There are 2 batteries in an electric car. One of them is a 12-volt battery. To change the 12-volt battery, it is not as simple as taking the battery out of a gas-powered car. This is due to the protective measures that are taken for the larger battery pack that powers the electric car.
You need to remove the battery in a very safe way in the Chevy Bolt. Nevertheless, it can be done without having to pay exorbitant fees at the local mechanic shop:
- You have to remove the bottom tray to get access to the 12-volt battery.
- You will need to remove the 10-millimeter studs that hold the tray in place
- After you have removed the tray you will see the battery.
- Remove the nuts that are holding the battery to the storage casing.
- Remove the neutral cable first.
- You might have to wiggle it back and forth in order to loosen it.
- Once the neutral cable has been removed, the car is without current.
- Wrap the neutral cable with a rag and secure the rag with duct tape.
- Now on the right side of the battery remove the fusible link and put it aside.
- There are two tabs on the sides of the fusible link component that need to be pushed up an order to remove the unit.
- Now remove the bolt that is on the right top side of the battery. I do believe it’s a 13 mm in size.
- There will be a tiny spacer block that is made of plastic that you do not wish to lose.
- Make sure to remove the vent hose. These vent hoses are found on all car batteries.
- Now you can pull the battery out.
- Lower in a new battery.
- Now connect the ventilation hose.
- Put back in the fusible link.
- Reattach the bolt to the front portion of the battery which is on the right half the battery.
- Snap-on the compartment for the positive terminals.20.
- Add on the cover for the positive terminals.
- Attach the neutral cable.
- Close the compartment for the positive terminal
- Bolt down the battery.
- Put back in the floor tray.
What Happens When the 12 Volt Battery Dies On a Chevy Volt?
It is shocking the number of functions that will be disabled when the 12-volt battery dies on a Chevy Volt.
Here’s a short list of functions that ceased to work for a person that had a Chevy Volt 2012 with a suddenly dead 12-volt battery:
- The headlights will not turn on or the lights are within the vehicle. even the tones will be disabled.
- You will not be able to lock the doors.
- You will not be able to open the port for charging
- Even the key fobs will not function for opening the charging port
- Plus if you try to press the button that’s within the door to open the charging port, it will not work
- Just remember that if you attempt to a place replace the battery and a Model 2012, Make sure that it is a type 47, AGM (absorbed glass mat)
What is odd about having a battery die in a Chevy Volt is that there may not be any warning whatsoever. The battery may just suddenly die. This particular person stated that their battery was five to six years old and that it seemed to work perfectly the day before.
How Long Does the Average 12 Volt Battery Last on a Chevy Volt
The average lifespan of a 12-volt battery on a Chevy Volt is 5 years. I had determined this number of years by reading different forums and creating an average of the length of time that Chevy Volt clients were facing.
There are certain factors can affect the life of a Volt’s 12-volt battery. For instance, if you are increasing the mileage above the average mileage, the battery is going to die sooner than 5 years.
I read about a person that had traveled 64,000 kilometers in a year in a cold environment and that amount of use shortened the life of the battery for their Chevy Volt.
Here are some things that will start to go wrong as a 12-volt battery weakens:
- You will notice that there’s a decrease in your mileage per charge.
- Sometimes the key fob will not respond as quickly as before.
Since the Chevy Volt is Discontinued Owners Will Need to Inspect On Their Own the Health of the 12 Volt Battery
If you were at the owner of a Chevy Volt, you should set up some type of regular schedule for inspecting your 12-volt battery. Now that Chevy is not producing the Chevy Volt anymore, Chevy will not be as concerned about ensuring that their clients are having regular check-ups of the components of a Chevy Volt.
I would suggest that you inspect the battery once a year especially after it has reached 3 years in age. And in year five, you should replace the battery no matter what the situation. As I had stated above, there may not be any warning at all that the battery is about to die on your Chevy Volt.
Make sure that you follow my steps above and watch the embedded video that explains how to change the battery yourself.
Since the Chevy Volt 12v battery is well embedded into the vehicle, it would cost you an arm and a leg to have it changed by a mechanic at a Chevy shop.
It just takes some time but with patience, it can be done and if you ever have to do the same task again into the future, you’ll be practically an expert in the changing of a 12-volt battery in a Chevy Volt.
How to Jump-Start 12 Volt Battery on Chevy Volt 2012
In order to jump-start the Chevy Volt 2012, you must follow the following steps:
sidenote: I just wanted to warn you that you should be only jump-starting a Chevy bolt through the use of a vehicle that has a negative ground for jump starting another car. If not you could end up damaging the Chevy Volt along with the other car.
- Open the hood of the Chevy Volt and locate the positive and negative terminals.
- You’re going to have to open the access cover for the positive terminal.
- The negative terminal is on the driver’s side. It’s a large stud that is marked GND(-)
- When both terminals have been connected is now time to power up the Volt by pressing on the start button.
- Hopefully, the instrument panel will light up. Once the instrument panel is turned on, power will start to surge from the high-voltage battery pack that will start the car.
I suggest that you still refer to your users’ manual before you try any type of tactic on a Chevy Volt. They’re not as simple as a normal gas power car because of the added technology.
Nevertheless, you should be able to start the Chevy Volt by following the above steps.
Why are so many people concerned about replacing a 12-volt battery in a Chevy Bolt?
People are wary of changing the auxiliary battery in the Volt because of the location of the battery. They are extremely hard to access and the fact that there is another battery of high voltage, people have a fear of changing the battery on their own.
However, if you plan on keeping your Volt for a number of years, you will have to learn more about how it functions so that you can reduce the repair charges that could be coming up.
I feel that they should have placed the battery in the volt in a place that is easier for access since it is evident that it’s not going to last forever. It’s not going to be lasting as long as the high voltage battery pack that comes with a hybrid vehicle or vehicle such as a Chevy Volt.
Should You Worry About The Main Battery Pack Dying?
If you were worried about your main battery pack dying that is a fear that you should put into the back of your mind because it doesn’t happen very often. The Chevy Volt battery packs tend to last around 450,000 km. They’re not like the 12-volt battery that dies after 5 years.
Also, these battery packs can deal with 100000 charge cycles which is huge and it is an amount that most people would never reach over the life of the car.
Your engine is probably going to die long before your battery pack will die. Plus, they are running efficiently because they are computer managed, not like the 12-volt battery that basically has to think on its own.
Some people fear that if they charge their battery too often that it’s going to degrade its ability to charge to a full charge. It’s actually better to charge the pack as often as you can because if you don’t charge the battery pack in a Volt often, it is going to possibly reduce its ability to be fully charged.
