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siromega · Registered
S Joined Feb 5, 2010 · 120 Posts

#81 • May 22, 2013

Just got this on my 2012. 13,000 miles. Will have to take it to the dealer on Friday morning.

Volt 2012-14861 Cyber Gray

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voltpilot · Registered
V Joined Sep 7, 2012 · 12 Posts

#82 • May 22, 2013

voltpilot said: "

I got the same message last night on my 2012, with 8800 miles. Funny I have not had an issue, and I took it in
for a tire rotation a few weeks ago.......

Got mine back a couple of days later, it was low battery coolant in the surge tank.
 Reply

deekster_caddy · Registered
Joined Dec 12, 2012 · 1,567 Posts

#83 • May 23, 2013

voltpilot said: "

Got mine back a couple of days later, it was low battery coolant in the surge tank.

Curious if you found out where they found the leak? (it had to go somewhere!)

DDs 2013 Jet Black Volt, 2018 Pacifica Hybrid Touring L

Toys 1973 Buick LeSabre, 1954 MG TF

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zuesmyrott · Registered
Z Joined Apr 22, 2012 · 5 Posts

#84 • Jun 1, 2013

I just got this same message on my 2012 Volt today, she has 25 thousand miles. This winter the
pump had to be replaced because it didn't produce heat in electric mode, only in ICE mode.
Damn!!!!!

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Haganlady · Registered
H Joined Jul 21, 2013 · 4 Posts

#85 • Jul 21, 2013

today I got the 'service high voltage charging system' error - and of course it is Sunday and dealer
services are closed. Google led me here - and after reading the other posts I'm wondering if the
coolant level is the issue - can someone tell me if this is too low?
2012 Volt has roughly 5k miles on it and was purchased Dec 2012.

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Steverino · Administrator
Joined Jan 25, 2011 · 20,267 Posts

#86 • Jul 21, 2013

Haganlady said: "

today I got the 'service high voltage charging system' error - and of course it is Sunday and dealer services are
closed. Google led me here - and after reading the other posts I'm wondering if the coolant level is the issue -
can someone tell me if this is too low?

Yes, it's low. It should be at the mold line where the bottom and top meet. Plus. it appears you do
not have the free battery upgrade that includes a sensor and a bracket on that tank, plus a beefed
up center tunnel.

We had another gm-volt member who did not get the free upgrade who ended up with serious
battery issues as a result of the fluid running low.

Typical Commute: 60 miles

2017 Bolt EV Silver Ice Metallic, Premium, Infotainment pkg, Driver Confidence 2, DC Fast Charge, August 2017, 9000 miles

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Haganlady · Registered
 H Joined Jul 21, 2013 · 4 Posts

#87 • Jul 21, 2013 (Edited)

thanks for confirming. I'll call the dealer tomorrow - I hadn't heard about the free battery upgrade -
should I have been notified?
A question I guess I should have also asked - if the battery coolant level should be at that mold line
is the coolant on the other side too full (new pic)? (car has not been driven since yesterday afternoon
and is garaged). thanks for your help!!

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Steverino · Administrator
Joined Jan 25, 2011 · 20,267 Posts

#88 • Jul 21, 2013 (Edited)

Haganlady said: "

thanks for confirming. I'll call the dealer tomorrow - I hadn't heard about the free battery upgrade - should I
have been notified?

Everyone was notified back in the day. You can certainly request it. It's free but will take a day or two
depending on the dealer's past experience removing the battery. Make sure the dealer has ordered
all the parts and has received them before leaving your car with them. Otherwiese you may be
without the car an extra few days or more.

Haganlady said: "

A question I guess I should have also asked - if the battery coolant level should be at that mold line is the
coolant on the other side too full (new pic)? (car has not been driven since yesterday afternoon and is garaged).
thanks for your help!!

That electronics coolant side looks fine.

