Main cluster display total failure. Dealer want's 2K! Help needed?
- Thread starter sparky
- Start date
Help Support Chevy Spark EV Forum:
We declined to have the dealer do it and when we picked up the car the cluster was working! LOL.
The dealer was going to charge $2000 and they had already fixed it! They said the part was back ordered to make it seem more legit.
Keyes Chevrolet in Van Nuys. Stay Away!
The dealer was going to charge $2000 and they had already fixed it! They said the part was back ordered to make it seem more legit.
Keyes Chevrolet in Van Nuys. Stay Away!
SparkE
Well-known member
First thing to do when something wonky happens with "electronics" is to lift the hood and check accessory battery voltage. If fully charged it should be around 12.6V, but down to 12.2V shouldn't cause any problems (if that was its lowest voltage).
1) If under 12.5-12.6V, plug in a SMART trickle charger overnight - one that is OK for Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) lead acid batteries.
2) Has the problem gone away after overnight, full 12V battery charge ?
2A) YES: keep an eye on voltage, and use trickle charger every few weeks, overnight.
2B) NO : disconnect the 12V battery for 10-15 minutes, then reconnect. (This 'reboots' the car.)
If that hasn't fixed the problem, THEN you take it to an *** EV CERTIFIED *** shop.
Some might argue to try (2B) first, as it only takes 10-15 mins. That can make sense. However, if the 12V battery is low, I find it worthwhile to see if charging the battery fixes the problem. Heck, you're asleep while it is charging - you can disconnect the battery the next morning for 15 minutes if needed.
I do stress the importance of regularly (at least once a month) slow charging your 12V battery overnight with an AGM-aware 'smart' trickle charger. My 12V battery is over 7 years old, no problems. (Oops, hope I didn't jinx it!!!.) My trickle charger only puts out .8A max, it really is only to top off the battery.
*** Glad to see your problem is fixed. I would trickle charge the 12V overnight anyways.
1) If under 12.5-12.6V, plug in a SMART trickle charger overnight - one that is OK for Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) lead acid batteries.
2) Has the problem gone away after overnight, full 12V battery charge ?
2A) YES: keep an eye on voltage, and use trickle charger every few weeks, overnight.
2B) NO : disconnect the 12V battery for 10-15 minutes, then reconnect. (This 'reboots' the car.)
If that hasn't fixed the problem, THEN you take it to an *** EV CERTIFIED *** shop.
Some might argue to try (2B) first, as it only takes 10-15 mins. That can make sense. However, if the 12V battery is low, I find it worthwhile to see if charging the battery fixes the problem. Heck, you're asleep while it is charging - you can disconnect the battery the next morning for 15 minutes if needed.
I do stress the importance of regularly (at least once a month) slow charging your 12V battery overnight with an AGM-aware 'smart' trickle charger. My 12V battery is over 7 years old, no problems. (Oops, hope I didn't jinx it!!!.) My trickle charger only puts out .8A max, it really is only to top off the battery.
*** Glad to see your problem is fixed. I would trickle charge the 12V overnight anyways.
SparkE
Well-known member
Here's a post I made years ago (and it took me quite a while to find it) :
https://www.mychevysparkev.com/threads/bad-12v-battery-equals-disabled-car.4616/page-2#post-19461
Text is :
It is important to make sure that the 12V (accessory) battery in your BEV is fully charged regularly so that it won't go bad. (Older Nissan Leafs were notorious for destroying 12V batteries in a short time, 6-18 months, due to their horrid 'keep battery charged' logic, which was crap.)
If one would like the 12V battery in an EV to last 8-12 years (instead of 1-4 years), I highly recommend a smart 'battery maintainer' to make sure that your battery is FULLY charged at least a couple of times a month. A 'fully charged' (saturated)12V lead-acid battery *should* read around 12.65-12.7V (with NO load). A lead-acid 12V battery that is 'low' (under 80%) and frequently under load (even a small load) will start to sulfate (crap sticks to the plates). One can prolong the life of the battery by doing a full charge every now and then, as a FULL (saturation) charge will get (almost) all of the crap that was stuck to the plates to dissolve back into the cells.
Driving an EV only a 'short distance' daily may do the battery in after just a short time (a year or two or three). Generally, driving an EV enough to require 3+ hours of charging every other night might keep a 12V battery pretty close to full and thus in decent shape (since the 12V is charged/topped-up while the main Li battery is charging). I measured the voltage across the battery terminals in my Spark EV at different usage scenarios (car on 'ready to drive', during L2 charge, during DCFC charge) but I seem to have lost the paper I scribbled the info on. I seem to recall that 13.6V was the voltage provided to the acc battery from the main drive (L-Ion) battery when the car is being driven, but I can't swear to it.
