getting one.

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