[Anderdd]

I have had it happen twice now... Guess I will tell the dealer now since it wasn't a one time fluke.

 

[Windowsrefugee]

I believe the phrasing some people are looking for here is:
"Correlation does not equal causation."

It does give you something to look at first tho! ;-)
Knocking on faux-wood namebadge holder, I haven't had that issue yet with my Bolt who has his new battery (7 weeks now).
(Of course, now that I said that, it will probably be like that tonight... ;-)

Considering the known history of 12v battery problems, that wouldn't surprise me at all either...
It will be interesting to see if we get any more information on this one...

Agree association does not prove causality. Replacing the dying 12V battery has apparently fixed the problem with the charging cable. But of course, it could also still be a software problem as disconnecting the battery to replace it is effectively control - alt -delete, a hard reboot. Most, but not all cases appear to be observed after the high voltage battery recall replacement that included a software update. 🤞🤞🤞 that replacement of the 12V battery solves the problem but time ⌛will tell….

 

[shortwh]

Just started happening to my 2019. It and the 2017 have had the battery replaced so I'm teaching my 17yr old to push the locking pin back in case she is on the road when it happens. I'll be complaining to GM also so they get a new software load out. For whatever good that will do.

 

[Chevelle72]

This is also happening on my 2019 that recently had the high voltage battery replaced. Very glad for the those on this forum who figure out these issues and share with the rest of us!

 

[Sean Nelson]

I believe the phrasing some people are looking for here is:
"Correlation does not equal causation."

Nah, people are just focusing on the wrong correlation. The real correlation (and cause) is 5 years. The 2017 Bolts that are getting their batteries replaced are around 5 years old, which also makes their 12V batteries as cantankerous as senior citizens...

And the 12V batteries in newer Bolts that have had issues may have had their batteries neglected in dealer lots before they were initially purchased.

 

[Curt]

Nah, people are just focusing on the wrong correlation. The real correlation (and cause) is 5 years. The 2017 Bolts that are getting their batteries replaced are around 5 years old, which also makes their 12V batteries as cantankerous as senior citizens...

And the 12V batteries in newer Bolts that have had issues may have had their batteries neglected in dealer lots before they were initially purchased.

This issue is not the battery, folks. While the battery issues above may be true, the charge port issue happens with actual new 12V batteries like mine.

If this has never happened before traction battery replacements, then afterwards it suddenly becomes commonplace, that's not a vague correlation.

If temporarily disconnecting the 12V battery has fixed it every time, that is not a vague correlation.

So far there has been no indication whatsoever that the 12V battery caused this, because replacing the 12V battery involves temporarily disconnecting it. No dealer should replace the 12V battery without it testing bad, nor should they replace the charge port. It's aggravating that we can be smarter than Chevy mechanics because we read an internet forum, and Chevrolet does not inform the dealers even if they know.

 

[PLP]

If this has never happened before traction battery replacements, then afterwards it suddenly becomes commonplace, that's not a vague correlation.

Same here...

 

[72louielou]

Hi Boltemort,

Good and bad news... our 2019 pre-recall-fix is having the same issue. It seems to have started since the software update that limited charging for safety.

Bad news, no one seems to know anything about it or if there is a fix or if it is a hardware or software failure.
Good news, I have a workaround that works, but is rather a PITA.

You are right that the issue isn't the latch itself, but the locking pin behind the latch. The pin should lock the latch in place during charging to prevent inadvertent disconnects, but for some reason it decides randomly every couple of days to lock when there is nothing plugged in, thus preventing the cable from being fully seated.

We've tried every possible easy solution under the sun to get it to unlock, but we've found only one PITA solution that works... pulling the 12v, waiting a minute or two, and reconnecting it. Fixes it every time, and is a complete and total pain... good reason to make sure you have a 10mm in your car at all times.

Good luck!

JWH

Thanks for that, it worked....

 

[41421]

My 2019 Bolt (with the recall fix completed) just started exhibiting the same behavior. I haven't tried either remedy suggested (temp disconnect the 12V battery or push the pin aside physically), but I was leery about trying the latter thinking it might break something else.

One thing I noticed which I don't think I've seen mentioned above is that I had trouble removing the charger connector before realizing I couldn't get it to connect the next time I wanted to charge. I had to pull much harder than normal to get the charger out of the port, and if it was the same issue, how could you push the pin out of the way if the charger is stuck in the car?

 

[Anderdd]

I just talked with my dealer about this, through a service advisor they talked with the EV tech and said they aren't aware of any TSB on this issue.

The tech proposed I come and use their L2 charger to reproduce the issue, but that won't likely happen given the rare occurrence.

I told them that next time it is latched I will bring it in before I reset it to open a RO on this. I had really hoped there was a TSB but they said no, if they even checked.

Anyone else have anything regarding a TSB or TAC case?

 

[Pod]

I haven't had this happen on my 2019 Bolt (battery replaced in November, monitoring software in January) but the Chevy EV tech that posts on Facebook originally played down the idea this issue was related to the battery update. Later, he posted there might be something to it (having experienced it on someone's car). He said they were looking at it although he was told by someone in the know that there were no code changes related to the latch in the update(s). I can't find the post now but this is how I remember it - from a week or two back, I think.

 

[meatwad]

I just had this happen to my Bolt for the first time since I bought it in May of 2019. The battery was replaced mid-January so I'm also suspicious of the timing. Great info here!

 

[Burke3265]

Mods can we consolidate the different posts on this to a single?

My 2019 Bolt (battery replaced) just started exhibiting the same behavior.

Irrational part of me thinks this is intentional by Chevy to make folks WANT to trade their cars back in.

I’ve charged post battery replacement so this has just happened randomly.