I bought a CTEK battery maintainer, which I use 2-4 times a month to make sure the 12V battery in my Spark is absolutely, fully charged. It is a super-slow, auto-sensing, trickle charger (0.8A) with all the built-in bells and whistles. I used a voltmeter to check on charging behavior, and it is safe for AGM (absorbed glass mat) as I never saw the voltage go over 14.4V in ANY of the 6 charge modes. (The Battery Tender brand unit I tried *did* go over 14.6V, which is fine for old-style flooded lead-acid batteries, but not advised for AGM.) I use a standard 15A "smart" charger if a battery is darn low and really needs a significant charge; the CTEK is simply used to gently and safely top-off (fully saturate charge) the battery. Since the CTEK has a "maintain" mode (and is pretty much fully sealed, although not safe to dunk) and fully automatic, I can just plug it in and let it trickle charge (as needed) overnight and unplug it the next morning when it shows that is has fully charged the battery and has switched to 'float' (maintain) mode. There are several good ones on the market - I got the CTEK because it is AGM-safe (and has not only "desulfation" "bulk", and "absorption" basic charge modes, but also "float", and "pulse/check" modes, so I could leave it plugged in for weeks)
https://www.mychevysparkev.com/threads/bad-12v-battery-equals-disabled-car.4616/page-2#post-19461
Text is :
It is important to make sure that the 12V (accessory) battery in your BEV is fully charged regularly so that it won't go bad. (Older Nissan Leafs were notorious for destroying 12V batteries in a short time, 6-18 months, due to their horrid 'keep battery charged' logic, which was crap.)
If one would like the 12V battery in an EV to last 8-12 years (instead of 1-4 years), I highly recommend a smart 'battery maintainer' to make sure that your battery is FULLY charged at least a couple of times a month. A 'fully charged' (saturated)12V lead-acid battery *should* read around 12.65-12.7V (with NO load). A lead-acid 12V battery that is 'low' (under 80%) and frequently under load (even a small load) will start to sulfate (crap sticks to the plates). One can prolong the life of the battery by doing a full charge every now and then, as a FULL (saturation) charge will get (almost) all of the crap that was stuck to the plates to dissolve back into the cells.
Driving an EV only a 'short distance' daily may do the battery in after just a short time (a year or two or three). Generally, driving an EV enough to require 3+ hours of charging every other night might keep a 12V battery pretty close to full and thus in decent shape (since the 12V is charged/topped-up while the main Li battery is charging). I measured the voltage across the battery terminals in my Spark EV at different usage scenarios (car on 'ready to drive', during L2 charge, during DCFC charge) but I seem to have lost the paper I scribbled the info on. I seem to recall that 13.6V was the voltage provided to the acc battery from the main drive (L-Ion) battery when the car is being driven, but I can't swear to it.
I bought a CTEK battery maintainer, which I use 2-4 times a month to make sure the 12V battery in my Spark is absolutely, fully charged. It is a super-slow, auto-sensing, trickle charger (0.8A) with all the built-in bells and whistles. I used a voltmeter to check on charging behavior, and it is safe for AGM (absorbed glass mat) as I never saw the voltage go over 14.4V in ANY of the 6 charge modes. (The Battery Tender brand unit I tried *did* go over 14.6V, which is fine for old-style flooded lead-acid batteries, but not advised for AGM.) I use a standard 15A "smart" charger if a battery is darn low and really needs a significant charge; the CTEK is simply used to gently and safely top-off (fully saturate charge) the battery. Since the CTEK has a "maintain" mode (and is pretty much fully sealed, although not safe to dunk) and fully automatic, I can just plug it in and let it trickle charge (as needed) overnight and unplug it the next morning when it shows that is has fully charged the battery and has switched to 'float' (maintain) mode. There are several good ones on the market - I got the CTEK because it is AGM-safe (and has not only "desulfation" "bulk", and "absorption" basic charge modes, but also "float", and "pulse/check" modes, so I could leave it plugged in for weeks)
SparkE
Well-known member
I typed the following before I (finally!) found my old post, so there is some overlap :
I have had this CTEK 0.8A trickle charger for years and love it :
https://www.amazon.com/CTEK-56-865-Automatic-Battery-Charger/dp/B006CQ9BMO
If I didn’t already have a AGM-safe trickle charger and a 15A smarter charger for the bigger jobs, I might today buy this CTEK 4.3A unit:
https://www.amazon.com/CTEK-56-865-Automatic-Battery-Charger/dp/B006CQ9BMO
The 4.3A unit is slightly more expensive, but it also has a “recondition” mode for long abandoned batteries. It also charges 5x faster than mine, so better for trucks and tractors (I have neither). I have no idea how well it works.
