What is so very nice about these videos is that they are such a contrast to everything available today. So many videos simply show off some device but no one breaks it down to the component level or explains how it works. It was the value of Heath Kit or Ramsey Kits in electronics... they told you how it worked and why. Recently I watched a video on 5G to find out about it and all the info was about how fast (but never said exactly how fast) and wonderful it would be. Not a bit of techie detail. Even Popular Mechanics is a big ol' glossy useless advert for new products. Have a gander back into the 1930's and 1950's pop mechanics to see how good they used to be. Thank you Professor Kelly for going to the level of detail you do. It is a much appreciate drink of water is this drought of information.
And what you are talking about is widespread. Sony, with it's U-Matic commercial/broadcast videotape machines, put out service manuals that went into detail on every circuit with waveforms, timing diagrams and extensive text not to mention fabulous circuit board graphics that showed both sides of every board. Those were the days (circa 1980). Now it is all board swapping and who knows what is going on.
@@WeberAuto Me too! I also am a Bolt EV owner, and a licensed master electrician. I think you are doing an OUTSTANDING job on these video's, and I love the humanity you are quick to demonstrate when you make the inevitable mistake; you simply own it and move forward. Please keep these video's coming. Personally, I'd love to learn more about the software (such as the DC Fast Charging conversation that takes place through the Powerline Carrier Interface). At least, I THINK that's what they call it!
Some of the most valuable content that I have seen on RUclips. This man and everyone that worked on this are top tier people. Thank you so much for your work!!
I'm not the first to say this but my wife and I just bought a Bolt and I find these videos really interesting. It's like inventing the car for the second time! Looking at these videos I can't believe they can make a car like this and make it affordable. Thanks for the videos, really enjoy them.
Thank you. I’ve been wondering about the three separate coolant systems on my 2023 Bolt 1LT, now I know. I could not find anything on the GM pages. I’ve watched numerous videos of yours on the Bolt, and I must say, you have more knowledge of the Bolt and its systems than any GM engineer, no question!
Hi MR John I'm Mohammad from Jordan i just want to thank you for all your video's and your simple and clearly way for explaining these systems and about your reward from RUclips I'm sure you deserve it and more
26:30 Based on my testing there are a couple of factors that define when and how the battery is cooled. It matters if the car is "on" or "off" and it matters if the car is "plugged in" to an L2 (220V) charger (and possibly also an L1 (110V ) charger). First, there are two modes, what I call "weak mode" the car will attempt to cool the battery to about 31C. The second I call "aggressive mode" the car will try to cool the battery to about 27C. The only mode I've seen "weak mode" cooling active is when the car is both turned on and _not_ plugged in. Generally "aggressive mode" cooling is only active when the car is "plugged in" and the battery is not charging (either charge complete or charge not needed) I have seen the battery go as high as 37C with the car turned off and not plugged in and the car will not cool the battery. As soon as the car is turned "on" the car starts "weak mode" battery cooling. I have never tried to charge my car with the battery hotter than 31C so it's possible that "weak mode" cooling does occur while charging if the battery is above this temperature. You can "trick" the car into performing "aggressive mode" cooling while charging by charging with the car turned on. During both "weak mode" and "aggressive mode" cooling there is a difference in behavior depending on if the passenger compartment AC system is active. If you do not have the AC setting enabled the car will cycle the AC compressor on and off several times per minute but if the passenger AC is turned on the AC compressor runs continuously. Also at least when "weak mode" cooling (probably also with "aggressive mode") the battery coolant temp is chilled to a much colder temperature (about 10C colder) if the passenger AC is turned on. I have a lot of raw data I've collected from OBD if you are interested.
Good information! I posted a question above about whether or not the battery loop evaporator operates when the temperature is low but the cabin A/C is on (for defroster or whatever). Did you test that condition? I didn't see any electrical control on the battery loop chiller block that could override operation, but it's possible there is a temperature-limit built into it. Otherwise, they would need to run the battery loop heater to compensate for A/C operation.
@@gregoryjward The Perfesser mentioned in a reply to me that the battery cooling loop pump is modulated. If coolant isn't flowing the refrigerant in the coolant heat exchanger will reach the same temperature as the cabin evaporator and cool no further. This could cause an issue only if the battery needed heating but the cabin needed cooling, a Very unlikely scenario.
