[jrfk2]

I read in an article that the Bolt doesn't warm the batteries when its turned off.

Does anyone know if they get warmed when you remote start the car using the dongle or app?

Its gonna get below 0F here and my Bolt is inside an unheated garage, plugged in. Wondering if I should remote start it for 20 mins at all to keep the batteries from getting too cold too long ...

thoughts? thanks ..

 

[TheCyberKnight]

I read in an article that the Bolt doesn't warm the batteries when its turned off.

Does anyone know if they get warmed when you remote start the car using the dongle or app?

Its gonna get below 0F here and my Bolt is inside an unheated garage, plugged in. Wondering if I should remote start it for 20 mins at all to keep the batteries from getting too cold too long ...

thoughts? thanks ..

It does.
Just check the "battery conditioning" section in the energy panel.
Also, if you have an intelligent charger at home, check the power graph when fully charged. The spikes you see are the battery heater in action. The colder, the more frequent.

 

[jrfk2]

It does.
Just check the "battery conditioning" section in the energy panel.
Also, if you have an intelligent charger at home, check the power graph when fully charged. The spikes you see are the battery heater in action. The colder, the more frequent.

Just to be clean ... "it does" .. warm the batteries when plugged in and not running?

Found this in the online manual:

"Do not allow the vehicle to remain in temperature extremes for long periods without being driven or plugged in. When temperatures are below 0 °C (32 °F) and above 32 °C (90 °F), plug in the vehicle to maximize high voltage battery life. "

thanks ...

 

[ARob]

Just to be clean ... "it does" .. warm the batteries when plugged in and not running?

Found this in the online manual:

"Do not allow the vehicle to remain in temperature extremes for long periods without being driven or plugged in. When temperatures are below 0 °C (32 °F) and above 32 °C (90 °F), plug in the vehicle to maximize high voltage battery life. "

thanks ...

While plugged in, battery conditioning will happen more often than when unplugged. When unplugged, if SOC dips below 40%, it will further reduce how often conditioning runs.

You can hear some gurgling sounds when it runs, but it isn't constant. I believe it only tries to bring temps up to 40F.

 

[a priori]

Just to be clean ... "it does" .. warm the batteries when plugged in and not running?

Found this in the online manual:

"Do not allow the vehicle to remain in temperature extremes for long periods without being driven or plugged in. When temperatures are below 0 °C (32 °F) and above 32 °C (90 °F), plug in the vehicle to maximize high voltage battery life. "

thanks ...

While plugged in, battery conditioning will happen more often than when unplugged. When unplugged, if SOC dips below 40%, it will further reduce how often conditioning runs.

You can hear some gurgling sounds when it runs, but it isn't constant. I believe it only tries to bring temps up to 40F.

Does this work even when plugged in to a 120V outlet?

 

[MN Bolt]

Does this work even when plugged in to a 120V outlet?

yes

 

[MDVS]

If don't have a smart level 2 charger. I have the one I purchased with the vehicle. During the cold weather I can see the blue led light pulsing even after the charge is complete. Out of curiosity as to what the battery temp was I purchased a BT OBD2 reader and installed torqpro. From this I can see that the battery is being kept in the high 30'sF with the outside temperature in the low teens. I have the reader set to turn off automatically after a time period if it is not being accessed. Pushing the Lock on the chevy app or key fob will cause the OBD2 reader to turn back on and I can then use Torq Pro to check values without having to start the car.

 

[MDVS]

I forgot to say that I also can confirm that when the charger is set to 120V the car will still keep the battery warm.

 

[drdiesel1]

I forgot to say that I also can confirm that when the charger is set to 120V the car will still keep the battery warm.

After it's charged ?

 

[MDVS]

After the charge I can see power draw for the electronics cooling system, pump running. It gets fairly warm during the charging process. I charge in the evening and sometimes in the morning. With the evening charge and overnight temps at the lower teens I can see the battery temp in the mid to upper 30's in the morning and during the day. Since I park outside I always leave the charger attached. Before I got the OBD2 reader I could tell by the pulsing blue led on the charger 12 hours after charging that something was drawing current. I have been driving the car since early December and we have had a number of cold spells here in Michigan. I have yet to see any power diverted for battery conditioning, per the cars eco readings so the car must be heating the battery. Just don't have conditioning for DCFC.

 

[LoneR]

Just don't have conditioning for DCFC.

You mean pre-conditioning?

 

[MDVS]

Correct. No setting for pre-conditioning before DCFC.

 

[jreddington]

Here’s a yo-yoing hack for pre conditioning the battery prior to fast charging.

Battery heating on the road

I commented on an old post here about a technique I've been using to condition the battery in my 2017 in the cold before a DC Fast charge. While different then my approach - It's done with two iD4's but it gets the point across. This is the youtube video I mentioned. Avoid Slow Charging In The...

www.chevybolt.org

 

[LoneR]

@jreddington I'm not sure that will work with the Bolt. It's worth a shot to verify.

 

[RDM431]

Being new to Bolt's I'm trying to grasp this concept. In my case and being in the midwest my Bolt is subject to minus temps. My Bolt is garaged. I only have and use the L1 charger that came with the Bolt. So, if the Bolt is sitting in the garage, and not plugged in, and the temp falls to oh say down to -5 below, that the Bolt will warm the batteries as needed and on its own? And while unplugged?

And should I leave my charged Bolt (solid green light) plugged in even though it is charged yet the temp falls below 30F ???

It's been so dang cold here I haven't had the chance to sit in the car, in the garage, in the cold and play with the settings. However, I did set the charge to top off at 85%, which it did. Then I unplugged it.

 

[LoneR]

Yes, yes, and yes.

 

[GJETSON]

However, I did set the charge to top off at 85%, which it did. Then I unplugged it.

Leave it plugged in. The Bolt will check the 12 volt battery and traction battery condition, and do what is needed if unplugged, but only a fraction as often as when plugged in.

 

[MDVS]

When ever possible, keep your Bolt plugged in especially in cold or very Hot weather. The battery willl not be harmed but protected. This is not totally the same as a Li battery in a portable device. The car is keeping the battery in the optimium temperature range to protect the battery when possible using liquid cooling or heating depending on the ambient temp. Pluging in makes this possible. Follow what the manual says.
My son has a 2013 Volt. He has over 100K miles and mainly uses the car for local commuting depending mainly on the battery. He is able to get over 40 miles on a charge before the generator kicks in during the summer. In the winter he keeps it plugged in and with warmup his mileage decreases because of the heater. With my level 2 charger he is able to charge at 12 amps. This is fast enough for him to fully charge when he travels 20 miles to my house and stays for 3 or more hours.

 

[LoneR]

This is not totally the same as a Li battery in a portable device.

, as they have virtually no BMS.

 

[NortonCommando]

1...And should I leave my charged Bolt (solid green light) plugged in even though it is charged yet the temp falls below 30F ???

2.It's been so dang cold here I haven't had the chance to sit in the car, in the garage, in the cold and play with the settings. However, I did set the charge to top off at 85%, which it did. Then I unplugged it.

1. Have you read the Owner's Manual on this subject?

2. You could do a Cabin Precondition from the app or the key fob and wait ~20 minutes, then go out and play with the car settings.
And then leave it plugged in, just like the Manual recommends.
Hopefully you know about setting your home location and allowing it to charge at 12A while on your L1.

I recently started using Departure Time so the battery is as warm as it's going to get just before it's daily use in the AM.