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Check Engine Light

31K views 67 replies 26 participants last post by  ?'smyvolt 
#1 ·
Check engine light came on today and has stayed on. Will probably get it checked tomorrow. Any bets on what it will be? 1290 on the odo.
 
#3 ·
I recommend using the OnStar button and letting them provide you with the diagnostic code. You can go from there. It may be that the light will reset itself after a couple more trips with your car.
 
#4 ·
Taking it into your dealer is probably the best thing to do. However if you ring up Onstar they should be able to give you some idea what specific DTCs have failed. They have a "cheat sheet" that permits them to give you some guidance as to the severity of the detected fault. The potential scenarios are vast, but it could be something as simple as leaving your fuel cap loose or your engine oil dipstick unseated!
WopOnTour
 
#5 ·
The first time the engine kicked on in my car, the check engine light went on. The car then went into reduced power mode (shutting down engine) and allowed me to drive a mile or so on battery (even though battery showed empty) to find a safe spot to stop. I called onstar who elevated my call to a volt specialist. She electronically "probed" the car and found two codes, something to do with the transmission. She said no worries, that the volt should work again when I start it up, and the check engine light will go away in a few days. The whole process of pulling over, calling onstar, on the road again took less than ten minutes. True to what was told to me by onstar, the check engine light went away.
 
#8 ·
As always the great folks on this forum have provided fast informative answers, you guys are great! I didn't know OnStar could give me info about my diagnostic code. So I called OnStar, and they transferred my to a diagnostic code specialist who said there were two codes. One was the electric system asking the engine system to turn the check engine light on. The second was from the electric propulsion system indicating incorrect current through the charger port. This was from a historic point in time, and the car was currently getting correct current from the charger.

I charge with the Voltec 240 volt system. The only thing I could think of was last night I tested the alarm condition that happens when you unplug the charger from the car while not having the fob on you. The horn alarm did go off, as expected. I tried plugging back in, but that didn't stop the horn, so I pulled the plug out and stopped the horn with my fob. Not sure if maybe something in that sequence kicked off the error code. I'll take it in to the dealer tomorrow to look over.
 
#9 ·
Sounds like we could make a case for OnStar to reset alarms like this. If it alarmed again after OnStar reset it you could take it to the dealer. If it did not alarm again it would be a trip saved.
 
#10 ·
I had the same problem when driving from LA to Vegas

I had been running on ICE for 200 or so miles and then check engine light came on after I got the mystical ""Reduced Propulsion" message. It was in the middle desert, it was late/dark and I wanted to get home asap. I figured the car would warn me again if it was something really serious. It went away the next day. I did not even think about calling OnStar. I am not sure how to handle these events in the future. My closest dealer is a days drive away, so unless the car is totally dead, I guess I will just have OnStar diagnose the errors and go from there. I don't plan on putting may ICE miles on my Volt and have been gas free for 3 days now.
 
#13 ·
So I dropped my Volt off at the dealer yesterday and they gave me a free loaner car and kept my Volt until today so a Chevy specialist could come look it over. Of course they all gathered round since it was the first Volt they'd seen at my local Wisconsin Chevy dealer.

Ultimately they couldn't find anything wrong, so they told me to bring it back if it happens again. Basically there was something the charger inside the Volt didn't like about the current coming from my Voltec 220 amp one of the times it was connected.

I'm glad it seems it was nothing major. I have charged it many times with no problem since the light first came on. And I'm glad they took it so seriously and investigated it. I appreciate that Chevy really seems to be acting very carefully with these initial launch vehicles.

Even though I had the loaner car, I actually missed the Volt! It just didn't seem right not having the Volt waiting for me in the garage. I think I must be losing it...
 
#17 ·
Ultimately they couldn't find anything wrong, so they told me to bring it back if it happens again.
Did they clear the error so the check engine light went out, or did it clear up on its own after the dealer visit?
 
#16 ·
'Twas a Chevy Impala. Interior and exterior were completely uninspired and boring. Other than the Volt and maybe the Cruze, I don't think I'm much of a Chevy fan.
 
