Despite the Chevrolet Volt's decreasing sales, it's still the best-selling plug-in hybrid to date. Check out what makes it tick in this fascinating video.
Despite the Chevrolet Volt's decreasing sales in 2017, it's still the best-selling plug-in hybrid to date, and its long-range battery and award-winning motor/engine combination is the primary reason why.
The Volt is a series hybrid, and GM calls it an extended-range electric vehicle. It features an 18.4 kWh 355.3 Volt lithium-ion battery pack. The Volt boasts a whopping 53 miles of all-electric range and 420 total miles of range. It starts at $34,095 and qualifies for the entire $7,500 U.S. federal EV tax credit.
The Volt has seen many years of success for the segment since its inception in 2011. Sadly, its reign may come to an end soon due to long-awaited stiff competition from a multitude of new plug-in hybrid vehicles. Regardless, it seems that as GM moves forward with its new electric vehicle push, the Volt's days will be numbered.
We won't try to convince you that watching a two-hour video about a battery is exciting. However, it's surely fascinating and especially interesting to those who take interest in such things.
It's also compelling that this is actually taught as part of a class in a four-year bachelor's degree program at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.
If you're only interested in specific aspects of the video, use the timeline below to navigate through. "MUST SEE" sections of the video are designated as such.
Video Description via WeberAuto on YouTube:
2018 Chevrolet Volt 355.2V Li-Ion Battery - Deep Dive
Grab your popcorn and get ready for all the boring technical details you have been craving!
Video Timeline: *(See note below) Video series introduction at 0:08 Under-vehicle view with battery installed at 3:25 Battery removal at 5:42 Under-vehicle view with battery removed at 7:05
Exposed battery "roll-around" at 11:15 Battery tray at 12:06 Battery tray inspection plug at 12:30 High Voltage safety warning at 14:26 Battery sections at 15:32 Battery modules and power ratings at 16:00 Battery cell groups at 16:38 Battery configuration summary at 19:40 Cell group identification/numbering at 20:50 MUST SEE - Cell group demonstration at 22:50
MUST SEE - Parallel cell group individual Li-Lon cell at 23:30 **(See note below) Cell group Ah rating verses cell group Wh rating error I made at 24:35 MUST SEE - Cell group cooling and cooling plate at 25:45 Battery section 3 installation with lifting adapter (first attempt) at 29:35 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) usage at 30:50 Battery section 3 installation with lifting adapter at 31:10 Battery cell group electrical configuration at 40:20 MUST SEE - Parallel cell groups and bus bars at 42:50 Overall battery negative terminal at 44:30 Cell group voltage sensing lines at 45:10 Battery cell group voltages at 46:25 0.3V Cell ground voltage differential and cell balancing at 49:15
Battery cell voltage testing tool at 50:00 Battery section 2 installation at 57:00 Battery section 1 installation 58:10 Coolant hose connections at 59:15 Battery cable harnesses at 1:05:17 Battery section temperature sensors at 1:06:55 Installation of battery negative cable at 1:08:55 Installation of battery positive cable and series cables at 1:12:25 Battery service disconnect plug discussion and safety demonstration at 1:15:53 Installation of voltage sensing and temperature sensor harness at 1:18:45 Battery Energy control Module (BECM) installation at 1:22:22 Battery relay assembly components at 1:25:00 Battery relay assembly electrical connections at 1:25:27 Battery coolant heater at 1:31:40 Coolant manifold fittings at 1:34:35 HV current sensor (fine and coarse resolutions) at 1:41:15 Positive contactor at 1:42:50 Negative contactor at 1:43:30 Coolant heater transistor module at 1:43:40 Plug-in Charger contactor at 1:44:10 Coolant heater 450V 10A fuse at 1:44:50 Pre-charge resistor at 1:45:20 Pre-charge contactor at 1:45:35 Battery relay assembly low voltage ground circuits at 1:46:50
Coolant hoses at 1:47:35 High Voltage fuses and cover with interlock at 1:50:18 Battery service disconnect plug components at 1:51:54 Service plug high voltage interlock circuit at 1:52:15
420V 350 amp fuse at 1:52:55 Service disconnect plug positions for removal at 1:54:34 Installation of battery relay assembly on the battery tray at 1:56:54 Overall review and battery "roll-around" at 2:01:40
*Series Hybrid Clarification: The 1st generation Volt is a series hybrid in 3 out of 4 modes of operation of the 4ET50 transaxle. The fourth mode (Electric Only Combined Engine On) is a series-parallel mode. The 2nd generation Volt's 5ET50 transaxle has 5 modes of operation. Two modes are electric only, one mode is a series-hybrid mode, and the Two remaining modes (series-parallel) allow the ICE to contribute torque to the wheels through the planet carrier of the input gear set. This transaxle is used in a Malibu Hybrid with only 4 modes (they removed the series mode).
**1st generation Volt battery. If an individual cell is rated at 55.5Wh (using units of measure) Power (Wh) = EMF (V) x Current (A), then the current rating would be Wh/V = Ah. So 55.5Wh/3.7V = 15 Ah rather than the 55.5 Ah I mistakenly said/displayed in the video.
2018 Chevrolet Volt 355.2V Li-Ion Battery - Deep Dive
Weber State University (WSU) - Department of Automotive Technology - Ardell Brown Technology Wing - Transmission Lab.
This is the first is a series of videos on the 2 generations of the Chevrolet Volt. This episode covers the removal and detailed reassembly of the 355.2 volt battery and battery relay assembly from a 2018 Chevrolet Volt. The 2016-2018 Chevrolet Volt batteries are the same. The 2011-2015 Chevrolet Volt battery is similar, but has some minor differences. The components and operation will be similar to any other plug-in hybrid or electric vehicle (minus the engine)
This video helps cover content related to the 2017 National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF) Master Automobile Service Technology (MAST) Standard task 1.A.9 "Identify service precautions related to service of the internal combustion engine of a hybrid vehicle."
W.S.U is a leader in Hybrid and Electric Vehicle education. This topic is taught as part of our 4-year bachelor's degree program. For information joining the Weber Automotive program, visit: http://www.weber.edu/automotive