Fantastic video! Thank you so much for taking the time to carefully explain each part of the cooling systems and for explaining why they don't use the a/c compressor as a heat pump, to warm the passenger cabin.
having a battery heater in very cold weather makes sense, due to battery compound/chemistry. I totally didn't catch that in previous video, either my ears missed it or I didn't think about it. nobody is perfect and nor will anyone ever be. it's a fact of life, all you can do is be as best as you can and always keep learning and help when you can with tips and tricks!
Great Video Professor. You know with all these cooling systems, especially with component location and positioning, there will be problems. Corrosion will take it's toll on the modules and I suspect owners may or may not follow that 5 yr/150,000 mile service. If I owned one, I'd change the coolant every 2 to 3 years. Experience has taught me that, regarding GM's "orange" coolant. The pumps will cause problems also. BUT, it seems the motoring public wants these vehicles!
As a person used to doing his own ICE car maintenance, this series of videos are very helpful for understanding my new (2023) Bolt (same drive train as in these videos I believe). According to the user manual the a/c desiccant is scheduled to be changed after 10 years or so (don't have the manual in front of me, pulling that number from memory). As far as having separate coolant loops and the lost opportunity to reuse reject heat across systems, I believe the Tesla "octovalve" does just that. Maybe that sort of system will become standard in the industry.
Fascinating review of the cooling system and you've finally stumbled onto "my turf." A properly designed refrigerant system with a properly functioning TXV won't return liquid to the compressor. The tube-in-tube heat exchanger's primary function in to reduce the temperature of the liquid refrigerant. Cooler high pressure liquid passing through an expansion device wastes less of its mass (called "flash gas" in the industry) cooling the refrigerant itself before it can begin absorbing heat from the cabin. While the efficiency improvement is significant the main reason automakers are doing this today (my opinion) is to reduce the R1234 refrigerant charge which is, as you state, very costly. Adding tube-in-tube heat exchangers does increase the superheat seen by the compressor so there are other design considerations to manage before just slapping one on. A quick note on POE oil- Ester based oils are used in high voltage automotive compressors because PAG (glycol based) oils dissolve the lacquer insulation on the windings inside the compressor, eventually leading to a 400V short inside the compressor. Cross-contamination with PAG can be a real issue with these systems on previous generation EVs that used R134a. And, yes, PAG and POE really do absorb that much water. Cool experiment- Get a cheap 4-place electronic scale from your local purveyor of drug paraphernalia. Pour out a sample of either oil into a small dish and record the weight. Allow it to sit for 2-3 days and weigh again to see how much it has gained. All the new weight is water absorbed from the air. As for the cabin coolant heater and not using battery or motor heat; existing cabin heater coils work best with coolant that is quite warm, 180F+. Lower temperature coolant can be used but it requires the use of very much larger heater coils. We are experimenting with PTC DC heating elements which heat the air directly. While more costly they are physically far less complicated. I imagine GM is using this system because the in dash components are likely shared with other vehicles, but that's just a guess. The motor will seldom generate enough heat to warm the cabin using a normal size heater coil and the battery never will.
HI Bill, About ten minutes ago, I wrote a post with a lot of questions about whether the batteries or the electronics & motor cooling loop produces more heat when the cabin needs it (I figure it is the electronics/motor). I think that it would be a really simply thing to add a heat exchanger that allows transfer of heat from the electronics/motor cooling loop to the cabin heating loop so that during cold weather (especially on long distance drives), one isn't wasting precious battery kWh to turn into cabin heat (as a physicist, I cringe when I see high grade energy turned into heat when a relatively easy alternative is available). Do you have any comment on this idea? Thanks, Dave PS. if you can't find the post, I will copy and paste it to you
I thank you for being very methodical in your explanation of the (3) cooling systems for the Bolt EV. They are all doing the same thing ( cooling or heating) in their respective areas. One could look at those systems and see where one could effect the other. The finding of that one and the replacement of it, could be quite expensive.
20:37 I always thought that would be a good idea, glad to see I wasn't over-thinking an optimal solution! Thank you for all of this content, very neat!
Thank you for this excellent informative video on the Chevy Bolt EV, I am new to the Chevy 2023 EV Bolt and an Old School car mechanic. I am really interested in learning about the Chevy Bolt EV.
