My Volt is still in the shop, it's been there two weeks now.

After just one month of ownership, I had the check engine light come on and took it in to the dealer for a check up. They've been waiting all this time for parts and the jig to remove the battery. I went by for a visit today and took pictures. Work is finally under way. The problem is a contractor, or relay, on the battery. They are replacing the part. While it's apart they're doing the recall for reinforcing the battery tunnel.

It was almost worth the wait to see the battery out of the car.

http://bob.hodgen.me/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/IMG_0536.jpg

I have a post with more photos on my blog here: http://bob.hodgen.me/?p=757

I was given a Malibu with only 600 miles as a loaner. I'm hoping it won't be much longer, I'm missing the Volt.

Cool! They took the lid off the battery.

The tech pointed to the front of the battery pack when he mentioned the contractor. I gather it connects or disconnects the battery from the rest of the car when you turn it on or off. Probably something which should be working properly!

Very cool, thanks for sharing!

It makes me wonder what the bad press will be like if a mechanic ever manages to electrocute him/herself?

They wouldn't let me get too close to the battery!

Very cool, thanks for sharing!

It makes me wonder what the bad press will be like if a mechanic ever manages to electrocute him/herself?

I hope he doesn't check the charge by touching his tongue to it.

....contractor, or relay, on the battery.....

Tiniest of tiny points...it's actually a "contactor" (with one "r"), and you're right, it is a switch or relay that disconnects the battery and makes it safe to work on.

I hope your Volt is back to you soon!

You're right, darned autocorrect! I just taught my computer the word.

Thank you, Bob. I enjoyed seeing the battery photo.

I didn't know we were letting dealers take the cover off yet. It shows off how incredibly complex that pack is to keep the temperature happy. Hundreds of parts besides the most important 288 parts (the cells themselves).

The pictures in the blog are very nice!
We can see a black flat rectangular module on top of each of the 4 battery main groups,
It has 2 or 3 orange high tension cables and it seems on low tension (signals) connectors

Pete, (or anyone) would you know what is it's role?

Francois B-2653

I don't know the electronics side. I was involved in the cooling system.

What about that third party teardown video and report?

Our Volt is back home!

After two and a half weeks, our Volt is back!
The dealer replaced the “Drive Motor Battery Junction Block Relay.” Apparently this was the cause of the check engine light and error codes.

While they had the car they also performed the “Install Battery Reinforcement Bracket-Coolant Sensor and Coolant Tank” recall. And they also performed the “Inspect Driver Airbag & Reposition Felt Insulator Patch” recall. All work was covered under warranty as well as the rental car. Below is the relevant part of the invoice:

http://bob.hodgen.me/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-Shot-2012-03-13-at-1.25.02-PM1.png

From our blog at: http://bob.hodgen.me/?p=777

So far, no check engine light or rattles. It’s good to have the car back after two and a half weeks.

The first time we started the Volt after getting it home the check engine light came back on. I called On Star and they gave me the trouble code of P0AC4. That was one of the codes from before.

It’s back to the dealer. This is getting frustrating! It’s been in the shop 1/3 of the time we’ve owned the car (20 out of 55 days).

I love the Volt, the way it drives and it’s efficiency. It’s an incredible design, but I’m starting to get worried about it’s execution.

Ugh. Hopefully it's just something to do with how the dealer installed that relay (loose connection?), and not some new or different problem.

[edit] Apparently, there needs to be also a different code raised (http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?6635-Check-engine-light-p0ac4) if there is actually a problem. Otherwise, if you drive the car several consecutive times without a problem, it goes away (http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?9301-DTC-Code-P0AC4).

Oh man, I hope you didn't get a trouble maker.

Don't give up hope, there's so much new tech here, its possible that a trouble code may not always give the true cause. Plus too, when replacing electric components, it may not always be easy to see that it was broken and the cause of the problem.

Of course, that's no consolation when its your car causing fits, sitting in the shop.

When I took it back to the dealer today, they said that there were additional "active" codes as well.

Hoping for the best, thanks.

Oh no, sorry to hear that your Volt is back at the dealer bobhodgen. That is terrible news. Keep us updated and we'll keep an eye on it from our end. We're hoping for the best as well and hopefully we can get you back in your Volt as soon as possible.

Thanks Trevor

My advisor, Tonia, is on the case and giving me updates.

It's frustrating as today makes it 3 weeks that our Volt has been away. The dealer gave me a Chevy Traverse SUV as a loaner, but I really miss the quiet smoothness and efficiency of the Volt. Driving anything else, even our Smart car seems so last century.

Today is the two month anniversary of owning our volt. It's bittersweet, as today is also the 25th day that our volt has been in the shop.

Reading the forums, I understand our experience is not typical. I love everything about the car, the way it drives and it's incredible fuel economy. I check in with these forms several times a day to see what's going on in the world of the volt.

My volt advisor told me that Chevrolet is sending a volt specialist to take a look at our car this week. I'm hoping they can find the source of the problem. It's been too long.

Hello Bob, Great blog, great pictures of the battery pack. The battery contactors (5) are made by panasonic and integrated by Lear into the silver and black module at the front of the pack. Of the (5) contactors (2) are for high voltage (+) and (-) and the other three are for pre-charge (bring capacitor up to voltage to reduce inrush to main contactor), regen, and charging. If the contactors are indeed faulty they may cross my testing bench, we will see, but there has not been a contactor failure in the field to date.

I love how members of the GM team are active on this forum! They must have A LOT of pride in the Volt. It is really great to see and makes me feel special :)