Charging Problems with Chevy Bolt [Fixed!] | Chevy Bolt Unable To Charge Message? [Here’s What to do]
Is your Chevy Bolt unable to charge at home with level 1 or level 2 charger or unable to fast charge at DC charger?
Whether your Chevy Bolt not charging fully, stops charging in-between, or be it some error charging lights indicating & you don’t know what the problem is and what to do.
Be it any charging issue with your Bolt, we are going to see in-depth about each and I will show you how to spot the issue and solve it.
Note: whether you have Chevy Bolt EV or EUV you can follow this guide.
In This Article:
Why Is My Chevy Bolt Not Charging? – Spotting the Issue
Chevy Bolt charging problems are mainly rooted in three different areas.
These are,
- How you charge i.e. your charging practice,
- Charging equipment i.e. EV charger you are using, and
- The vehicle i.e. Chevy Bolt.
Either any one or more can cause charging issues. So let’s look into troubleshooting each of it in detail and see what you can do.
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Troubleshooting Charging Problems with Chevy Bolt
1. Problems with the Charging Practice
Here you just ensure a few things, which can be causing the charging issues.
You might have already tried some of these things as these are obvious things one tries first.
But still some small things may happen out of your mind, so it’s important to check.
Check one by one and see if any of it causing the issue.
Ensure Charging Plug is Properly Inserted (And remains in proper position)
You can just remove the plug and reinsert properly. It should be fully inserted in the charge port.
Sometimes after you insert, it can loosen the connection due to weight of charging cable & plug. However, this mostly happens at public charger due to heavy cables.
So make sure the plug is not dabbling down and losing the connection with port.
You can support it with your hand uplifting for some time to establish a proper connection and then leave it.
Source: Youtube.com
One thing can help you is, park as near as possible to charging point, so the strain of charging cable weight on the plug and port connection can be reduced and so it becomes easier to establish the proper connection.
Then try to charge and see.
Ensure Charging Plug and Port Is Clean
If you see dust, debris, moisture or snow inside charging plug or charge port, then you should clean it.
Such foreign particles can obstruct in establishing a proper connection.
If you see so, then just clean it with some smooth cloth or tooth stick or earbud if available. But don’t overdo it, as it may damage the part.
Or you can gently blow the air with blower or just with your mouth to clean up the particles inside.
Then try to charge and see.
Check Delayed (Scheduled) Charging Settings
Enabled charging schedule won’t allow to charge the vehicle out of the scheduled time. There are various settings for it so check it as explained below.
Vehicle Side Schedule Settings
Check if any delayed or scheduled charging is enabled in your Chevy Bolt charging settings in vehicle ‘s dashboard.
Plus, not just vehicle side settings, check in your myCheverolate app or any third-party apps you are using.
If yes, then either disable it or modify it.
OR without modifying settings still, if you want to charge immediately then you can temporarily override it by unplugging the charger and plugging it in back after a couple of seconds. You will hear a single chirp and charging will begin immediately.
(Tip: If you want to cancel temporary overriding, unplug the charger wait for 10 seconds and plug it back. You will hear double chirp and charging will be delayed as per settings)
Delayed charging will then remain active as per the time you have set up.
EV Charger Side Schedule Settings
Also, not to forget in case of home charging, check if charger side schedule charging is enabled.
Because your Chevy then will be allowing the charging, but charger is not supplying the power so it won’t charge.
If so in any case, check if you can override it or you can disable it depending on how you are using it.
You can do it from the charger app or respective settings depending on which charger brand you are using.
Check Target Charge Level Settings
If the target charge limit is set for your Chevy Bolt then it won’t charge beyond the limit.
An important thing to check:
Remember target charge level is different for charging at home and charging when away from home.
So your last set charge limit is carried and saved for all subsequent charging for home or away location respectively.
So check if charge limit is not allowing to charge your Chevy Bolt.
If it is, then either disable it or increase it. Then it will allow the charging.
These were the checks you need to do in your Bolt. If it solves the issue, but if not then keep following the next part.
Now let’s me show what to do if EV charger itself is at fault?
2. Problems with the EV Charger and Charging Equipment
At the very first just check a simple thing, it will solve all the matter in one shot.
Try charging your Chevy Bolt at another charger nearby.
In case of home charger, find a nearby charger in either neighborhood or a public charger.
In case if you are already at public charger (Level 1, 2 or DC) then try to charge at nearby stall and see. However, if that doesn’t work then charge at different charging station or charging network and see. As it is possible that there are some issues with public charger or it’s compatibility with your vehicle.
