Sometimes tow companies have dollies that they can put under your wheels so they can move it practically anywhere they want.
Did you consider replacing the battery while the car is in the garage? Should be simple to do

 

Changing the battery seems like the easiest thing to do but the husband is a bit intimidated by the car's sudden death. And if it's under warranty he'd rather let the dealer handle it to see if there is an underlying problem.

 

Another example of how a ~$20 jump pack would come in handy. The old battery might be so damaged that it needs to be removed and not simply "jumped".

I've had to remove a good battery from a car to jump my car that was nose-in. If it were in my manual, I'd just put it in neutral and push it out. With automatics and EVs, you normally need power to shift to N. No big deal; these things happen.

 

Another example of how a ~$20 jump pack would come in handy. The old battery might be so damaged that it needs to be removed and not simply "jumped".

On this note, anyone know of a compact li-ion relatively cheap pack that has been verified to be able to jump start a Bolt with a dead 12 volt?

I asked at https://www.chevybolt.org/threads/c...ds/cheap-12-volt-li-ion-packs-verified-to-jump-start-bolt-w-dead-12-volt.34317/ and haven't gotten any verified recommendations. The pack that I mentioned there was not able to jump start my Leaf w/12 volt that was toast. It also has extremely modest power demands on startup (no starter motor). I had to fallback to a heavy large 12 volt lead-based pack, which worked fine.

 

Put a charger on it for chrissakes so you can start it and put it into N. Then remove the battery cable and drag it out. You don’t need it towed, just put a new battery in Like you would an old cell phone.

 

Put a charger on it for chrissakes so you can start it and put it into N. Then remove the battery cable and drag it out.

Great in theory, but I think that disconnecting the battery is the same as shutting your EV off and the shift status will revert to "Park".

 

You can also send power to the car via the 12v outlet... put a good battery in the passenger foot area, connect it to the 12v socket.

 

You can also send power to the car via the 12v outlet... put a good battery in the passenger foot area, connect it to the 12v socket.

I'm pretty sure that won't work. The 12V outlet goes dead a short while after the car is turned off, so there's obviously no direct connection to the battery.

 

2017 Bolt, 12000 miles.

12v battery is dead and won't charge. Tow service is on the way but the car is parked nose-in in the garage. Any idea how we can get it out to tow if the front wheels have to be off the ground? We hooked up the battery for a jump, it turned on, but soon as the cables were removed it was dead again. Any ideas to help us?

Try leaving it on the charger for several hours, or better yet over night. Unless it is really shot, that should be enough to drive it to the dealer to have them do a battery stress test.

 

I understand that the Achilles heal is the 12v battery. Or the single motor. Or a few other components that if they failed the car won't move. Anyway, I've read a few threads talking about the 12v battery and some failures. Am I correct that all the known failures have been 12v battery failures and that the rate of failure is fairly low? I always considered it rather rare that a 12v battery if properly sized would fail in the first 5+ years, or replace 5 with whatever number you are comfortable with. There's no suspected underlying design issue or overloading going on? I know, shame on me for even suggesting that something got designed wrong. NASA may get it wrong now and then, but GM doesn't, I know.

 

I understand that the Achilles heal is the 12v battery. Or the single motor. Or a few other components that if they failed the car won't move. Anyway, I've read a few threads talking about the 12v battery and some failures. Am I correct that all the known failures have been 12v battery failures and that the rate of failure is fairly low? I always considered it rather rare that a 12v battery if properly sized would fail in the first 5+ years, or replace 5 with whatever number you are comfortable with. There's no suspected underlying design issue or overloading going on? I know, shame on me for even suggesting that something got designed wrong. NASA may get it wrong now and then, but GM doesn't, I know.

Totally random guess based on absolutely no insight or data beyond what I have read here, so take it for what it is worth. I would guess that some batteries went bad for being left uncharged or used while in inventory, IE vehicle main battery drained down to the point of not charging the 12V, some small percentage of 12V batteries just failed, and maybe, just maybe, a firmware SW bug where some computer doesn't go to sleep or draws a higher standby current than allowed draining the 12V.

There is one thread here about a 12V battery going dead while plugged in, where the owner typically charges his vehicle with the Tesla EVSE and the jdapter combo. That particular one strikes me as a potential compatibility issue where the vehicle computer communicating with the EVSE goes off the rails and drains the 12V, but who knows...

In general I believe you are correct, or at least I have the same impression

 

Which brings me to an obvious question. When you are level 1 charging the big lithium battery in your garage, are you also charging the 12volt battery? I don't drive much, and this was a problem on both my Priuses. Had to replace 12v battery after 3-4 years.

 

I don't think it does the way you would think.
If you don't drive much, then you are better off using a trickle charger on the 12v battery by itself

 

The 12v battery is managed by the car using power from the traction battery. While charging? Probably.