The “CTEK center” on amazon :
https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/...&visitId=4b943d2f-b7ab-42e6-8297-f0155e47105e
Other posters on this site have highly recommended :
--> BatteryMINDer model 2012-AGM : 12V 2 AMP Charger-Maintainer-Desulfator
This model has continuous desulfation, while the CTEK I have only does a desulfation check/fix at ‘start up’ (the very beginning of the charging). The BatteryMINDer does high frequency pulse desulfation (does NOT use the ‘old school’ high voltage burst for wet {flooded} acid batteries). It also costs $100+ , but it charges at up to 2A - a tad bit more than twice as fast as mine.
On amazon, $105 :
https://www.amazon.com/BatteryMINDer-Model-2012-AGM-Maintainer-Motorcycles/dp/B005EKY20K/ref=sr_1_5
Manufacturers site, $117 :
https://www.batteryminders.com/2012agm-12v-charger-maintainer-sealed-agm-lead-acid-batteries
User “DrMorgan” leaves his BatteryMINDer plugged in for a day or two every now and then to desulfate whatever battery his is “maintaining”.
LAST thing (I promise) : these are ‘trickle’ chargers for batteries that aren’t completely drained. (Well, in general). You could plug them into a mostly-drained 12V battery overnight, then unplug and re-plug the next morning. And then unplug and re-plug again that night if not fully charged. My point is it will take a LONG time to charge an almost empty battery - but it will work (over a 12-to-36 hour period).
If you ever have to replace the Spark's AGM 12V battery, rumor has it that the battery is the same/similar to the one used in the Bolt.
Hope this helps,
Spark-E
I have had this CTEK 0.8A trickle charger for years and love it :
https://www.amazon.com/CTEK-56-865-Automatic-Battery-Charger/dp/B006CQ9BMO
If I didn’t already have a AGM-safe trickle charger and a 15A smarter charger for the bigger jobs, I might today buy this CTEK 4.3A unit:
https://www.amazon.com/CTEK-56-865-Automatic-Battery-Charger/dp/B006CQ9BMO
The 4.3A unit is slightly more expensive, but it also has a “recondition” mode for long abandoned batteries. It also charges 5x faster than mine, so better for trucks and tractors (I have neither). I have no idea how well it works.
The “CTEK center” on amazon :
https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/...&visitId=4b943d2f-b7ab-42e6-8297-f0155e47105e
Other posters on this site have highly recommended :
--> BatteryMINDer model 2012-AGM : 12V 2 AMP Charger-Maintainer-Desulfator
This model has continuous desulfation, while the CTEK I have only does a desulfation check/fix at ‘start up’ (the very beginning of the charging). The BatteryMINDer does high frequency pulse desulfation (does NOT use the ‘old school’ high voltage burst for wet {flooded} acid batteries). It also costs $100+ , but it charges at up to 2A - a tad bit more than twice as fast as mine.
On amazon, $105 :
https://www.amazon.com/BatteryMINDer-Model-2012-AGM-Maintainer-Motorcycles/dp/B005EKY20K/ref=sr_1_5
Manufacturers site, $117 :
https://www.batteryminders.com/2012agm-12v-charger-maintainer-sealed-agm-lead-acid-batteries
User “DrMorgan” leaves his BatteryMINDer plugged in for a day or two every now and then to desulfate whatever battery his is “maintaining”.
LAST thing (I promise) : these are ‘trickle’ chargers for batteries that aren’t completely drained. (Well, in general). You could plug them into a mostly-drained 12V battery overnight, then unplug and re-plug the next morning. And then unplug and re-plug again that night if not fully charged. My point is it will take a LONG time to charge an almost empty battery - but it will work (over a 12-to-36 hour period).
If you ever have to replace the Spark's AGM 12V battery, rumor has it that the battery is the same/similar to the one used in the Bolt.
Hope this helps,
Spark-E
Geraldine Montoya
New member
Are you saying if my Chevy Spark EV ran completely out of a charge to the point of completely dead, if I don't get it charged soon it will be completely useless? How long do I have? My portable charger isn't working so that's how it ended up this way. I've been checking around to get the portable charger that came with the car working. I believe it could be due to worn cable wires.