See http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread...PER-battery-coolant-level&p=140522#post140522 for

the battery coolant side.
The battery upgrade:
http://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2012/Jan/0105_
volt.html
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread...ttery-enhancement-done...&p=138575#post138575
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread...ancement-etc./page3&highlight=battery+upgrade

Notice the black bracket in this post:

http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread...ttery-enhancement-done...&p=183828#post183828

Typical Commute: 60 miles

2017 Bolt EV Silver Ice Metallic, Premium, Infotainment pkg, Driver Confidence 2, DC Fast Charge, August 2017, 9000 miles

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SEVolt · Registered
S Joined Jun 1, 2013 · 55 Posts

#89 • Oct 19, 2013

Service High Voltage Charging System

Yesterday I got in my car at work to go home and was greeted with this fun error. I went ahead and
drove home with no problem. When I tried to plug in it didn't charge. I remembered seeing some
stuff about this on this forum, so I did a quick search, then checked my coolant level. Sure enough it
is well below the fill line. I've contacted the dealership and my Volt Advisor, dropped my car off at
the shop and received a loaner (Chevy Sonic, wow </sarcasm>, but hey better than nothing). So,
here's what I'm wondering
1) Does anyone know how common this is? I've seen several posts, but I'm wondering if there is any
data on this.
2) If this is relatively common, is/are there common reasons? Is GM looking into this as a long term
issue? I would guess if it is only a few isolated cases then probably not.

My biggest worry is that this is something systemic. I'm definitely glad that the car detects this
condition and notifies me before my battery fries, but is this something I'm going to have to get
serviced every year for the life of the car? I've got less than a year in this car (bought back in the end
of December last year). I had to lobby hard with my wife to convince her that this was an awesome
and reliable vehicle. Would kind of suck if it turns out this is a haunting problem.

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 DonC · Premium Member
D Joined Jul 13, 2008 · 14,156 Posts

#90 • Oct 19, 2013 (Edited)

Sorry to hear about the error. The issue would be why the coolant is low. I think we've seen a couple
members who had leaks, either from bad connections or pumps or from physical impacts. Also
we've seen the message from bad sensors or getting air into the line. The problem isn't systemic.
The problem is that it isn't -- too many different causes.

Which raises the question: Are you sure the coolant is low? You may have caught this but the fill line
indicator can be higher than where the fluid should be. If you were just looking at the fill line indicator
you might be reaching the wrong conclusion about being low on coolant. The coolant should be just
at or just below the flange. The difference between the indicator and where the coolant level should
be results from changes made when they implemented the battery reinforcement. http://gm-
volt.com/forum/showthread.php?13192-What-is-the-PROPER-battery-coolant-level

The good thing, if there is a good way to look at it, is that the Volt is quite picky about the charging
system, which from a safety perspective is positive. The other positive is that the dealer should not
have that difficult a time locating the source of the problem and remedying it.

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SEVolt · Registered
S Joined Jun 1, 2013 · 55 Posts

#91 • Oct 19, 2013

Yeah, I didn't think of taking a picture before dropping the car off (I hadn't read the posts requesting
pictures yet). I will say that the fluid was significantly lower than the arrow indicating the fill line
(maybe 1.5 to 2 inches). The service foreman at the dealership popped the hood when I pulled in
and he agreed with me that the fluid looked low. Of course that was a first quick look and I was
standing right there, so he may not have wanted me hanging around by giving me information that
conflicted with my assessment. I'll post later when I get the answer for what was really going on.

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dgruber · Registered
D Joined May 7, 2011 · 139 Posts

#92 • Oct 19, 2013

I had this error without the coolant being low, i.e., bad sensor. Apparently the bad sensor problem is
sufficiently common that GM has issued a service bulletin about correcting it, which involves
replacing the sensor and the surrounding module.

Dan

Crystal red, cloth interior, nav, Bose speakers, park assist, cargo net, front shade, rear storage barrier, VIN C04158, received 10/15/11

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DonC · Premium Member

D Joined Jul 13, 2008 · 14,156 Posts

#93 • Oct 19, 2013

SEVolt;1038433 will say that the fluid was significantly lower than the arrow indicating the fill line (maybe
1.5 to 2 inches). The service foreman at the dealership popped the hood when I pulled in and he agreed
with me that the fluid looked low. Of course that was a first quick look and I was standing right there
said:
Ha ha! Actually he probably saw what you did -- coolant well below the fill line. Completely natural to assume
the level is too low when it's marked that way. Good thing is that if they overfill it's not a big deal.

Hope the fix is quick.

