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2012 "Service High Voltage Charging System " Message

329K views 559 replies 194 participants last post by  heyboots 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
2012 Volt with almost all options including Nav, #105788.

A picture is worth a thousand words:

Electronics Multimedia Technology Vehicle Car


Am out of the country currently, my wife will have to bring it in after dropping the kids off at the daycare.

Will update when I have more information. Am grateful that we decided to lease at this point.

*Edit: We just picked the car up Saturday evening (4/14). Car was running fine even with the error message, except no charging was possible.

*Edit2: Turned out to be a leaking battery coolant pump which was replaced under warranty. Great service from Volt advisor and Terry Thompson Chevrolet made the situation much easier to get through in the end. Repair took 2 days.
 
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#3 ·
Press your OnStar button now!

2012 Volt with almost all options including Nav, #105788.

A picture is worth a thousand words:

View attachment 5385
...and get the insights OnStar people can give you. Talk with a Volt Advisor. Copy down the error codes.

If GM thinks it's safe, try restarting your car a few times. Try plugging in and unplugging the Volt.

This sounds like an issue that will require servicing though. Here's hoping the fix is rapid and you get back to enjoying the car promptly.
 
#4 ·
WOW, I hope this was either a simple anomaly or an easy dealer fix. I assume you weren't stranded and the car got you home safe and sound?
 
#6 ·
@ chan25,

Very sorry to hear you this. I do want to apologize for the inconvenience. I see your Volt is now at the dealer and one of our advisors, Kevin, has spoken with both you and your wife. We are keeping an eye on this and will work with the dealer to get you back you guys back in your Volt as soon as possible.
 
#7 ·
This.... is pure and simply amazing - response like this was impossible before the net and owner/enthusiast websites like GM-volt.com. Kudos to Chevy/GM for monitoring things here. Good luck on this fix, and keep us posted with a follow up.
 
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#8 ·
According to my dealer, it was the coolant pump. Not sure how that made the high voltage charging system fail though.

Part should be in by tomorrow, and they are estimating the Volt will be ready for pickup some time on Friday. Will update when possible.

PS: Kevin, my Volt advisor, has been sending me updates via email. Excellent service so far.
 
#9 ·
@ chan25,

I spoke with Kevin again and it looks like your Volt will be ready as early as Friday, so that is very good news. I will definitely pass your kind words along to him!
 
#10 ·
The car was just delivered to my house and is charging fine at this moment.

It turned out to be a leaking battery coolant pump, which has since been replaced. Everything was fully covered under warranty.

Thank you's are due to my Volt advisor and Terry Thompson Chevrolet who handled everything really well. My wife was really pleased with the level of customer service and asked me to be sure to let everyone on this forum know.
 
#11 ·
@ chan25,

Awesome! Great to hear! I will be sure to pass your thanks along!
 
#12 ·
Thanks for the update chan25, glad the problem was promptly solved. May you now enjoy your Volt as it was meant to be!
 
#13 · (Edited)
I have the same error: "Service High Voltage Charging System". We shall see if it is the same coolant leak as chan25 was told or something different. The error appeared after I used the parking brake. I have about 4,700 miles on the car and nothing has been wrong with it so far. I recently had the recall warranty service so I am suspicious that the dealer did not put things back 100% correctly....

Update: this was fixed in a day at the dealer. No major issue. A coolant problem that may have resulted from the coolant line not being fully bled (something about there being a bubble in the line). Unclear whether this could have been caused by the recall service. If so then the techs need to watch out for this....or perhaps just an isolated incident.
 
#14 ·
I have the same error: "Service High Voltage Charging System". We shall see if it is the same coolant leak as chan25 was told or something different. The error appeared after I used the parking brake. I have about 4,700 miles on the car and nothing has been wrong with it so far. I recently had the recall warranty service so I am suspicious that the dealer did not put things back 100% correctly....
Sorry to hear about this issue you have run into. Have you taken your Volt into the dealer yet? If not, give us a call and we can get a service appointment set up for you.
 
#15 ·
As scary as that message is, I'm betting it all has to do with insuring the integrity of the cooling system for the battery and the battery itself. There is a member here who had a leaking coolant system, and it took out his battery. Also, the government induced "Thermal Event" had to due with leaky fluid. An inconvenience now, but could save everyone a whole lot of hassle and money down the road.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Experiencing the same "Service high voltage charging system" along with a check engine light at 442 miles. Very disappointed. Three weeks old and dead car. OnStar was not very helpful, spoke with four different "OnStar Advisors" and gave my information to each one. Finally decided to call dealership, was told they may be able to get to it sometime in the next few days........Reminding me of a GM diesel I owned in the 80's. Not a happy Volt owner!

I don't have much faith in the dealership I purchased from in being able to repair the car, they told me they haven't had one in for service and were not sure if they had a trained tech as of yet.

Have not been contacted by a Volt Advisor since purchase, perhaps it is too soon (5/26/12 purchase date).

Received a call from OnStar this past evening asking how my service was progressing, told them it wasn't and was transferred to a supervisor that began the call by asking for all of my information again....... No progress there for sure..

Anybody in the Tulsa Oklahoma area that has a good experience with a dealership service department? Would like to get this vehicle in for diagnosis with someone that has been properly trained.

Dead VOLT in garage day two
 
#17 ·
@ Okbeartoy,

I do want to sincerely apologize for your frustrations. Please send me a PM with your contact information and last 8 of your VIN and I will have one of our advisors get into contact with you and we can assist you in getting everything taken care of.
 
