[Dan Manusos]

Went to a Charge Point station and plugged in. I don't recall if the green light came on or the car chirped. The charging page on the screen said it would be done in about 4 hours so I thought I was good to go.

I came back and saw that it hadn't charged. Figured I did something wrong plugging in or there was a malfunction with Charge Point.

Got home and plugged in. I did not make a note if the green light came on or the car chirped.

Next day I'm driving from the house and notice it did not charge overnight. When we got home, I plugged in and noticed that the green light on the dash did not come on. The car did not chirp either. The charging unit is powered and the lights are green. No red.

Since two different charging sources didn't charge, I'm thinking there is something wrong with my car. I've paged through the owners manual and can't find anything that would explain this.

 

[illini]

1) check the light color (yellow or green flashing or nothing)
2) if green flashing, check for delayed charging.
3) any messages on the message center?
4) press OnStar, ask for diagnostic to be run, get any codes, and then ask for your volt advisor. Nice to consult right away....

 

[Mister Dave]

I'll bet on a charge port problem, as usual. Did you check with OnStar for error codes just to be sure?

 

[emissionsdoc]

Have you seen the CEL on the dash??? Have Onstar check for codes. My 2014 did this from a faulty ChargePoint and set a code P1EE6. Clearing the code fixed the system.

 

[markh21518]

Plug and replug to see if you have delayed charge set.

 

[swlee]

Also, check to see if you're getting a "Service High Voltage Charging System" vehicle message. I had this happen with my 2013 last month - due to low coolant in the traction battery thermal management system. This condition triggers the car to disable the charging system, and requires a service call to correct the problem and enable the charging system. See this thread for further discussion:
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?71777-P1FFE-P1FFF-Service-High-Voltage-Charging-System

 

[NYRob]

Don't ask me why- but two or three times since I purchased the Volt in March 2014 when I plug it in- nothing happens - no green or yellow light on the dash. I've removed and reinserted the charge handle- still no light on the dash.

Solution.... I found that by pressing the driver door unlock button from the outside (with fob in my pocket) it seems to put the car into charging mode again and then I get the green light on the dash. As soon as you press the driver door unlock button from the outside you hear some relays activating and that fixes the problem.

 

[illini]

Don't ask me why- but two or three times since I purchased the Volt in March 2014 when I plug it in- nothing happens - no green or yellow light on the dash. I've removed and reinserted the charge handle- still no light on the dash.

Solution.... I found that by pressing the driver door unlock button from the outside (with fob in my pocket) it seems to put the car into charging mode again and then I get the green light on the dash. As soon as you press the driver door unlock button from the outside you hear some relays activating and that fixes the problem.

Interesting. I wonder if that action with the unlock port "jiggles" the port connector mechanism to get it to work.

This post (gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?59097-Charger-plug-all-the-way-in-but-no-charge) suggests that the failure to "click" would give similar symptoms. The problem would probably be in the charge port rather than the EVSE as suggested above by Mister Dave, based on your symptoms.

 

[NYRob]

^ in my case- I can replicate the issue, but it's not something that would happen to most Volt owners.

My EVSE is connected to 240v mains via a relay (for home automation purposes) so it's possible for me to connect the EVSE to the Volt with no power or pilot signal present at the EVSE if my main 240v relay is off. Normally I power up the 240v relay then connect the EVSE to the Volt- and all is good. But, If I forget to power up the 240v relay first and connect a dead EVSE to the Volt- and then power up the EVSE that's when the occasional "no charge light" issue happens. At that point I walk out to the Volt- touch the driver side door unlock button from the outside- then I hear the Volt's relays clicking- then the dashboard charge light comes on and charging commences normally.

It seems like the Volt expects any EVSE plugged into it to be live, if it's not... you have some issues at that point.

 

[Dan Manusos]

Don't ask me why- but two or three times since I purchased the Volt in March 2014 when I plug it in- nothing happens - no green or yellow light on the dash. I've removed and reinserted the charge handle- still no light on the dash.

Solution.... I found that by pressing the driver door unlock button from the outside (with fob in my pocket) it seems to put the car into charging mode again and then I get the green light on the dash. As soon as you press the driver door unlock button from the outside you hear some relays activating and that fixes the problem.

Well I wish I had tried that. It's at the Dealer and they told me it's a problem with something bent in the charge port. THANK GOD for the warranty.

I always wonder when it's in warranty if the dealer works up a hefty bill because they know the manufacture is paying and not the customer.

From day one I always thought the style and location of the charge port was bad. The charging handle hangs way out there where someone walking by could bump it and the thing is so long it provides a nice lever action to really crank on the port. Seeing that as a possibility, especially with 11 and 13 year old kids, the next day I moved things around in the garage and created a "Forbidden Zone" on the far side where nobody had any business walking unless they were adults driving the car. Id rather walk out of my house to the garage and see the Volt than the monster Expedition, but its safer hidden on the other side out of the way of pedestrian garage traffic. YET, that does nothing for charging stations where others can walk by and bang it.

The port needs to be somewhere else and/or at least the charging handle needs to be something flat that sits rather flush with the fuselage as opposed to sticking all out like a damned gas pump handle.

(just not in the back as that looks perverse and not in the front as then it will look like a..........barf........Leaf.

 

[Mister Dave]

It's at the Dealer and they told me it's a problem with something bent in the charge port.

Would love to see a photo of that if you get the opportunity to snap one. I wish I had done so when my port was replaced.

The port needs to be somewhere else and/or at least the charging handle needs to be something flat that sits rather flush with the fuselage as opposed to sticking all out like a damned gas pump handle.

That's an excellent point.

 

[canehdian]

Does the J1772 standard specify handle shape?
If not, I don't see why someone can't make a 90° version to reduce the amount that sticks out.

 

[sgc]

This past monday, I found my check engine light on after several efforts to charge up. Onstar merely connected me with the dealer. I dropped the car off and today [tuesday] dealer reported they could not charge up the battery after all codes were cleared. So they are ordering a new battery pack and charge port assembly. I have now known physical damage to the port, except perhaps a small amount of rain/mist from the previous saturday stopped the charging that day.
All under warranty, thankfully.
Anyone else have experience with this problem? IF so, did you learn what the underlying problem was, and what did your dealer do for you?

 

[Mister Dave]

This past monday, I found my check engine light on after several efforts to charge up. Onstar merely connected me with the dealer. I dropped the car off and today [tuesday] dealer reported they could not charge up the battery after all codes were cleared. So they are ordering a new battery pack and charge port assembly. I have now known physical damage to the port, except perhaps a small amount of rain/mist from the previous saturday stopped the charging that day.
All under warranty, thankfully.
Anyone else have experience with this problem? IF so, did you learn what the underlying problem was, and what did your dealer do for you?

I had a failure to charge a couple of times after heavy rain. Charge port was replaced and no issues since.

 

[Steve-in-Calif]

Took my 2014 in today for charge port replacement after getting ground fault error when charging in the rain. (Have not been able to charge since). Dealer say there are 25 Volts ahead of me for the exact same thing. Thinks it will be a recall eventually.

 

[Mister Dave]

Took my 2014 in today for charge port replacement after getting ground fault error when charging in the rain. (Have not been able to charge since). Dealer say there are 25 Volts ahead of me for the exact same thing. Thinks it will be a recall eventually.

They recall cars for even minor problems lately. I think Ms. Barra is risk-averse/overly cautious and that's probably a good thing. I look forward to some kind of official word from them. It's getting stupid how many of these are being replaced. We're only seeing a fraction of reports here.