[HomerBolt]

Since this thread is old I'll start anew.

I had my 2019 battery replaced June 20th 2022, and earlier this month (August 2022) received the High Voltage Charging System service message. Coolant reservoir was empty. Drove it to the dealer (228 miles). [Then went on a spectacular EV road trip event (Electrifying the Last Frontier), in a different EV, to the northernmost point on the North American road system (70.5 degrees N).]

Ten days later, back at the dealer to pick up the Bolt, and the work is not done. Service Advisor says that low coolant and charging system message are unrelated, other cars have the same problem, and that they are working with GM to find a solution. Service at this dealer is extremely overbooked and understaffed. I think all of them in Alaska are.

My understanding from reading the above thread(s) is that the vacuum fill procedure cured the High Voltage Charging System message, is that true?

 

[cwerdna]

See revisions 02 to 04 of New version (revision 04) of battery replacement.... Search them for Vac-N-Fill.

Without more info (e.g. other symptoms and/or DTCs), we don't know if anything else is wrong but the low coolant problem needs to be corrected for sure.

 

[HomerBolt]

See revisions 02 to 04 of New version (revision 04) of battery replacement.... Search them for Vac-N-Fill.

Without more info (e.g. other symptoms and/or DTCs), we don't know if anything else is wrong but the low coolant problem needs to be corrected for sure.

No other symptoms or codes- except a TPMS code, which is probably unrelated (!)...It was charging and driving just fine, although I have never DCFC'd it!

 

[GregBrew]

Since this thread is old I'll start anew.

I had my 2019 battery replaced June 20th 2022, and earlier this month (August 2022) received the High Voltage Charging System service message. Coolant reservoir was empty. Drove it to the dealer (228 miles). [Then went on a spectacular EV road trip event (Electrifying the Last Frontier), in a different EV, to the northernmost point on the North American road system (70.5 degrees N).]

Ten days later, back at the dealer to pick up the Bolt, and the work is not done. Service Advisor says that low coolant and charging system message are unrelated, other cars have the same problem, and that they are working with GM to find a solution. Service at this dealer is extremely overbooked and understaffed. I think all of them in Alaska are.

My understanding from reading the above thread(s) is that the vacuum fill procedure cured the High Voltage Charging System message, is that true?

Sounds like the service tech did not follow the correct procedure when refilling the battery coolant loop. They're supposed to pull a vacuum in the system first, then fill with the requisite coolant. This is to insure that the high nooks and crannies are filled with coolant, instead of air. If it's not done, the air will eventually work its way out, to the reservoir, and trigger a DTC.

On the other hand, you might have a coolant leak, but I suspect the former, rather than the latter.

 

[HomerBolt]

Sounds like the service tech did not follow the correct procedure when refilling the battery coolant loop. They're supposed to pull a vacuum in the system first, then fill with the requisite coolant. This is to insure that the high nooks and crannies are filled with coolant, instead of air. If it's not done, the air will eventually work its way out, to the reservoir, and trigger a DTC.

On the other hand, you might have a coolant leak, but I suspect the former, rather than the latter.

That's my guess too- didn't Vac-N-Fill, that's why the reservoir was empty. But I wonder if that alone would properly fix the High Voltage Charging System service message. Have you had this experience? The message can be cleared easily enough, but if the problem is more than the low coolant level/Vac-N-Fill procedure...

 

[GregBrew]

That's my guess too- didn't Vac-N-Fill, that's why the reservoir was empty. But I wonder if that alone would properly fix the High Voltage Charging System service message. Have you had this experience? The message can be cleared easily enough, but if the problem is more than the low coolant level/Vac-N-Fill procedure...

Nope. Not personally. Only from posts that I've seen here.

Using the wrong coolant might also set a DTC. The coolant must be non-conductive.

I'm still waiting for a pack for my '21 Premier.

 

[cwerdna]

Yep. On the wrong coolant, https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2014/SB-10056835-3313.pdf was one of the bulletins on this. It will cause an isolation fault code.

The correct collect part # is in the procedures I pointed ot.

 

[HomerBolt]

Yep. On the wrong coolant, https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2014/SB-10056835-3313.pdf was one of the bulletins on this. It will cause an isolation fault code.

The correct collect part # is in the procedures I pointed ot.