Thank you for another excellent presentation, especially without the annoying music with which most video makers insist upon assaulting your ears! Your videos are of the highest professional level, incorporating carefully articulated well chosen words, spoken at a pace that permits easy listening, & helps ensure correct interpretation of what was said. I had no idea that the support technology was so complicated, but am impressed by the quality of the Bolt's documentation & superb details such as alignment marks on hoses, & other essential data apparently stamped into the castings. Professor, I have remarked to several colleagues that the viewers remarks are nearly universally positive, with criticisms being essentially all positive, & the comments written in a style that suggests well educated correspondents, who understand the niceties of correct grammar, syntax, & spelling, 7& who eschew vulgarity or obscenities in their commentary. Many messages on other channels make me feel like a referee at a Sanskrit spelling bee ! Thank you again & I look forward to viewing any & all videos you choose to make.
We just bought a 22 bolt euv. These videos are simply fantastic, I have been binge watching them anytime I have a minute. I can't stand owning and operating a machine without at least a fundamental understanding of how it works, so my appreciation of your work here cannot be overstated. Gear heads everywhere are forever indebted to you and folks like you who take the time to learn and share your knowledge. Much obliged. I may have missed it in the video, but I'm curious how much current the ac compressor uses? I know the heater uses 2kw, I imagine the ac would be in a similar range?
It's very easy to derive the amperage of the compressor, we know the high voltage battery uses 350V, you just divide Watts by Volt then you got the current. For the compressor, it would be likely around 6.5 kw at max. Which is draw in between 5A to 18A of power depend on the load.
Thanks again for such great information. Watching your explanation of the Voltec system on your Chevy Volt is one of the reasons I purchased a 2016 Volt Premier back in November. You make the complexity of these systems less "scary" for the lay person. I've always done my own oil changes, tune ups, etc. on my vehicles. I hope to go full electric in four years, around the time I retire, and no longer have the need to commute. Hopefully our choices in BEV's will be much larger. Who knows, maybe a few more Chevy's!
These videos are incredibly helpful. I've been converting a car to electric and being able to see what manufacturers do has had a huge impact on my designs for my conversion. Thank you sir!
Thank you, John. I really enjoy your lessons. These are excellent quality videos and I so enjoy your enthusiasm! You have several avid RUclips students out here and I am one.
Thank you Prof. Kelly, this vehicle has some very intelligent engineering. My impression is each aspect is fairly simple in operation. In concert they make a very functional unit. I finally got Android Auto & My Chevy link working together. I am looking forward to some road trips this year. A big one will be SLC to Flagstaff to see my nephew. Got to learn about DC fast chrg'ng.
So the desiccant in the AC condenser must be the desiccant they say you need to have serviced every 7 years I think it was? POE is short for polyolester oil, a synthetic refrigerant oil that replaced the old mineral oils used in chlorine base refrigerants when R12 was widely used in automotive air conditioning systems. These videos are great for us Bolt owners.
On behalf of all 40,000 + Bolt EV owners, than you. Would love to see instruction video on minor maintenance like headlamp , brake tail light or wiper blade replacement.
I like your honesty and retake of, by the way, I missed this in the last video! That's just the way things work sometimes in automotive repair and life, we may not catch it the first time but, before we're done, we will get it right! I look forward to your next video. You are a great teacher and congrats on your award!
I monitored the passenger cabin loop with a thermometer and when asking for a few degree increase in temperature, the coolant spiked up over 100F for a short period. I've also noticed that there must be an air diverter vane in the airbox under the dash that quickly selects between warmed air and airconditioned air paths. Turning off the heat/ac button but still manipulating the temperature knob demonstrates this behavior. Although I see Professor Kelly's point about wanting to heat the cabin w/o heating the battery, I'd be very happy using the waste heat from the SPIM to heat the cabin. If there's enough heat to need a radiator, there's got to be a better use for it on cold mornings.
Thank you for the information! Yes, there is an air-mix door to blend heat and cooling for optimum vent outlet temperature. On cold day there may not be enough heat from the SPIM to satisfy passenger heating requirements.
Looks similar to my Spark EV system, I was checking the reservoirs for leaks and following the lines. Looking for a coolant flush how to, just draining the radiator seems like it would not flush all three systems. Looking for the Chevy service manual for the Spark EV
Love to see "WALMART" be the first to have about 6+ charge stations @ EVERY STORE in USA near front or side of store to buy say a 1 hour Charge! Walmart knows the Customer will have an hour+ to shop during the charge & we will know that if you go to Walmart to shop there here will be charge stations too!
