Cooling Systems in the nose of the Spark EV?

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NORTON

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Joined
May 1, 2015
Messages
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Location
KC,MO
Just out of curiosity!,

What heat exchangers/radiators are in the nose of the Spark EV?
The Bolt may be similar.

The Volt's cooling/heating system is thoroughly explained in this article: http://gm-volt.com/2010/12/09/the-chevrolet-volt-coolingheating-systems-explained/
It's a complex system. 2 and 3 way coolant valves and such...
This image is from there:


Is the Spark EV similar minus the 'engine cooling'?

The reason I ask is when at a DCFC in the summer the AC compressor is running and there is a 'freon-to-battery coolant' heat exchanger. You can see that small silver block on the right side under the hood with coolant and freon lines connected.
But in cold weather the AC compressor would not have to power up if there is a typical 'radiator' type heat exchanger for the battery coolant loop.

Do the electronic units coolant loop(inverter and battery charger) AND the battery coolant loop have radiators of their own?
Or are these systems only cooled with the AC freon system and those small block-type heat exchangers?
 
It doesnt completely answer yoir question. But I noticed three coolant reservoirs under the hood. I had to look in the owners manual to see which is which....

One for charger and inverter etc
One for battery pack.
One for cabin heat...
 
oregonsparky said:
It doesnt completely answer yoir question. But I noticed three coolant reservoirs under the hood. I had to look in the owners manual to see which is which....

One for charger and inverter etc
One for battery pack.
One for cabin heat...
Correct, the cabin heat would never need a heat exchanger in the nose.

But for when the battery pack or the charger/inverter need to get rid of some heat, does it always require the AC compressor to power up to cool those loops through a 'Freon-to-coolant' heat exchanger?
There is one of these for the battery pack loop. It's easy to see it.

But if the outside air temps are mild, or extremely cold, those systems could lose the heat through a small 'radiators' and not need the AC compressor to do the job.

Example: It was in the high 60's when I went to a DCFC. It used the AC to cool the battery. After leaving I felt cool air coming from the climate control system even though I only had fan selected.
 
NORTON said:
Just out of curiosity!,

What heat exchangers/radiators are in the nose of the Spark EV?
The Bolt may be similar.

The Volt's cooling/heating system is thoroughly explained in this article: http://gm-volt.com/2010/12/09/the-chevrolet-volt-coolingheating-systems-explained/
It's a complex system. 2 and 3 way coolant valves and such...
This image is from there:


Is the Spark EV similar minus the 'engine cooling'?

The reason I ask is when at a DCFC in the summer the AC compressor is running and there is a 'freon-to-battery coolant' heat exchanger. You can see that small silver block on the right side under the hood with coolant and freon lines connected.
But in cold weather the AC compressor would not have to power up if there is a typical 'radiator' type heat exchanger for the battery coolant loop.

Do the electronic units coolant loop(inverter and battery charger) AND the battery coolant loop have radiators of their own?
Or are these systems only cooled with the AC freon system and those small block-type heat exchangers?

In this YouTube video the lead development engineer for the Spark EV describes the various cooling loops under the hood at around the 2:10 mark:

https://youtu.be/iZAjVY2cHZw?t=2m11s
 
FifthElement said:
In this YouTube video the lead development engineer for the Spark EV describes the various cooling loops under the hood at around the 2:10 mark:

https://youtu.be/iZAjVY2cHZw?t=2m11s

Thanks, The cut-away views were awesome!

We know what the 3 coolant reservoirs are for.

So the question remains: What gets the airflow through the louvered air inlet in the nose?
It may be only the AC condenser up there.
The battery cooling and inverter/charger units may only get cooling via 'Freon-to-Coolant' heat exchangers. Which is fine.
It's just at times cooling could take place without running the AC compressor.

Just curious ....
 
You can buy the service manuals from helminc.com and find out more in one sitting there than you will in a year of internet hunting.

Bryce
 
Nashco said:
You can buy the service manuals....
Bryce
Thanks, but I'm not $300 curious!

As linked above, the Volt forum has a great technical overview of the cooling systems.
But some of those guys have ties to GM, I suspect....

This forum is the more popular step-child!
 
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