 

There is a post somewhere on this board with indepth description of the 12V charging/maintaining logic in the Bolt - I read it last year.

Search and ye shall find ...

 

There is a post somewhere on this board with indepth description of the 12V charging/maintaining logic in the Bolt - I read it last year.

Here it is.

Bookmarks are your friend...

 

Yes, the basic gist of the 12v charging operation is that it charges when the traction battery is charging, and then periodically checks the voltage level after that. The car maintains a closer watch on the 12v battery voltage when the car is plugged in, but still maintains the voltage when it's left unplugged, though allows a lower voltage threshold.

 

Wasn't there an issue with someones 12v NOT being maintained ?
i thought it only checked it once and a while but not on a continuous basis ?
lol I just know that when things start to go wonky, check the 12v

 

I'm not sure if Lin is responding to my post, or the thread in general. To clarify, when I say "periodically checks", I mean "once and a while", as opposed to continuously. There's certainly plenty of opportunity to damage the 12v battery, and the unplugged low voltage threshold was a bit low as I recall. Low enough that it's probably detrimental to the longevity of the 12v battery. Y'all are going to make me dig up that thread.

EDIT:

Easier to just look up the info than to recall from faulty memory:


When the vehicle cord is plugged in

• The Hybrid/EV Powertrain control module (HPCM2) will check the 12V battery every 6 hours if the ignition is off. If the voltage is below a temperature dependent threshold ranging from 12.1 (cold) to 12.4 (warm)V, the Hybrid/EV Powertrain control module (HPCM2) will send the voltage set point to the engine control module (ECM). The engine control module (ECM) will send this to the 14V Power Module. Battery maintenance mode will charge the battery for 2-3 hours. If the Ignition is ON, the APM will cycle on as needed to maintain the 12V SOC.

When the vehicle cord is not plugged in

• The Hybrid/EV Powertrain control module (HPCM2) will check the 12V battery every 4 days (2.5 to 3 days) and if the voltage is below a threshold of 12.0 may activate battery maintenance. If the high voltage battery state of charge is greater than 40% and the propulsion system is not active, Hybrid/EV Powertrain control module (HPCM2) will send the voltage set point to the engine control module (ECM). The engine control module (ECM) will send this to the 14V Power Module. Battery maintenance mode will charge the battery for 45-90 minutes..

This was from Dr.Diesel in this post, which is apparently derived from the user manual that everyone surely has read:

https://www.chevybolt.org/threads/12v-battery-charging.10290/#post-119778

 

This was from Dr.Diesel in this post, which is apparently derived from the user manual that everyone surely has read:

https://www.chevybolt.org/threads/12v-battery-charging.10290/#post-119778

I believe it is an excerpt from the tech (repair) manual, not the user manual.

In any case, (IMO) the voltages to maintain the 12V battery are waaaay too low. Only charging the accessory battery when it hits 12.0 volts? That is well under 50% of charge, and well into "the battery is slowly and silently dying" territory.

Which is why I have a smart trickle charger and use it overnight at least once a month (every Sunday night is better, but I generally don't go that far).

 

Nowadays, seem you have to buy an adapter to keep the 12v live while you replace the battery.

 

Nowadays, seem you have to buy an adapter to keep the 12v live while you replace the battery.

You had better be quick changing that battery. The OBD port, the "cigarette lighter" port, and the USB ports all shut off ten minutes after you turn off the car.

 

While not at 100% SOC, the ignition off/plugged in maintenance resting voltage (temperature dependent threshold ranging from 12.1V (cold) to 12.4V (warm)) is acceptable for an AGM battery.
Could they have raised the voltages a tad? probably.. but they want the AGM battery to last past the warranty period same as the traction battery.

 

The Prius battery lives inside the cabin under the rear deck near the wheel. It has a jumper post under the hood that is easy to connect a power source if changing out the battery.

I imagine there are other convenient places to connect power on the Bolt while the battery is removed even though it doesn't have a dedicated jumper post.

 

There is a ground jumper post near the front of the accessory battery charger/DC-DC inverter. If you have a jumper pack with alligator clips, you can attach the ground clip to that post, and attach the positive clip to the positive battery clamp. It wouldn't need to get in the way of loosening the positive battery clamp bolt. Just be careful not to touch the positive battery clamp, with hot clip attached, to any metal while you replace the battery.

 

I momentarily disconnected my 2017's Aux battery when I installed a 150A fuse and 120A Anderson connector for an emergency power source connection. I did not provide any backup power. Doing so threw a code or two, because the check engine light stayed on for a couple of ignition cycles. I had to reset some settings in the Infotainment screen, but once that was done, the vehicle behaved normally. The dealer didn't say anything about the codes when I took it in for its 7500 mile checkup (at 9000 miles).

 

Doing so threw a code or two, because the check engine light stayed on for a couple of ignition cycles.

Did you find an engine to check?