Yeah, I've seen that stuff- the Volt problems- and it is certainly plausible that this is the same thing happening on my Bolt, but a few years and revisions have passed since that bulletin. I guess no-one else on this forum has dealt with this problem specifically on a Bolt?
Other possibilities include that a different problem has (co-)occurred and there is a more serious issue....e.g. the low coolant could have caused or resulted from a leak because some other procedure was not performed correctly...However, my service manager indicated that this is becoming a common problem: I'm not the only one...I was hoping that someone else was in the same situation, or ideally had been in the same situation and could report how it went. Or at least commiserate!

 

[cwerdna]

Yeah, I've seen that stuff- the Volt problems- and it is certainly plausible that this is the same thing happening on my Bolt, but a few years and revisions have passed since that bulletin. I guess no-one else on this forum has dealt with this problem specifically on a Bolt?

Putting in the wrong coolant has come up before on Bolts and so have the isolation faults, as a result.

Notice https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2021/RCSB-21V560-4293.pdf calls for one of these?
12378390 US
10953456 CA

Those are the same part numbers that https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2014/SB-10056835-3313.pdf calls for.

 

[HomerBolt]

The dealer finally got back to me today (19 Sept 2022), the car has been there for over a month. No Vac-N-Fill procedure for you ("we don't have any equipment to do that..."). They just topped off the coolant and drove it around a bit, and it seemed fine to them. No leaks, just air in the system which "burped out" by driving it. They suggested I keep an eye on it, and add more if it gets low. I'll get some coolant from them when I pick up the car later this week. Hope this helps if anyone else finds themselves in a similar situation!
Or maybe not, I really still think that a vacuum needs to be put on the system for it to fill properly. I think I may always worry a little that there's some sir trapped somewhere that will make a difference to the battery at sometime...

 

[HomerBolt]

The dealer finally got back to me today (19 Sept 2022), the car has been there for over a month. No Vac-N-Fill procedure for you ("we don't have any equipment to do that..."). They just topped off the coolant and drove it around a bit, and it seemed fine to them. No leaks, just air in the system which "burped out" by driving it. They suggested I keep an eye on it, and add more if it gets low. I'll get some coolant from them when I pick up the car later this week. Hope this helps if anyone else finds themselves in a similar situation!
Or maybe not, I really still think that a vacuum needs to be put on the system for it to fill properly. I think I may always worry a little that there's some sir trapped somewhere that will make a difference to the battery at sometime...

Geez. I remembered that Professor John D. Kelly at Weber Automotive Institute did a couple of complete Chevy Bolt battery replacement videos. At 29:20 in this video he clearly states that: "you can't just pour coolant in here and expect it to purge itself of all the air". He then goes on to demonstrate the Vac-N-Fill procedure...

I've scheduled another appointment with a different dealer who has the Vac-N-Fill equipment...

 

[HomerBolt]

Geez. I remembered that Professor John D. Kelly at Weber Automotive Institute did a couple of complete Chevy Bolt battery replacement videos. At 29:20 in this video he clearly states that: "you can't just pour coolant in here and expect it to purge itself of all the air". He then goes on to demonstrate the Vac-N-Fill procedure...

I've scheduled another appointment with a different dealer who has the Vac-N-Fill equipment...

The saga continues. Maybe this will help someone, I dunno, maybe it's just an odd case. When you go to a Chevrolet dealer you contact a service rep, not a mechanic who will do your work, like at many independent garages. The mechanics have a specific diagnostic protocol. The service reps are looking for symptoms. This is fine, they should be professionals and not rely on owners for diagnoses! However, if you go to a Chevrolet dealer and tell the service rep that you need a Vac-N-Fill, they will be very nice and nod their head and then pass some info to a mechanic.

In my case, since dealer #1 was incapable of performing a Vac-N-Fill and instead simply added more coolant, when the mechanic at dealer #2 tries to diagnose a problem, they won't find one. Knowing this, I called dealer #2 ahead of time, from my home 230 miles from the dealership. I explained the situation to dealer #2: Dealer #1 didn't have the equipment to perform a Vac-N-Fill, so simply added more coolant, the coolant ran out, dealer #1 simply added more, so nothing will appear to be wrong, but I need a Vac-N-Fill. They nodded and said they could fit me in at 7:15 Friday morning. Great!

