[barracj]

So I've read elsewhere on this forum that others have had this issue, but no one reported what their fix was. We have a 2016 Volt. Basically the car refuses to start and is completely dead, nary a flicker of life. This has happened after driving home from work, turning the car off and then 5 minutes later trying to start the car. Sometimes the cabin lights flicker but mostly it's just dead. We try to jump it. It turns on but as soon as disconnecting the jumper cables it dies immediately. (An interesting aside here, when connecting the positive jumper cable and the car is off/dead the junction sparks like I've never seen when jumping another car.) So all 3 times this has happened we've had to get it towed to the dealer which is 45 miles away. All 3 times they've kept the car for over a week because they could not re-create the problem. They just recharged the 12v battery and said the car starts fine after that. They claim their 12V battery tester rig reports the accessory battery is healthy. Each time we've taken the car home and within a week have returned with the same problem. The last time they said there was a tech bulletin stating that bluetooth doesn't disconnect when the car is turned off and so that might drain the 12V battery. So we were diligent in turning off bluetooth every time we parked. Still died.

Fortunately the first time this happened was 25 miles before our 36,000 mile warranty expired. Now we have a case number for this problem for all successive occurrences. Now on this 3rd occurrence we've asked them to please just put a new 12v battery in just in case that's the problem. They want to charge us for that since their tester says the battery is fine. That got my wife heated up pretty good.

If anyone has experienced this issue and has found a solution please respond.

Thanks,
Jonathan

 

[Steverino]

Some intermittent 12V charging issues on the Gen2 Volt have actually been traced back to a couple of potential issues.

One being a bad cable connection at the underhood fuseblock (see http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread...-locked-steering-40MPH!&p=3591842#post3591842) and the other a bad batch of BUSS fuses right inside the battery itself.

There are GM service bulletins associated with these issues, so ask your dealer to refer to 16-NA-193 and/or PIC6182

 

[BAZINGA]

Suggest getting a Volt Advisor involved. I'd pursue a Lemon Law buy back.

Please let us know the final outcome.

 

[barracj]

Thanks guys. We looked at the lemon law but it said it had a max 18,000 mile limit on buy backs. Ours has been 36,000 already so it looks like we're stuck with it.

 

[llninja]

If their tester says the battery is good, then I'd look for a bad connection or bad wire somewhere.

 

[wordptom]

We have a 2016 Volt. Basically the car refuses to start and is completely dead, nary a flicker of life... We try to jump it. It turns on but as soon as disconnecting the jumper cables it dies immediately. (An interesting aside here, when connecting the positive jumper cable and the car is off/dead the junction sparks like I've never seen when jumping another car.)

Fortunately the first time this happened was 25 miles before our 36,000 mile warranty expired.

Are you following the drivers manual directions on jumpstarting your Volt and using the Volt’s terminals under the front hood when jumpstarting your car, not the battery terminals in the rear cargo area (use the rear cargo area terminals when using the Volt to jumpstart another car)?

Seems to me 36,000 is a lot of miles to have already on a 2016 Volt...

 

[Dutch]

Seems to me 36,000 is a lot of miles to have already on a 2016 Volt...

What does that have to do with anything?

 

[barracj]

2016 Volt unexplained death...

Yes we jumped it properly. My wife drives 120 miles a day on her commute to and from work.

 

[LDB]

According to a shop I totally trust and respect a battery can test as "good" but not truly be good. My better half's 40 month old battery that is a 550CCA battery but the other day was putting out 393CCA as an example, still above 350CCA so it tests as "good" but isn't nearly as good as when it was new. Hers was a 60 month battery so we got about 1/3 prorated. I'd imagine OEM batteries are probably 36 month batteries so there would be basically zero warranty.

 

[Steverino]

I'd imagine OEM batteries are probably 36 month batteries so there would be basically zero warranty.

My 2011 Volt's 12v battery is 66 months old. YMMV

 

[wordptom]

What does that have to do with anything?

Just thought a Volt being driven so many miles in the first year of use might have endured more system stresses and strains that could eventually lead to problems like this than a car driven half that distance or less.

For example, others have posted of unusual behaviors after coming home, plugging in, getting a partial recharge, and then unplugging and heading out again (usually, I think, it’s reporting of getting gas miles, not electric miles, following that partial recharge). Is it possible that glitches could develop in the computer programming that handles the recharging process if the recharging cycle was terminated prematurely too frequently (e.g., shuts down the car entirely)? Or that the recharging circuitry itself could be degraded or fuses blown by too frequent unplugging from the grid before charging is complete? I note Steverino has pointed out reports of bad cable connections at the underhood fuseblock and bad BUSS fuses. The OP seems to imply that the problem arose three times recently following the pattern: get home, plug in, unplug 5 minutes later... suggesting this activity might have been a practice used since getting the car.

 

[llninja]

Just thought a Volt being driven so many miles in the first year of use might have endured more system stresses and strains that could eventually lead to problems like this than a car driven half that distance or less.

