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Volt USB ports don't work #16-NA-242: Diagnostic Tips for USB Receptacle Inoperative

60K views 29 replies 22 participants last post by  danielfant68  
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Neither of the two usb ports in my new 2016 volt work. Plug in an iPhone 6. Nothing. Anybody else have this problem?
 
#5 ·
Did you start the car?
 
#6 ·
car must be on to power the usb ports. and lighter plugs.
 
#9 ·
you only get about 1/2 amp (500ma) so some items will not work for testing power out

smart phones are fine at 1/2 amp 5 volts IF you use the correct cable.

There are cables that will use a power port for power and a USB cable only for data
 
#10 ·
Neither USB port on my 2017 Premier work. Will not charge and will not recognize any USB stick. I can only USB charge by using an adapter in the 12 v. outlet. Car on or off = the same negative result.

In short, both USB outlets are dead. Car was built in February 2016.

As "Kserraserra" writes above, it should be a straightforward dealer fix. I'll try to schedule this fix with the Android Auto update.
 
#15 ·
Keep us updated; it would be good if the service dept. can determine what was the cause of the failure. FWIW, my USB outlets perform just fine on my 2017 Premier, which was built in early April. So clearly, there may be some build issues, and I'm curious if these are occurring primarily on the earliest batch of vehicles...
 
#12 ·
First time I plugged my phone into the USB ports of my new 2017 Volt, I found the same thing. The ports were both dead.

Strange thing was, when I pulled and then simply reinserted fuse #26, the ports were fine. That was a couple weeks ago and I've had no more problem from them. A flash drive is almost always installed in one. The other I use to connect my phone, for Android Auto.

The fuse panel is under the dash, near the steering wheel. The manual identifies which is fuse #26. I pulled the fuse using needlenose pliers, then just reinserted the fuse.
 
#13 ·
The fuse panel is under the dash, near the steering wheel. The manual identifies which is fuse #26. I pulled the fuse using needlenose pliers, then just reinserted the fuse.
FYI, there is a fuse puller tool located in the fuse box under the hood.
 
#21 ·
Just an FYI
GM has recently issues a bulletin #16-NA-242: Diagnostic Tips for USB Receptacle Inoperative

This bulletin provides additional diagnostic direction when dealing with USB receptacle issues and how it isolate potential issues with the USB hub assembly

HTH
WOT
 
#22 ·
On July 15th I picked up my special order Premier and on the drive home from the dealer the information center went black and stopped working. I checked the owner manuel to find out the fuse number and location. When I pulled the fuse to check it, it wasn't blown and I was disappointed, but when I put it back in, the center started working and I've had no new problems since.
 
#23 ·
A dealer had to reprogram/reboot my USB multiple times when it froze and will not charge or sync.

They finally called me back to replace the USB hardware, per instructions from "Engineering".

Working OK for now.


 
#27 ·
YES!

I had my car updated on Monday and it worked one day before I lost all power to the USB port- no Carplay, No Music stick. I searched out and read every article on getting Carplay to work. I followed every tip on how the settings in my iphone should be configured and still nothing worked... until I pulled FUSE 26!

Thank you, thank you thank you!! for posting this.

My guess is that is reboots the infotainment system and allows the USB communications to refresh anew.
 
#29 ·
Seven years later and I've still got that 2017 Volt. And I still find I occasionally have to pull and reinsert Fuse 26. Recently my Volt went in for it BECM replacement and now that it's come back I find I'm having to do the pull-and-reinsert Fuse 26 bit almost twice weekly. It's really getting tiring.

Was this ever fixed by Chevy? I mean, permanently fixed? I'm about to the point where I want to wire something that will bring that one fuse out to where it's easy to pull-and-replace. Or maybe install some kind of inline switch that breaks the circuit (which is what I assume I'm doing whenever I do the pull-and-replace).