I drove up there (in another car, with my wife), 230 miles, and moved the car from dealer #1 to dealer #2 on Thursday afternoon and further explained the situation to the service rep, who nodded but didn't seem to record anything into his tablet. Fine, hopefully the info was already there from my call. By late afternoon Friday, when we're ready to drive 230 miles back home, dealer #2 had not even looked at the car "to perform a diagnosis"! After a long discussion with an actual service technician an hour later, I got them to agree to do a Vac-N-Fill, sometime in the next week or so, and at my expense (I'll see what EV Concierge can do to help). We drove back home. Who knows when they will finish it. Luckily, we have another car so not too inconvenienced by this...

I am demanding a Vac-N-Fill because it seems important even as both service reps claimed that these systems are pretty good at purging the air by running the car a bit and topping off the coolant. I think Vac-N-Fill is important because voltage is related to temperature, and if there are any air bubbles trapped in the system there will be temperature imbalances between cells cooled by coolant and those that are not. Temperature imbalances will lead to voltage imbalances and likely lead to reduced battery life. Moreover, I know that my Bolt was the very first battery replacement that dealer #1 had ever done, therefore I doubt very strongly that they have any experience at all with battery coolant systems self-purging. If you are one of the few other Bolts in Alaska and are still waiting for a battery replacement: Do not have it done at Chevrolet of South Anchorage! "You can't just pour coolant in there and expect the system to purge itself of all the air!"

 

[HomerBolt]

The saga continues. Maybe this will help someone, I dunno, maybe it's just an odd case. When you go to a Chevrolet dealer you contact a service rep, not a mechanic who will do your work, like at many independent garages. The mechanics have a specific diagnostic protocol. The service reps are looking for symptoms. This is fine, they should be professionals and not rely on owners for diagnoses! However, if you go to a Chevrolet dealer and tell the service rep that you need a Vac-N-Fill, they will be very nice and nod their head and then pass some info to a mechanic.

In my case, since dealer #1 was incapable of performing a Vac-N-Fill and instead simply added more coolant, when the mechanic at dealer #2 tries to diagnose a problem, they won't find one. Knowing this, I called dealer #2 ahead of time, from my home 230 miles from the dealership. I explained the situation to dealer #2: Dealer #1 didn't have the equipment to perform a Vac-N-Fill, so simply added more coolant, the coolant ran out, dealer #1 simply added more, so nothing will appear to be wrong, but I need a Vac-N-Fill. They nodded and said they could fit me in at 7:15 Friday morning. Great!

I drove up there (in another car, with my wife), 230 miles, and moved the car from dealer #1 to dealer #2 on Thursday afternoon and further explained the situation to the service rep, who nodded but didn't seem to record anything into his tablet. Fine, hopefully the info was already there from my call. By late afternoon Friday, when we're ready to drive 230 miles back home, dealer #2 had not even looked at the car "to perform a diagnosis"! After a long discussion with an actual service technician an hour later, I got them to agree to do a Vac-N-Fill, sometime in the next week or so, and at my expense (I'll see what EV Concierge can do to help). We drove back home. Who knows when they will finish it. Luckily, we have another car so not too inconvenienced by this...

I am demanding a Vac-N-Fill because it seems important even as both service reps claimed that these systems are pretty good at purging the air by running the car a bit and topping off the coolant. I think Vac-N-Fill is important because voltage is related to temperature, and if there are any air bubbles trapped in the system there will be temperature imbalances between cells cooled by coolant and those that are not. Temperature imbalances will lead to voltage imbalances and likely lead to reduced battery life. Moreover, I know that my Bolt was the very first battery replacement that dealer #1 had ever done, therefore I doubt very strongly that they have any experience at all with battery coolant systems self-purging. If you are one of the few other Bolts in Alaska and are still waiting for a battery replacement: Do not have it done at Chevrolet of South Anchorage! "You can't just pour coolant in there and expect the system to purge itself of all the air!"

We got our car back. The second dealer did the Vac-N-Fill and charged me $206.95. I am working with EV Concierge to get reimbursed, but not holding my breath. Even though GM is entirely the cause of all of this expense and hassle, the procedure should be worth it in the long run of battery longevity. The hassle was incredible! Almost 8 weeks without the car, two unnecessary overnight trips, $175 plane fare... All because dealer #1 did not have the inexpensive equipment necessary to complete the battery replacement procedure properly!