#19 ·
Filling radiators (which the battery cooling system is) can be a hit & miss affair. Often times, they have an air pocket after the fill, and they don't burp until driven down the road, or they get hot and circulate. I bet a lot of these errors are because after the battery shield install, the coolant is refilled, and they burped. This triggers the coolant level sensor and CEL error.

Many complicated cooling systems (motorcycles) require a vacuum fill technique to avoid air pockets.
 
#21 ·
Repairs completed

Appears that my "service high voltage charging system" fault was due to a improperly completed recall at the selling dealership. Took the vehicle to a different dealer for service and the battery system was purged of air and tank was refilled. Hope this is not a problem I expericen again.. Cudos to SouthPoint Chevrolet in Tulsa OK for a quick repair.
 
#22 ·
That's a safety feature from what I heard to protect the batter from overload. Many cars took it in the shorts over that battery recall. My car, also unable to charge the battery, after several repeat trips to the repair shop is now at 3-1/2 weeks in repair and three separate trips in while my dealer tried to make a repair. I've had the pleasure of driving my fully loaded, maxxed out Diamond White Volt for 200 miles in a month. When working well - superb. I'm actually having withdrawals. I want my Volt back. On the plus side, the car design and car itself is perfect. The design or manufacture are not at fault. This car is one of the most reliable ever made. It's the recall and massive tear down needed to do the battery reinforcement. The repair shops have to separate a lot of cables and lines and a noticeable number of Volts had spilled coolant issues entering the electrical systems. If you experienced a "burning smell" of any kind you should run the car in right away. That's your electrical cabling frying on shorts from the coolant. Yes, GM can and will fix it. Just very inconvenient. All of us now have safer Volts if we roll over in an accident, just the price was several dozen of us wound up with an added repair. On the Voltage site, you can read the blog on the 'burning smell."
 
#23 ·
You got lucky. My dealer tried to replace just a few pins, basically do the repair on the cheap. I'm back in for more repairs right now. Next time I'm picking another dealer to do any maintenance or repairs. Kind of wish Buick was the first launch for the Voltec. The experience with Buick is supremely superior to every Chevrolet experience I've ever had. I've owned 4 Buicks and the quality is always fantastic, and service and support exceptional. I heard GM may make the Verano a Voltec - I'm all in if they do that.
 
#24 ·
My Volt was produced after the shut down and I was told the battery reinforcement work was completed at the factory. I was unable to get paper work for the jobs that were completed on Thursday, that should be in the mail. As soon as I have that info I will update as to what work was completed.
 
#25 ·
I leased my new 2012 Volt on Thursday, it had 14 miles on it. Drove it home Thursday, ran to the gym and post office on Friday, then yesterday it gave this same message -- "Service High Voltage Charging System". Just 161 miles on the odometer.

Chan25 - since the repair have you had any issue?
 
#29 ·
Oh no! We're very sorry to hear of this. Do you have it in for service or do you have an appointment scheduled yet? If not please send me a PM with your contact information and VIN and we will get you taken care of. We're hoping this won't take long and you will be back in your Volt as soon as possible.
 
#26 ·
I'm at about 3500 miles on my 2012 Volt (delivered in Dec 2011). I parked my car in the driveway when I got home (my wife has a tendency to park in the middle of the garage during the middle of the day). So my car was not connected to the charger. When I went out to use the car, I had the "Service High Voltage Charging System" message. I have it scheduled in this week, as they didn't have a service technician for the Volt available during their Saturday service.

What I can confirm is that both the 240V Coulomb charger and the 110V standard charger won't charge in this situation. Also, the regen does not restore any energy to the batteries (despite the dash display shows that it is recharging the battery). I'm sure it will be the minor issue around the battery coolant as others have reported. Just for the record, I did have the battery reinforcement installed.
 
#27 ·
Can someone tell us if the dual cooling fluid tank (the left side being for the battery ) is a NEW replacement tank or was the sensor (float thing) some how added to the tank ?

To recap the areas we have read about here :

1. The wire harness is new so at least 2 new plugs then have to be connected correctly. (if plug not seated -sensor alert ?)
2. The cooling tank ( battery side) now has a NEW level fill line that is LOWER than the old one. (re-filling to old mark may causing over flow)
3. Filling need the vacuum device to remove bubbles. ( old post had more information on this)
4. fluid lines have to be reconnected.

The sensor, it it triggers, is not just a warning but a shutdown on battery use and changing.

and IF i read correctly what other have posted it has to be dealer reset ? even if a fluid bubble air burp ?
 
#31 ·
The sensor, it it triggers, is not just a warning but a shutdown on battery use and charging.
This is only partially true. After driving a few days now with the error, I've noticed a few things.

1. The car still will run off the battery until the normal conditions occur to start the ICE.
2. No charging of the battery will occur from regenerative braking.
3. No charging of the battery will occur from plugging in.
4. No charging of the battery will occur from running in Mountain Mode.
5. No charging of the battery will occur when the ICE is on.

I am curious what happens to the battery in this situation. I assume it will deplete to a point where the ICE begins to power the drivetrain 100%. I sure hope so, as I still need the car for a day of driving.
 
#28 ·
No problems since my repair this past Thursday, three charge cycles and going strong. My issue was low coolant level in the battery due to air not being properly purged when a recall was performed before purchase. Repairing dealer purged air, refilled to new level, and did a partial charge. Neither dealer that I have been to seem to have a Level 2, 220V, charger.

Keeping my fingers crossed that no further issues "burp" up.. LOL
 
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