😠

 

[XJ12]

I’ve charged post battery replacement so this has just happened randomly.

Seem to recall that early reports were potentially related to using the remote start/pre-conditioning. Had you used that feature recently? Maybe with more reports the "random" events might not be so random.

 

[Burke3265]

Seem to recall that early reports were potentially related to using the remote start/pre-conditioning. Had you used that feature recently? Maybe with more reports the "random" events might not be so random.

Yes I had used it a week or two back, and used it again to see if maybe it would unlock that pin but no joy. See above for update. Annoying

 

[41421]

Temporarily disconnecting the 12V battery fixed it for me. When I reconnected the battery, I heard a distinct mechanical "click" (the cover to the charging port was open) and, sure enough, the metal pin which was holding that plate at an angle which made engaging/disengaging the charging cable difficult had retracted all the way to the left and the plate was open completely.

This is a feature in Europe, where people bring their own cable to L2 stations, and don't want them stolen.

Does this mean there might be a setting to disable this feature?

 

[Burke3265]

Temporarily disconnecting the 12V battery fixed it for me. When I reconnected the battery, I heard a distinct mechanical "click" (the cover to the charging port was open) and, sure enough, the metal pin which was holding that plate at an angle which made engaging/disengaging the charging cable difficult had retracted all the way to the left and the plate was open completely.



Does this mean there might be a setting to disable this feature?

This locks the DCFC cable when charging and unlocks when it’s done so I don’t think you want to disable that feature. Someone maybe can explain that better. There is an alarm when L2 is removed but not related to this locking feature. My L2 at least doesn’t activate this lock. I still want to look and see if there is a fuse that maybe removing and reinserting would serve the same purpose as unhooking 12v.

 

[Eriamjh1138]

I’ve been following this issue and finally decided to check the Sevice manual.
It is known as the Charge Port Lock and should always be unlocked when not DCFC charging.
There is a DTC called P3014 Hybrid/EV Battery DC charging Port Lock Stuck Closed that should be set in the EV Powertrain Control Module 2.
It says that it can be commanded manually in Vehicle Service mode by the scan tool. It can be set to lock and unlock
The dealer should know this.

Maybe the problem is they are using the wrong scan tool. If it is truly a software bug introduced into the PCM2 then it may not be setting the fault properly which is why they “can’t find a problem”.

I’m trying to find the circuit in the schematics to see if there is a way to manually unlatch it like the hatch (see my other post about opening the hatch when there is a bad hatch open switch).

 

[Burke3265]

I’ve been following this issue and finally decided to check the Sevice manual.
It is known as the Charge Port Lock and should always be unlocked when not DCFC charging.
There is a DTC called P3014 Hybrid/EV Battery DC charging Port Lock Stuck Closed that should be set in the EV Powertrain Control Module 2.
It says that it can be commanded manually in Vehicle Service mode by the scan tool. It can be set to lock and unlock
The dealer should know this.

Maybe the problem is they are using the wrong scan tool. If it is truly a software bug introduced into the PCM2 then it may not be setting the fault properly which is why they “can’t find a problem”.

I’m trying to find the circuit in the schematics to see if there is a way to manually unlatch it like the hatch (see my other post about opening the hatch when there is a bad hatch open switch).

Let us know what you find - the odd thing to me is this is triggering outside of any dealer service. Mine happened post battery replacement and I had previously charged using my home L2 with no issue. So either something I did (pre start, bad shift, who knows) or some condition triggered it.

 

[Eriamjh1138]

OK, the latch is part of the charge port. Here's a pic of it from eBay. The latch is inside the horizontal portion to the upper left of the port. Its harness and the other low voltage circuits (like the pilot signal) come out of the black connector at the bottom left.

This is connector X98. Based on the pinout, pin 7 is the Latch Close pin, and 8 is the Latch Open pin.

Here's the pinout of the whole connector:

I'll trace pin 8 or circuit 2230.
This leads to Connector X117 CHARGE RECEPTACLE HARNESS TO BODY HARNESS (CBT).
I think CBT is the DC fast charging option, but I can't be sure (yet).

Notice that circuit 2231 is pin G on X117. Let's see where it goes.

It goes to K114B HYBRID/EV POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE 2 X2, which is one of two connectors with the same name (the other being X1).

Pin 61 is the bottom right corner in the pic above. So we've gone from the Latch itself all the way back to the PowerTrain Control module 2. That's where the trail ends. Circuit 2230 doesn't go anywhere else.

I tried tracing K114B PTCM2 to see if I could find a schematic, block digram, etc.
Nope. I found this:

Dead end.

Conclusion: Without a fault code, this is a Powertrain Control Module 2 software fault. It's latching closed when it's not supposed to be (because it is only supposed to latch when DCFCing) and it's not supposed to latch when nothing is plugged in.

So here's more details on the fault:

Control Module References for scan tool information Circuit/System Verification

1. Vehicle in Service Mode.
2. Command the DC Charge Port Lock to LOCK and UNLOCK with a scan tool while listening for the DC Charge Port Lock to lock and unlock. The DC Charge Port Lock should lock and unlock and the scan tool DC Charge Port Lock Actuator Position Sensor parameter should change between 0.15 - 4.85 V.
   - If the DC Charge Port Lock does not LOCK or UNLOCK or the DC Charge Port Lock Actuator Position Sensor parameter does not change
   Refer to Circuit/System Testing.
   - If the DC Charge Port Lock does LOCK and UNLOCK and the DC Charge Port Lock Actuator Position Sensor parameter changes
3. All OK.

Only resort to going to the dealer if the latch doesn't automatically open after removing and reconnecting the GND cable at the 12V battery.