[Fulgerite]

Sometimes I am out of town for a week or two. Does anyone know what the best strategy is for storing the Volt while you are out of town?

Do you leave it plugged in?

Do you NOT leave it plugged in?

Most Lithium Ion batteries like to be stored at a 50% charge to preserve the maximum cycle life? What about the Volt?

Is it better to leave it 50% charged & unplugged while you are away?

Is it better to leave it fully charged & unplugged while you are away?

Is it best to just leave it plugged in while you are away?

 

[Jmattioli]

I have been advised by my dealership trainer to leave it plugged in. I also verified it in the documentation. It not only keeps the TMS system active for longest battery life but trickle charges the 12v battery which i have personally verified. If you leave it unplugged your 12v battery will eventually run down and sulfate.
Joe

PS The battery never charges above 80 % anyway so GM says it will be fine as far as life goes. I have read the 50% figure with the leaf but that is a slightly different animal.

 

[tboult]

If the volt is not plugged in, and it gets too hot (the only time the %charge matters to the battery), the Volt TMS will run from battery to keep the battery in the ideal range. There is a thread that discussed it here
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?5243-Volt-thermal-management-system-temperature-band

Plugging it in will be better for the batteries, but will consume power. I guess part of it depends on which matters to you more.
For short periods its not really an issue for the batteries, so i often don't plug in for a week trip (mostly it sitting at the airport then and i cannot plug in) or even for say a weekend at home. (I also unplug my ESVE). For a few months it would be a different story, probably have it plugged in on a timer or something. (But I don't plan on leaving it for a month so have though really thought hard about it)

 

[Fulgerite]

Thank you for the posts. I suspected that leaving it plugged in is the probably the best option.

 

[Rusty]

Sometimes I am out of town for a week or two. Does anyone know what the best strategy is for storing the Volt while you are out of town?

For a week or two? Leave it plugged in. For several months? Follow the procedure in the manual (which includes draining the HV Batt to < 50%, and disconnecting the 12V batt).

 

[Roadburner440]

We just left our Volt alone starting Friday for 2 weeks, and I decided it would be best to leave it unplugged. It is in the driveway, and I just did not want the temptation for someone to grab the charger, or mess with the car. I will be using the Onstar Remotelink App to remote start it every 4 or 5 days or so, and check in on the car. It will be fine. Weather isn't expected to get over 60 or 70 in VA anyway over the next week.

Overall I would expect leaving it plugged in to be the best option since that is what the manual recommends.. Then again who knows what the real world rammifications are of leaving it unplugged/plugged... I do know that the car draws almost nill power once it is charged. With my Kill-A-Watt EZ meter I only noticed a 0.1kwh draw every couple hours.. Presumably to just power the lights on the charge cord.

 

[tboult]

If not plugged in the OnStar turns off after 3 days and you cannot talk to the car.
You can also only remote start 2 times before starting the car.
At 60-70 its not likely anything will be happening.

The .1kwh very now and then cannot be for the LED.. (they are always on), it probably the TMS managing the battery temp.

 

[Roadburner440]

Well that is useful information. Seems the car shall be on its own then. Should still be alright. Guess next time will just pull it in to the back yard and leave it hooked up. Guess if worse comes to worse be calling the dealer. Luckily the dealer I am near now is one that has a lot of experience with the Volt seeing as they have done a full battery change on one for a gentleman on here. I don't think we will be leaving town again for the foreseeable future though. Hopefully the little 12V battery survives, lol

I know the little lights are always on. Just figured the .1kwh draw was the cummulation of them being on. Granted that was in Florida, and I have yet to hook the meter up since we have been in Virginia since we have been busy unpacking.. Since today will be my last day of communication with the car just checked in on it, and it has seemingly either used or lost 2% of the charge already.

 

[tboult]

If the car has > 50% SOC, the TMS system will use some battery to keep battery in temperature range. High-temps on a full charge can kill the battery. Once down to 50% (or is it 50%?) it stops the drainage as the battery will not be harmed for medium length periods of time. And for an car, the 12v is good on its own for weeks, just best to disconnect if leaving it for months. It goes to sleep after 3 days to reduce the demand on the 12v.

 

[Roadburner440]

Is good to know.. I unplugged it and put the charger inside the house right before we left on Thursday. Car had a full charge, was down to 98% before I remote started it. Now it is down to 93%. Kind of makes me wish I drove it back to get my evaluation especially since my father in law begged me to do so.. Our Prius is just more efficient on the higway, so we use that whenever we take long road trips. Can't wait to drive the car again though, so hopefully you are right and the 12V is fine by the time we get home. At least I will still have a few days before I have to go back to work to fiddle with it if need be.

 

[BlackVolt]

If the car has > 50% SOC, the TMS system will use some battery to keep battery in temperature range. High-temps on a full charge can kill the battery. Once down to 50% (or is it 50%?) it stops the drainage as the battery will not be harmed for medium length periods of time. And for an car, the 12v is good on its own for weeks, just best to disconnect if leaving it for months. It goes to sleep after 3 days to reduce the demand on the 12v.

I have read a thread where the TMS will only operate when the Volt is not plugged where the traction battery has a 75%+ SOC. I am getting conflicting stories where people are confused when the TMS will start when not plugged in. I am sticking with 75% unless GM release some new information about the TMS.

http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread...ent-system-temperature-band&p=48601#post48601

 

[Roadburner440]

I would think the TMS would most certaintly kick in during "emergency" situations even if the car is not plugged in to save the battery. I think the only reason it does not run all the time is to help preserve over all range, and that it does not need to run all the time since most temps are within the batteries acceptable parameters... I seriously doubt we will get any kind of straight forward answer from GM as it would be considered part of their development, and they would not want to give competitors a leg up/inside information.. I know occassionally when it is not plugged in I do hear minor whirrs, buzzing, and such so it is doing something even when not plugged in from time to time.

 

[DonC]

Weather isn't expected to get over 60 or 70 in VA anyway over the next week.

Then don't worry. That's more or less perfect weather. (Heat is a problem for battery life.) But as Rusty suggests, if possible leave it plugged in.

 

[maynard]

Maybee for a week or 2, but no longer. The book and my Volt test engineer friend STRONGLY recommend that you store the Volt at or near the 20% depletion point, ( the point where the ICE comes on). They want you to either disconnect the 12 volt battery or charge it occasionally. You can also rig up a trickle charger. I am told that this 12 volt AGM battery will most probably get by for 3 or 4 months without charging. If you do disconnect the 12 volt battery, either put a towel on the edge of the rear body to keep the rear deck latch from engaging, or plan on crawling in over the back seats to pop the cover off the emergency latch to open your hatch. The solenoid that opens the hatch needs 12 volt power. We will move to Florida for 4 months after Jan 1. (Oh, poor me eh)?