#15 ·
Unless GM has changed the protocol on the OBDII bus, a ScanGauge II should at least expose the code beyond idiot light status. With the X-gauge option it's possible to manually enter CAN bus codes to pull some cool stuff out of the PCM. May take a while for things to catch up with the new direction taken by the Volt but ultimately the information must be made available.
 
#18 ·
We had a check engine light come on twice now and both times it was associated with the snow. Our dealership told us NOT to charge the vehicle outside but our Volt advisor said that wasn't true. Anyone else had this problem in rain or snow? If charging stations are going to be outside like they are at the plant, this could be a problem!

The second time the light came on, my husband continued to drive it to work. Once the sensor dried up it was fine. Please design a raincoat for our charger!

Needless to say, my husband is really irritated that he has been told he has to charge his vehicle inside if it rains or snows. Just wondering if anyone else has expereinced this?
 
#19 ·
I had an engine check light come on yesterday. Logging onto OnStar and running Diagnostics produced no messages and the car also had no messages to display, however when calling OnStar, the person told me that there were several error codes (I didn't ask what they were) with the most severe being that the electric propulsion system was not operating correctly and that I should take the car into the dealer ASAP.

I'll give an update if anything is found.
 
#22 ·
I just got the Check Engine Light as well. OnStar was great--they told me that my Volt detected something unexpected during my last charge. (Could have been me, because I unplugged/replugged when I knew the car already was fully charged.) OnStar was more-than-anxious to help anyway possible; however, we agreed that it was minor detected event, and probably my light will go out in a day or two. Otherwise I should just call them back for additional diagnostics and support.

Love this car...

Chris
 
#23 ·
Add me to the list of minor CEL folks. Mine came on after not having driven the car for a day. Stayed on for a day, got the same messages as honoreitis (via OnStar), and then it was off the next day (and OnStar reported no issues when I checked). It sounded so serious the first time "problem with the electric propulsion system get it checked right away!" and then it just went away. Wonder what the common denominator is that trips this light? I had a bunch of people in the car to show it to them during the day I didn't drive it. It was plugged in, but the charger would come on and off periodically to give power to the interior, radio, etc. Perhaps something about rapidly cycling on the charge/don't charge system is something the Volt doesn't like?
 
#24 ·
Seem like this is related to the chargers. (just a guess)
What brand chargers are being used and are they 120v or 240v units.
I don't have my car yet .. but just a idea to check.
Maybe this issue will be resolved by the end of the month when I get my Volt 0752.

Chuck
 
#25 ·
And now I just got the check engine light again. It happened after I kind of fumbled with inserting the charger. It didn't go in quite right and I wrestled with it a bit to get it in right. I'm sure that's what caused the light. I called OnStar and I had the exact same two codes again: P1E00 and P0D22.

The dealer said I should come back if it happens again. I don't think I will hassle with it. The light went off after starting the car 5 or 6 times. I'll just be very careful attaching and detaching the charger (it is the Voltec 240 volt fast charger)...
 
#26 ·
Well I beleive the issue would be more when connecting the charger than disconnecting, but there could be something else wrong.
First of all P1E00 is a "sytems" code that merely informs that the CEL has been commanded by the ECM (Engine Control Module) due to a detected fault by one of the EV/hybrid powertrain modules.

DTC P0D22 however basically indicates that for 40 seconds after plugging in the J1772 connector there was still no charging taking place. Does this seem to align in any way with your scenario?
When you plugged in did the green dash LED (and horn chirp) respond as expected?
Were you using your 120V charger at the time? Did you plug the car in first BEFORE the 120V outlet by chance?
The instructions for charging in he owners manual request you do this the other way around and the disgnostic executive may be sensitive to that if it took an extended period of time to get the other end jacked into a 120V source.

WopOnTour
 
#27 ·
DTC P0D22 however basically indicates that for 40 seconds after plugging in the J1772 connector there was still no charging taking place. Does this seem to align in any way with your scenario?
No, just some fumbling getting it to attach correctly.

When you plugged in did the green dash LED (and horn chirp) respond as expected?
Yes.

Were you using your 120V charger at the time?
No, Voltec 240 V charger.