I like the simplicity of the cabin heater loop. It would add a lot of cost and complexity to scavenge heat from the motor/inverter. At some point it was probably just easier to use that money to put a bigger battery in it. Sort of like the concept of putting solar on a car. The cost of adding 200 watts solar is enough to add 1 kWh of battery, which can be used even at night.
IMHO - I think I disagree with you: As a physicist, turning valuable battery storage energy into heat is a sin - and increasing battery storage is a MUCH more expensive way to deal with it than a few more controls and a little bit of piping and valving. I suspect that GM simply didn't figure it out and will add it to in the next few years.
Dave Conna, GM has been building EVs since the 60s. Even Tesla doesn’t use a heat pump. Is Elon too stupid to figure out what Jaguar, Leaf, Zoe knows about heat pumps?
@@imho7250 I'm not following your reply - I wasn't suggesting a heat pump. That having been said, the Nissan Leaf does (or at least DID) use a heat pump for cabin heating: www.quora.com/Which-types-of-electric-cars-use-heat-pumps-as-a-cabin-heater That having been stated, there are problems with this approach: a heat pump delivers much lower temperature air and thus would not work for defrosting or quick heating of the cabin during cold starts. But for long distance travel, it should work, even in colder (but not too cold) climates. At any rate, the initial question was about how to scavenge the waste heat to heat the cabin, which I still think is possible and will happen in the future.
Dave Conna, I PACE reportedly scavenges heat from the drive unit/inverter, but it can only be done with a heat pump, and it requires more valves and hoses. If you look at the Tesla cooling system it’s already got plenty of failure points, but it allows them to redirect coolant where needed. It doesn’t scavenge that heat, it more likely allows the heat from the motor/inverter to heat the battery. With cheap cars comes some loss of efficiency, but I’d rather have a $25k EV that goes 200 miles on a 60 kWh battery than a $35k car that goes 200 miles on a 50 kWh battery. I’ll spend $1-$2 more per 200 miles.
I wonder why they decided to use a liquid system for the interior heater. Teslas use a heater which is just a resistor with fins like a space heater you would use in your house. Doing it that way eliminates the heater core, pump, reservoir, and hoses. Also the heat comes on immediately on a cold morning because there is no waiting to heat a reservoir of liquid coolant first.
Professor,I love your channel and wish I lived closer. My friend and I tour the USA in his Tesla (and hopefully, some day, my own) and would love to visit you on one of our trips, take you do dinner, and just talk EVs. Would you be up to a visit some day from some fans?
Excellent in depth series. So great to have actual details of operation and how everything is connected. Are you planning the same for other Electric vehicles. It would be interesting to contrast the different designs. I'm specifically interested in how the Leaf's cooling/heating is laid out as it has a heatpump for cabin heat and loses much less range in the winter.
Radiators are passive cooling. Used when the temperature delta is high, for example ICE. The battery need to stay at a lower temperature, sometimes even lower than ambiant, that’s why a radiator wouldn’t work. Need an heat exchanger, and active cooling with compressor.
Being a refrigeration repair tech. I see they have fairly complex simple a/c System. From how that is designed it's a charge critical System. There isn't much room for error on the charge. The tech working on it better have things in order when he's working on it
Another great video! I am guessing that tieing into the electronics cooling system would make little sense. It would provide only minimal cabin heat at low ambient temps, would need a dual-circuit heater core (do these exist?), an electronically controlled valve, more hoses, more coolant, programming. We’ve now increased cost, weight, and complexity, still need the other heater, and saved 2 miles of range
Or perhaps a heat exchanger that takes heat from the drive cooling system just before the radiator and puts it into the cabin heating system before the heater element.
Ian - I will bet that for those who use their EVs to take longer trips, scavenging heat rather than producing it via electric resistance WOULD make sense in the long run. you would certainly need the electric heat during start up and until the heat coming off the motor and electronics was sufficient -but at that point, you would be able to run the fan at a lower speed and perhaps the lower temperature coolant would be adequate. Before we can answer this question definitely, we need to know HOW much heat is removed from the various parts of the car and what the coolant TEMPERATURE is. Without that info, we are only guessing at what makes sense...
I noticed the hose going to the passenger cabin (at about 21:12) evaporator says "R134a," but the Bolt uses R1234YF for the AC. Any thoughts, comments, or observations about this?