(Note: However, sometimes it happens that public charging station you usually use suddenly doesn’t charge your Chevy. And after some time it starts to work again, with some unknown issues underlying. So it’s better to check at different EV charging station of same network and if needed try at different network altogether.)
Also, check whether other EVs are able to charge at that public EV charger or see if it was working just before you faced the issue.
You can also call the support on the number given on public charger stall to know whether the charger is working.
In case of home charger, check charging with another EV if you have one or with the neighbor’s if possible.
Accordingly, you will come to a point where either the issue is with EV charger or with your Chevy Bolt.
If the public charger is at fault, then you need to look into it accordingly. But at least your Chevy Bolt is fine.
If it is home charger then you can further look into any error or light indicators as per respective troubleshooting steps depending on make and model. And if any hardware issues like cable and plug or internal parts then reach out to the charger manufacturer’s tech support team.
But if you see EV charger is working by checking other EVs at the same charger, then it comes to your Chevy Bolt EV or EUV now.
Now I will show you what to check in your Chevy Bolt to identify the issue and rectify it.
3. Problems with the Chevy Bolt
Now let’s look at things one by one in your Chevy Bolt and see where the problem is.
Chevy Bolt Charging Status Indicator (CSI):
First I will show you certain issues which are indicated by charging status lights and sound alerts.
If you see those in your Chevy Bolt then you will know what to do about it.
Below is the table showing all Chevy Bolt Charging Light alerts, what it means and what you can do about it.
| Chevy Bolt Charging Status Indicator (CSI) | Sound | What it means? | What to do? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short Flashing Green (flash rate increases from one to four as the battery charges) | One audible chirp | Chevy Bolt is charging. One Flash: 0–25% Charge ‐ Two Flashes: 26–50% Charge ‐ Three Flashes: 51–75% Charge ‐ Four Flashes: 76–100% Charge | Nothing to do |
| Long Flashing Green | Two audible chirps | Charging is delayed by Scheduled charging. | Check if delayed charging is set in vehicle charging settings or in the app. Override1 it or disable it or modify it. |
| Long Flashing Green With Charging Interrupted or Overridden message | Two audible chirps | Charging is interrupted by utility provider or Power Outage. Chevy Bolt responds to such interruption requests from utility provider to limit or block the grid usage. However, this does not apply to DC charging. | Leave the vehicle plugged in, so once interruption expires it automatically can start charging. You can’t override the interruption2. |
| Short Flashing Green (one to four flashes depending on charge level) | Two audible chirps | A prenotice indicating delayed charging will interrupt the ongoing charging session at least once before charging completes. This will lengthen the charging time due to delayed charging interruption. | Disable delayed charging or modify it or leave it as it is if no issue with longer charging time. |
| Solid Green | None | Charging is complete. | Nothing to do |
| Yellow (upon plug-in) | None | Everything is OK, and vehicle is preparing to start charging. | Nothing to do. |
| Yellow (for extended time period after plug-in) With Charging Interrupted or Overridden message | None | Charging equipment is OK but indicates utility interruption | Leave the vehicle plugged in, so once interruption expires it automatically can start charging. You can’t override the interruption2. |
| Yellow (for extended time period after plug-in) – No other message | None | Bolt detected high voltage fault or some other fault in charging system. | Get your vehicle to service centre as soon as possible. |
| Short Flashing Green (from one to four flashes depending on charge level) or Long Flashing Green | Four audible chirps | Insufficient time to complete charging, Prenotice informing charging won’t be completed within scheduled time by preferred charge rate. | Either override the delayed charging or leave it as it is to charge to whatever extent, if no issues with that. |
| None (upon plug-in) | None | Charge cord connection issue | Check if charger is properly plugged in to establish a proper connection. May be charge plug is pulled down due to heavy charge cord, so park closer to charger so cord strain reduces on plug or uplift the plug for soemtime till a proper connection is established. |
| None (after Green or Yellow light observed) | None | Charge cord connection issue, or detected high voltage or charging system fault in vehicle | Make sure plug remains in proper position to establish connection as said above. |
| None (after Green or Yellow light observed) With Charging Interrupted or Overridden message | None | Power outage or utility interruption | Wait till power gets back or interruption expires or charge at other EV charging station with power. |
| None | Repeated audible chirps | Power loss during active charging session. Repeated chirps will stop if power gets back within 90 seconds. | Wait till power gets back or charge at other EV charging station with power. If you want to stop this alert, do one of the following: . Unplug the charge cord. . Press the horn pad. . Turn off the alert from charging option in the vehicle screen or RKE transmitter. |
Footnote:
1) Overriding delayed charging: You can override it once without charging settings and charge immediately by simply unplugging the charger and plugging it in back after a couple of seconds, then with a single audible chirp, charging will start immediately. Delayed charging setting will then remain active as it is & come into play next time.