For example, others have posted of unusual behaviors after coming home, plugging in, getting a partial recharge, and then unplugging and heading out again (usually, I think, it’s reporting of getting gas miles, not electric miles, following that partial recharge). Is it possible that glitches could develop in the computer programming that handles the recharging process if the recharging cycle was terminated prematurely too frequently (e.g., shuts down the car entirely)? Or that the recharging circuitry itself could be degraded or fuses blown by too frequent unplugging from the grid before charging is complete? I note Steverino has pointed out reports of bad cable connections at the underhood fuseblock and bad BUSS fuses. The OP seems to imply that the problem arose three times recently following the pattern: get home, plug in, unplug 5 minutes later... suggesting this activity might have been a practice used since getting the car.

I don't buy this incomplete charging degrading the charging circuitry theory. Another possibility is that there is a phantom drain or short somewhere causing the battery to discharge.

 

[TheBlueFlash]

Buy a new 12V battery. For $80 you eliminate that as a problem. If still having issues, try a different dealer for service. Explain what is going on and that you've already installed a new 12V battery. Ask that they keep the car and drive the route your wife takes.

 

[hellsop]

Buy a new 12V battery. For $80 you eliminate that as a problem. If still having issues, try a different dealer for service. Explain what is going on and that you've already installed a new 12V battery. Ask that they keep the car and drive the route your wife takes.

Where you finding $80 Group 47 AGMs? They're $150 batteries most places I've seen.

 

[etz]

Are you following the drivers manual directions on jumpstarting your Volt and using the Volt’s terminals under the front hood when jumpstarting your car, not the battery terminals in the rear cargo area (use the rear cargo area terminals when using the Volt to jumpstart another car)?

Just curious...why would you need to use the under-hood terminals instead of right to the battery in the trunk?

I always assumed that the under-hood terminals were only there as a convenience and because if the battery were truly stone cold dead, then the electrically-operated trunk release wouldn't function. But if there's enough power to open the trunk, why not jump straight to the battery?

 

[Steverino]

But if there's enough power to open the trunk, why not jump straight to the battery?

Personal preference? Junk in the trunk? But yes, either location will jump the Volt. However, ONLY use the rear to jump another car from the Volt.

 

[wordptom]

Just curious...why would you need to use the under-hood terminals instead of right to the battery in the trunk?

I always assumed that the under-hood terminals were only there as a convenience and because if the battery were truly stone cold dead, then the electrically-operated trunk release wouldn't function. But if there's enough power to open the trunk, why not jump straight to the battery?

Others can likely discuss the jump starting issues better than I, but the drivers manual coverage seems to explain when you jump start a Volt, the jump is intended to wake up the Volt’s electronics, after which the Volt uses the power from the high-voltage battery to charge its 12-volt battery, i.e., you’re not using the other car’s battery to crank over a starter motor.

On the flip side, when the other car needs a jump, the cables are connected to the Volt’s 12-volt battery in the rear cargo area, and then the Volt is turned on, allowing the high-voltage battery to maintain the charge in the Volt’s 12-volt battery while it is providing power to the other’s car’s starting system.

The manual cautions that if you attempt to jump start another vehicle by using the terminals under the Volt’s hood, it could cause a fuse to overload.

As for jump starting a Volt, locating terminals for such use under the hood does make it easier to wake up the Volt’s electronics when a dead 12-volt battery prevents you from unlatching the cargo hatch. Perhaps those under hood circuits might also serve to isolate the other car’s battery from a direct connection to the Volt’s 12-volt battery at the point in time when the Volt’s high-voltage battery has been awakened and has begun to charge its own battery.

 

[garyg]

An internally shorted battery will work as you describe. I would replace the 12 volt battey. or certainly investigate it with more than just a load test.


but you could use a Volt meter on the battery when it is dead. It could appear to read ok then go to zero with a load. Or you have either: a really bad/corroded connection somewhere, or the battery is not being charge and is left to discharge until flat. Old cars sometimes have corrosion issue on the connections where the lights come, all looks like as is well and when you go to crank it, everything goes dead. power may not come back. so look for crap connections at the battery. make sure they are clean but it is hard to imagine a 1 year old Volt looking anything but spiffy at the battery.

 

[Steverino]

No response or further details from the OP. A hit and run?

 

[darrin]

Exactly this just happened to me.

My 2016 had been sitting in my garage for a week while I was away, plugged in the whole time.

I got in my car yesterday and it first chimed with a Stabilitrak warning message and the brake pedal was pulsing erratically. It would not start. Then that stopped and the interior lights started to strobe and there was lots of clicking sounds from behind the dash. The rear hatch would not unlock.

Chevy sent a flat-bed to pick it up (3 hrs!). He put a jump-starter on the battery and I could start the car but it only ran for a few seconds after he disconnected. Fortunately that was enough to put the car in neutral and release the parking brake, so we could push it out of the garage and line it up with the truck.

The car is with the dealer now. I'll post an update when I get it back.

My Volt has been mechanically perfect apart from this. Hope they get to the bottom of it. Hoping its just a 12V battery/wiring problem.