My situation, perhaps odd as it is, points to an easy crack to slip through in the GM service protocols. Those protocols require the service department to receive symptoms from the customer, then diagnose the problem. Our only symptom was the history of not having the Vac-N-Fill done- the first dealer told me this: "We don't have that equipment". Although I explained the history and the needed remedy, there was no way for me to report any symptoms in the dealer's system: the coolant reservoir had been topped off by dealer #1, and the "High Voltage Charging System" service message had been cleared. The symptom notes on my receipt seemed to have little to do with the actual problem- enough that I wonder if they mixed me up with someone else! Because of this conflict of need with protocol, it required three additional phone calls to finally get dealer #2 to agree to do the Vac-N-Fill. Be careful how you report your symptoms when taking your car in for service! Ask the service rep to read you what they wrote before dropping off the car!

The second dealer also left me with only 25% state-of-charge for a 230 mile drive back home and no working DCFC within 146 miles of where I started. The interesting thing is, even with that scenario, I made it home that day. I started at around 11 am (flew up- that started at 8 am), spent 6 hrs 40 mins at a level 2 charger, drove mostly 55 mph for 146 miles in low-mid 40's degree F temperatures, driving rain, and 20-40 mph headwinds over mountain passes, to charge for another hour at a "fast" charger (~30-40 kW). Made it home by midnight with 98 miles of range to spare!

Interestingly, even with the poor driving conditions, the initial range estimate was not that far off. The estimate when I left Anchorage was 220 miles. Adding the 146 miles driving to the 60 miles range remaining upon arrival at the "fast" charger, the initial over-estimate was only 14 miles! I charged to 220 miles for a 146 mile trip because I knew that the conditions would be dicey, and that if I ran out of charge I would certainly rue not having spent the extra hour or two at the charger!

 

[HomerBolt]

We got our car back. The second dealer did the Vac-N-Fill and charged me $206.95. I am working with EV Concierge to get reimbursed, but not holding my breath. Even though GM is entirely the cause of all of this expense and hassle, the procedure should be worth it in the long run of battery longevity. The hassle was incredible! Almost 8 weeks without the car, two unnecessary overnight trips, $175 plane fare... All because dealer #1 did not have the inexpensive equipment necessary to complete the battery replacement procedure properly!

My situation, perhaps odd as it is, points to an easy crack to slip through in the GM service protocols. Those protocols require the service department to receive symptoms from the customer, then diagnose the problem. Our only symptom was the history of not having the Vac-N-Fill done- the first dealer told me this: "We don't have that equipment". Although I explained the history and the needed remedy, there was no way for me to report any symptoms in the dealer's system: the coolant reservoir had been topped off by dealer #1, and the "High Voltage Charging System" service message had been cleared. The symptom notes on my receipt seemed to have little to do with the actual problem- enough that I wonder if they mixed me up with someone else! Because of this conflict of need with protocol, it required three additional phone calls to finally get dealer #2 to agree to do the Vac-N-Fill. Be careful how you report your symptoms when taking your car in for service! Ask the service rep to read you what they wrote before dropping off the car!

The second dealer also left me with only 25% state-of-charge for a 230 mile drive back home and no working DCFC within 146 miles of where I started. The interesting thing is, even with that scenario, I made it home that day. I started at around 11 am (flew up- that started at 8 am), spent 6 hrs 40 mins at a level 2 charger, drove mostly 55 mph for 146 miles in low-mid 40's degree F temperatures, driving rain, and 20-40 mph headwinds over mountain passes, to charge for another hour at a "fast" charger (~30-40 kW). Made it home by midnight with 98 miles of range to spare!

Interestingly, even with the poor driving conditions, the initial range estimate was not that far off. The estimate when I left Anchorage was 220 miles. Adding the 146 miles driving to the 60 miles range remaining upon arrival at the "fast" charger, the initial over-estimate was only 14 miles! I charged to 220 miles for a 146 mile trip because I knew that the conditions would be dicey, and that if I ran out of charge I would certainly rue not having spent the extra hour or two at the charger!