Something i did not quite understand here was that the black part of the DC fast charge cable harness was for locking the cable while charging. But the cable also locks when not dc charging (I have type 2 version), does the j1772 plug not lock by default? great videos by the way, you were one of the reasons I bought an ampera e as my first car
Excellent video professor, as usual. Thank you! Do you mind sharing any documentation / mechanization that lays out the Battery heating / cooling loop. This seems to be complicated and want to follow when you explain it in words.
Regarding the liquid heater core... it seems like that's the tech GM like to use. IMHO the direct acting PTC heater cores, like Tesla and Fiat use work much better since they heat up more quickly and seem to provide hotter heat. On the PEHVs it makes sense, but it was always puzzling to me to have a heater, hoses, pump, and heater core on a BEV like the Bolt / Leaf. Though it does mean there's no HV cabling in the passenger compartment!
I think the priorities for GM was cost, reliability, and user experience. These newer systems have not been used and or perfected by GM before, long term reliability would likely have been an issue, not to mention out of warranty repair costs once that new fangled tech failed. The systems they use seem complex, but they are tried and true, and have proven to be very reliable, and above all inexpensive. When they do fail out of warranty, it will be the pumps, and they look to be easy and cheap to replace. One of the things I love about the Bolt is it's simplicity.
I wonder if it was decided to use a conventional cabin HVAC system and if that had an influence on the drive train temperature management design. Thank you for this series and the rest of your videos.
Hey professor 20:45 the ac hose that goes from the batt chillar to the evaporator has a rubber section before the “pipe on pipe” In my 2020 bolt is cracked How durable are these? My bolt isn’t that old. Please let me know when I should change it. Ty
The way I understand it if the air conditioning system breaks you must service the vehicle immediately, essentially the battering cooling system is not functioning as well. Also can you explain how air conditioning refrigerant is split between the cabin and the battery cooling. I had a Chevrolet volt, I believe it had a similar system, I could feel the air conditioning on even when the cabin air conditioning was off, I believe it was cooling the battery even on mild days.
Great video! The pumps on the cooling circuits, do you happen to know if they are "wet rotor" type (no shaft seals needed)? Like the ones that run non-stop in hot tubs, quietly, for years.
I really enjoy your videos, great knowledge and and a great sharing of enjoyment in auto evolution. Any thought or hopes of checking out a Hyundai Kona Electric?
It seems like a system that could benefit from an aftermarket thermal bypass solution. That way, hot coolant could be diverted away from the radiator and into the cabin heating system, thereby reducing the energy needed to power the heating element. Just thinking out loud...
It doesn't seem like that would be too complicated. A pair of actuated valves and a heat exchanger between the two loops with a bit of firmware ought to do it. Some measurements would need to be taken as to how effective this would be, although I'd bet it would work pretty well in mountainous terrain or on highways.
Love to watch your interesting educational videos .I was wondering will there be a video on how to test the air conditioning systems on electric /hybrid vehicles ?
Wonderful explanations! Question: If cabin heat is just an electric heating element, heating coolant that's pumped through the heater core to transfer the heat to the cabin air, why couldn't they simply have put the electric heating element in the air stream instead, and not needed the coolant and pump and surge tank?
Thanks for the video! Quick question: Does the CCS system communicate with the BMS through its own cable or that secondary power cable you presented in this video? Also, regarding 26:33 Based on my observations, the battery chiller will start cycling the AC somewhere between 92 F and 94 F. With the cabin fan on, you will start to feel chilled air even when the cabin climate control is not activated.
Nice video. I wonder why GM didn't do a direct air heater for cabin heating like Daimler did with the Smart ED? It'd have saved a bunch of weight, I imagine.
GM said they picked the method of heating they did because it was the most effective. And I can confirm that, the heat in our Bolt gets HOT, and it gets hot fast. Keep in mind GM is based in Michigan, they know a thing or two about cold weather.
Professor Kelly, thanks for striving for accuracy in your presentations. Is the APM active while the high voltage battery is charging? It seems like it is on my ELR, I have an issue causing a 12v battery drain. I can see 100-250 watts of draw on my 240v charging station, even after the high voltage battery is done charging. If I clip on an external 12v battery charger the draw on the charging station will go down, so it seems the car is able to charge the 12v battery while not charging the high voltage battery.