Thanks WOT.
 
#28 ·
Yes, so that DTC means that for whatever intermittent reason the charger current is not achieving expected levels after ~40 econds of operation.

So it appears you are experincing an intermittent charger issue and I suggest you take it to your dealer at your earliest convenience.I'm not sure how involved they got on your first visit but it soun slike they just cleaed the code and attempted to duplicate, without success. Now that you are still getting this DTC they will have to take it much more seriously.

Since it is intermittent it's possible that it might be just a simple electrical connection, but it's going to mean the Volt technician is going to have to access, inspect, and validate some specific connections and wiring directly on the charger unit itself and at the battery connection housing as outlined in the P0D22 DTC diagnosis documents. Assuming these connections or circuits are NOT the problem they will probably replace the charger unit.


The charger is located at the RH front corner of the car (basically behind the RH headlamp) so in this even, it shouldnt be too intrusive.
Please keep us updated.
 
#30 · (Edited)
Did you call Onstar and verify these exact same 2 DTCs were set Rev? That would be neccessary as thre are over 2000 DTCs that can illuminate the Check Engine lamp. Oh and by "charger" I was referring to the charger IN THE CAR. The Coulomb CT500 is NOT a "charger" per se. It is a merely a piece of equipment that permits a method to safely connect 240V to the charger in the car, commonly referred to as an EVSE (Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment)
HTH
WOT
 
#32 ·
If it helps with data collection, I am charging at 120V. I never touch the other end of the charging cable, so that's not it.

We had a "wintry mix" last night, so we could have lost power, but I would have seen that elsewhere in the house (PC's rebooting, etc). So that's not it.

In any case, the Volt is brilliant in a wintry mix!!!

Chris
 
#37 ·
This morning. I got the CE light and this code from OnStar:

System - Lithium Ion Battery – P1EE6

Advises to bring it to the dealer within 7 days. I think verbally he described it as something like the battery is not performing as expected.

I know with the Coulomb 240V charger it's been throwing GFI errors. When I talked to Coulomb about it they seemed the think the problem is with the vehicle and not the charger. But I'm not so sure. Once the GFI triggers then the car probably sees that it's plugged in but it can't draw any juice when it's programmed to start charging.

Either way I guess I'll schedule a service appointment and have them check it out. I'm not surprised that there are some early teething problems.
 
#38 · (Edited)
P1EE6 is a DTC related to your on-board charger's 120/240V input.
Basically it is saying your EVSE was detected as being "connected" but your on-board charger wasnt "seeing" AC at it's end. This MAY be related to your 240V EVSE issues since you said you were gettng some GFCI errors, but unless you have some sort of cabling or connection issue , it's more likely just to be an "artifact" of other upstream charging problems relating to something like a breaker or GFCI "popping" and interrupting the charge. They will likely need to add some additional time elements into the FAIL criteria to prevent these sorts of DTCs from setting for non-vehicle issues. Agreed these types of growing pains were not totally unexpected, especially in the area of charging with numerous uncontrollbales and variables.
Let us know what your dealer says.
WOT
 
#42 · (Edited)
Actually if you push IN on the door once (compressing it against the seal slightly) BEFORE releasing it will usually break any sort of ICE buildup that is impeding it's travel. Plus I've noticed the door opens quite slowly if it's real cold as there's a viscous damping mechanism within the hinge (like an old casette player door) that is affected by temperature, so that isnt helping either. Additionally the dealers have been instructed to lightly lubricate the door seal with a special grease to prevent the door from sticking to the seal.
HTH
WOT
 
#44 ·
+1 on all of this. Sorry, I started another thread here: http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?6508-0065-is-in-for-Service

Basically the same thing. CEL was on. Onstar told me P1E00 and P0CD2 and get thyself to the dealer. Per PIC5414 they applied Kryotox weatherstrip lube to the charge port door and cleared the errors, and all is well. They also charged the car and added a little air to the tires to get them back up to 35 from 32. Only bummer was the loaner. A Cadillac DTS v-8. The anit-volt!!!!

Cheers!
MC
 
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