Yeah- EV Concierge won't reimburse for the Vac-N-Fill. However, if I had not paid for it, and left the car there a few extra days, they apparently would have covered it...

 

[MDBolt]

We got our car back. The second dealer did the Vac-N-Fill and charged me $206.95. I am working with EV Concierge to get reimbursed, but not holding my breath. Even though GM is entirely the cause of all of this expense and hassle, the procedure should be worth it in the long run of battery longevity. The hassle was incredible! Almost 8 weeks without the car, two unnecessary overnight trips, $175 plane fare... All because dealer #1 did not have the inexpensive equipment necessary to complete the battery replacement procedure properly!

My situation, perhaps odd as it is, points to an easy crack to slip through in the GM service protocols. Those protocols require the service department to receive symptoms from the customer, then diagnose the problem. Our only symptom was the history of not having the Vac-N-Fill done- the first dealer told me this: "We don't have that equipment". Although I explained the history and the needed remedy, there was no way for me to report any symptoms in the dealer's system: the coolant reservoir had been topped off by dealer #1, and the "High Voltage Charging System" service message had been cleared. The symptom notes on my receipt seemed to have little to do with the actual problem- enough that I wonder if they mixed me up with someone else! Because of this conflict of need with protocol, it required three additional phone calls to finally get dealer #2 to agree to do the Vac-N-Fill. Be careful how you report your symptoms when taking your car in for service! Ask the service rep to read you what they wrote before dropping off the car!

The second dealer also left me with only 25% state-of-charge for a 230 mile drive back home and no working DCFC within 146 miles of where I started. The interesting thing is, even with that scenario, I made it home that day. I started at around 11 am (flew up- that started at 8 am), spent 6 hrs 40 mins at a level 2 charger, drove mostly 55 mph for 146 miles in low-mid 40's degree F temperatures, driving rain, and 20-40 mph headwinds over mountain passes, to charge for another hour at a "fast" charger (~30-40 kW). Made it home by midnight with 98 miles of range to spare!

Interestingly, even with the poor driving conditions, the initial range estimate was not that far off. The estimate when I left Anchorage was 220 miles. Adding the 146 miles driving to the 60 miles range remaining upon arrival at the "fast" charger, the initial over-estimate was only 14 miles! I charged to 220 miles for a 146 mile trip because I knew that the conditions would be dicey, and that if I ran out of charge I would certainly rue not having spent the extra hour or two at the charger!

How is your Bolt doing currently?

 

[HomerBolt]

Since this thread is old I'll start anew. I had my 2019 battery replaced June 20th 2022, and earlier this month (August 2022) received the High Voltage Charging System service message. Coolant reservoir was empty. Drove it to the dealer (228 miles). [Then went on a spectacular EV road trip event (Electrifying the Last Frontier), in a different EV, to the northernmost point on the North American road system (70.5 degrees N).] Ten days later, back at the dealer to pick up the Bolt, and the work is not done. Service Advisor says that low coolant and charging system message are unrelated, other cars have the same problem, and that they are working with GM to find a solution. Service at this dealer is extremely overbooked and understaffed. I think all of them in Alaska are. My understanding from reading the above thread(s) is that the vacuum fill procedure cured the High Voltage Charging System message, is that true?

Yes, actually just topping off the coolant reservoir did the trick, but I was not convinced that was sufficient.

 

[EV Trek 37604]

The vac and fill is part of the procedure when replacing the battery, you should never have had to pay for that procedure to be done.

 

[HomerBolt]

How is your Bolt doing currently?

The car is fine now, although we haven't driven it in a few weeks. It's snowy and our driveway is steep and the roads are icy, so AWD is better. Also the primary driver is temporarily out-of commission...

 

[MDBolt]

The car is fine now, although we haven't driven it in a few weeks. It's snowy and our driveway is steep and the roads are icy, so AWD is better. Also the primary driver is temporarily out-of commission...

Nice. So after the top-up, you haven't really had any issues since?

 

[HomerBolt]

Nice. So after the top-up, you haven't really had any issues since?

Right. However, I didn't really give the top-up solution all by itself a chance. I waited until I could get the proper VacNFill procedure before I drove it very much, which was just across town to another dealer. I live 230 miles from a dealer...Lucky for me it's not my only car.