2) Utility interruption: You can’t override the interruption by unplugging and plugging in back or by delayed charging settings or by any chance. You need to wait till interruption expires.
So the issues related to power or electricity supply, charging settings, Cable connection or any other fault inherent to vehicle, you will know from these CSI alerts.
Apart from any vehicle fault, the issues can be resolved by yourself with provided steps in the table.
In case if issue with the vehicle, you need to schedule a visit to nearest Chevy Bolt dealer or service center. You can do it from your owner account or from myCheverolate app.
The vehicle issue would probably be caused by high voltage or some damaged parts in the charging system.
Some commonly known issues are
- Faulty charge port, (so accordingly replacing it will solve the issue)
- Some onboard charger parts or software related issue
All those things will be diagnosed at service center and treated accordingly.
So these were pretty much all about charging problems in Chevy Bolt.
However, there are some other commonly faced scenarios by Chevy Bolt owners while charging so let’s look at those.
Other Common Chevy Bolt Charging Problems
Chevy Bolt Unable To Fast Charge
Some Chevy Bolt users faced this issue that it won’t fast charge at Level 3 charger or DC charger.
So in that case first you need to, check all charging settings including delayed charging and target charge level location-based settings.
Check if any error is indicated in charging status light indicator or any error message on the screen. So accordingly you can take the actions listed in the table above.
If operating in extreme weather conditions, try preconditioning the battery and then start charging.
In such weather conditions charging with DC charger, it may take some time to start the charging because Chevy Bolt BMS is preventing direct DC charging to protect the battery. So wait for 10-20 minutes and see if it starts charging.
Also, if having low SoC, say below 10% then again it would take some time before starting charging session, so wait and see.
If nothing of the above wrks, then check with a different DC charging network.
Else, you can try charging at Level 1 or Level 2 charger and see if Bolt charges. If charges then no issues with Bolt.
Otherwise, at last your need to take it to a service center or dealer to diagnose the issue.
Chevy Bolt Unable to Charge at Level 1 or 2 Charger But Charges at Level 3 DC Fast Charger
Now the reverse is also possible and some owners faced that DC charging works but not Level 1 or Level 2 charging.
So again check location-based charging settings including delayed charging and target charge level settings.
I explained here what issue it can cause.
And charging status light indicator or message on the screen if any, so can get further clarification.
Here’s the table showcasing CSI indicators with the required action.
If nothing worked then, this indicates an issue with onboard charger or some problem with the charging system in Chevy Bolt.
So take it to service center or dealer nearby to diagnose the issue.
Chevy Bolt Won’t Fully Charge
If this is the issue then first, see if target charge level setting is preventing to charge further.
Also, check if any message or alert showing in the screen like charging interruption or delay. It gives further clarity to the problem. Here’s the table showcasing CSI indicators with the required action.
Otherwise, it also happens that BMS fails to measure the charge level due to cell unbalancing, especially this is the case in Lithium-ion batteries. However not as much as LFP batteries which Chevy Bolt future versions will be equipped with.
Still current version of Li-ion battery in Chevy Bolt still can cause this issue.
You may see that charging is stuck at somewhere around 90% or anywhere at incomplete charge and not charging ahead, even in an active charging session. Or it stops drawing energy and indicates charging completed before reaching 100% SoC.
So, what you can do is calibrate the battery management system and do cell balancing.
BMS Calibration
You can follow below steps to do that,
- Let SoC fall below 5%
- Let the Bolt rest in deep sleep for 3-4 hours
(Ensure No other mode is activated or apps connected which forces the car to awake)
This will calibrate the Battery Management System as battery cells fall a low charge level all will contain same state of charge.
Now do cell balancing to maintain same charge level at high state of charge.
Battery Cell Balancing
You can follow below steps to do that,
- Then charge the Bolt to 100%
- Continue charging till the car draws the energy (even though indicating 100% SoC)
- Eventually, the car will stop drawing energy and the battery will stop charging
Now you will be able to charge your Chevy Bolt to full percentage, once BMS calibration and cell balancing is done.