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Cord · Registered
C Joined Sep 19, 2011 · 3,594 Posts

#94 • Oct 20, 2013

It might be a good idea for people to snap picture of where the level is NOW so you have a future
data point.
2012 RED Volt VIN:#C-8860 - Premium Leather Seats Jet Black with Dark Trim, Rear Camera & Park Assist,
Nav

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fjungman · Registered
F Joined Apr 28, 2012 · 28 Posts

#95 • Oct 22, 2013

I had mine in for this today...

SEVolt said: "

Yesterday I got in my car at work to go home and was greeted with this fun error. I went ahead and drove home
with no problem. When I tried to plug in it didn't charge. I remembered seeing some stuff about this on this
forum, so I did a quick search, then checked my coolant level. Sure enough it is well below the fill line. I've
contacted the dealership and my Volt Advisor, dropped my car off at the shop and received a loaner (Chevy
Sonic, wow </sarcasm>, but hey better than nothing). So, here's what I'm wondering
1) Does anyone know how common this is? I've seen several posts, but I'm wondering if there is any data on
this.
2) If this is relatively common, is/are there common
Clickreasons? Is GM looking into this as a long term issue? I
to expand...
would guess if it is only a few isolated cases then probably not.
...as the light came on when I was going to drive home from work. The Volt advisor confirmed the
message and I still tried to charge it, to no avail. The dealer found the coolant level low, filled it and
fixed the symptom. He said to bring it in to the shop in 500 miles to see if the level is going down at
all. If it is, they will look harder for a leak. He said the working theory is air trapped at the factory
eventually "burps". My problem with that is: Why did it take 26,000 miles to burp?

This is my first time to the dealer with the Volt, and it has been flawless otherwise (2012 model with
factory installed battery reinforcement).
 Reply

SEVolt · Registered
S Joined Jun 1, 2013 · 55 Posts

#96 • Oct 23, 2013

I just got my car back last night. Conclusion: No Diagnosis. The dealership couldn't find anything
wrong, so much like with fjungman, they filled my coolant up (all the way to the top), cleared the
errors, and sent me on my way. Hopefully this was an anomaly, but I'll definitely be keeping an eye
on this over the next few months.

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Lederman · Registered
L Joined Apr 12, 2012 · 35 Posts

#97 • Oct 23, 2013

My "Service High Voltage Charging System" message appeared this morning. After reading this
thread I checked my the coolant reservoirs in the front of the engine compartment. The one on the
left is very low. I am going to go over to the dealership and see if they'll add some coolant and clear
the codes.

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Lederman · Registered
L Joined Apr 12, 2012 · 35 Posts

#98 • Oct 23, 2013

Just got back from dealership. The rep added coolant because I asked him to. He said the fault
codes could not be cleared without completing a "re-call" on the charging system. I asked what the
recall was for and the name of it but he said the GM system was down so he couldn't provide that
info to me. He said he had done 3 or 4 of the recalls for the charging system in the last coupe
weeks.

The two things are at odds. The coolant was low. We filled it. Why can't we try to clear the system to
see if they pop up again? How does the car know there's a supposed "recall"?

He set me up for a Monday morning service appointment. I'm calling another dealership to try to
verify the story.

Has anyone here heard of a re-programming of the charging system "re-call"? He spouted this
before he knew my name or my volt's SN.

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JSM1284 · Registered
Joined Jul 30, 2013 · 27 Posts

#99 • Oct 23, 2013 (Edited by Moderator)

#PI0961: SERVICE HIGH VOLTAGE CHARGING SYSTEM Message Displayed on Driver Information
Center (DIC), Hybrid/EV Charging System Disabled, DTCs Set - (Apr 19, 2013)

Models: 2013 Chevrolet Volt

Vehicles Built Prior to February 5, 2013
Condition/Concern Some customers may comment that the SERVICE HIGH VOLTAGE CHARGING
SYSTEM message is displayed in the Driver Information Center (DIC). They may also comment that
they cannot complete a plug-in hybrid battery charging event. This is the result of the charging
system being disabled under these conditions.

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dukecola · Registered
D Joined May 20, 2012 · 309 Posts

#100 • Oct 25, 2013

This same thing appeared on my dash today, I don't have an appt till next wed. I guess I'll fill the
coolent and reset the codes and see what happens. Where is the OBD port located?
 Reply

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