Chevy Bolt Charging Slowly
In this issue, check if SoC is above 80%. Because the charge rate will anyway be reduced in charging above 80% as battery protection mechanism. So you will see a slow charging afterward. It can take almost same time or double time to go from 80% to 100% to that of 20% to 80%.
If not so, then check in the vehicle’s dashboard or in the app (Vehicle app and charger app) if the charging rate is decreased i.e. charging at lower amps. That can cause slow charging.
Chevy Bolt Stops Charging
In this issue, check if any power supply issue or utility interruption there.
Or check if upcoming programmable charging or delayed charging time is interrupting the active charging session.
Or it could mean some high voltage fault or some other charging system fault in Chevy Bolt, so needs to be taken to the Dealer or service center for diagnosis.
So these were some other charging issues Chevy Bolt owners face quite commonly with different scenarios.
Now let’s see, what troubleshooting you can do if you have tried all the above and still issues won’t resolve.
All-Time Troubleshooting Steps
Here are some common troubleshooting steps you can do for any unknown charging issue in Chevy Bolt.
Lock the vehicle and unlock it.
Just lock the vehicle from the keyfob or app and unlock it after a couple of seconds. This locking cycle can remove some glitches in the system and it may solve the charging problem.
Reset 12V Battery
This troubleshooting step requires some technical yet simple knowledge and appropriate tools to do it.
Here’s the Steps to Reset 12V Battery,
- Under the hood remove 12V battery –Ve terminal first and then +Ve terminal
- Wait for a minute then
- Again put back +Ve first and then –Ve terminal
This will reset the battery and its power system.
This can solve some charging system-related issues. However, do it with care and all safety prerequisites.
Here’s the video you can refer. Video is about installing 12V battery. But you can skip the replacement part and just see the part showing disconnecting and reconnecting the battery terminals with the necessary tools.
Conclusion
So these are the things to do if your Chevy Bolt is unable to charge.
I hope you have found this article valuable.
Tell me in the comments how this has worked out for you, and also let me know if I have missed any important part in solving the issue or if you are not able to figure it out by referring to the instructions.
OK then, see you in the next article!
FAQs
Why won’t my Bolt charge?
The charging issues are ranging from issues with EV charger or charging equipment, issues in Chevy Bolt itself, Schedule charging restricting it, or issues with how you charge like the charging plug not properly inserted or dust-debris inside the charge port or plug. Here are the details of the diagnosis and solution.
What is the charge status light on a Chevy Bolt?
There is light indicator in bolt shows status of charging. It shows various colors of light with different pattern to show the particular status of charging whethe it works perfectly or having any error.
How to know if a Chevy Bolt is charging?
If Bolt is charging fine then the light indicator will show a Flashing Green light with an increasing flash rate from 1 to 4 as the battery charges gradually.
Can I start my Chevy Bolt while charging?
Yes, of course you can start your Chevy Bolt while it is charging. But don’t drive man! please don’t drive… It will draw the charging cable with and will damage the charging port or the charger.
Can you overcharge a Chevy Bolt?
No, Bolt EV/EUV has a Battery Management System (BMS) that stops charging once the battery is full. So no worry of being overcharged. It’s the smart function of all EV’s BMS.
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Home schedule and away schedule is really messing. quiet a few times have to check those. I boggled why its not charging then check the schedule settings and came to know oh.. earlier settings are carried forward
Ok got it. made a fuss with target charge level..
That’s not just you Jamie…!
I just cleaned charging plug with buds and it worked..
yea. it was charging with home charger but not with public ones. Then I checked delayed settings. I earlier had set it up for off-peak hours charging at public station nearby my home and same settings were carried forward with other public chargers also.. So I just changed it and it worked.
That’s many EV owners make a fuss with. Their EV’s delayed charging settings interrupt with home charger or public chargers..
My Chevy Bolt EUV showed unable to charge message. Just followed the table. It was connection issue. Was charging with EA station. Due to heavy cable it was loosing connection from port. I just supported it with my hand for sometime and it was all good to go then. Because yellow light after plugging in and with this unable to charge message.
That happens. Very common.. May be Bolt charge port with better latch mechanism or lighter DC station’s cable would eliminate this issue.
My Bolt was not charging fully, it got stuck below 100%. I did BMS calibration and cell balancing as explained. It miraculously worked..