Yes, the APM is active while charging. It needs to provide power to run the cooling fan(s), water pumps, and the computers involved in monitoring and controlling the battery temperature. It also keeps the 12V battery charged while plugged in. It is normal to see additional current draw from your charger after the battery is charged. The battery temperature will still be hot from charging; the cooling system will continue running as long as is needed until you unplug your charger. My 2014 Volt will see a pulse in power usage every few hours when parked in my hot garage at home in the summertime just to keep the battery cool. The Nissan leaf does not do this and it is killing their batteries from overheating.
What is so very nice about these videos is that they are such a contrast to everything available today. So many videos simply show off some device but no one breaks it down to the component level or explains how it works. It was the value of Heath Kit or Ramsey Kits in electronics... they told you how it worked and why. Recently I watched a video on 5G to find out about it and all the info was about how fast (but never said exactly how fast) and wonderful it would be. Not a bit of techie detail. Even Popular Mechanics is a big ol' glossy useless advert for new products. Have a gander back into the 1930's and 1950's pop mechanics to see how good they used to be. Thank you Professor Kelly for going to the level of detail you do. It is a much appreciate drink of water is this drought of information.
My pleasure, thank you!
I agree! There is little to no available knowledge base to pull from besides Professor Kelly's videos.
And what you are talking about is widespread. Sony, with it's U-Matic commercial/broadcast videotape machines, put out service manuals that went into detail on every circuit with waveforms, timing diagrams and extensive text not to mention fabulous circuit board graphics that showed both sides of every board. Those were the days (circa 1980). Now it is all board swapping and who knows what is going on.
As a Bolt EV owner I find this video, and all of your other Bolt videos, very helpful and extremely interesting.
Thank you! I am glad they are helpful.
@@WeberAuto Me too! I also am a Bolt EV owner, and a licensed master electrician. I think you are doing an OUTSTANDING job on these video's, and I love the humanity you are quick to demonstrate when you make the inevitable mistake; you simply own it and move forward. Please keep these video's coming. Personally, I'd love to learn more about the software (such as the DC Fast Charging conversation that takes place through the Powerline Carrier Interface). At least, I THINK that's what they call it!
As a new owner of a 2019 Bolt this is a fantastic way to understand what I am looking at when I pop the hood.
Thank you!
The amount of time and effort put in these videos is amazing.
I saw you received an award from TST Seminars for a vibration APP. Congratulations, professor.
Thank you very much!
when experts make videos , it gives this kind of work .
thank you .
Just remember your efforts are very appreciated by a lot of us viewing online.
Some of the most valuable content that I have seen on RUclips. This man and everyone that worked on this are top tier people. Thank you so much for your work!!
I appreciate that!
I'm not the first to say this but my wife and I just bought a Bolt and I find these videos really interesting. It's like inventing the car for the second time! Looking at these videos I can't believe they can make a car like this and make it affordable. Thanks for the videos, really enjoy them.
Thank you, I am happy the videos are useful to you.
Thank you. I’ve been wondering about the three separate coolant systems on my 2023 Bolt 1LT, now I know. I could not find anything on the GM pages. I’ve watched numerous videos of yours on the Bolt, and I must say, you have more knowledge of the Bolt and its systems than any GM engineer, no question!
Nice to learn from a professional. Excellent video. Thank you.
Hi MR John I'm Mohammad from Jordan i just want to thank you for all your video's and your simple and clearly way for explaining these systems and about your reward from RUclips I'm sure you deserve it and more
Thank you!
You welcome and thank you again
26:30 Based on my testing there are a couple of factors that define when and how the battery is cooled. It matters if the car is "on" or "off" and it matters if the car is "plugged in" to an L2 (220V) charger (and possibly also an L1 (110V ) charger).
First, there are two modes, what I call "weak mode" the car will attempt to cool the battery to about 31C. The second I call "aggressive mode" the car will try to cool the battery to about 27C.
The only mode I've seen "weak mode" cooling active is when the car is both turned on and _not_ plugged in.
Generally "aggressive mode" cooling is only active when the car is "plugged in" and the battery is not charging (either charge complete or charge not needed)
I have seen the battery go as high as 37C with the car turned off and not plugged in and the car will not cool the battery. As soon as the car is turned "on" the car starts "weak mode" battery cooling.
I have never tried to charge my car with the battery hotter than 31C so it's possible that "weak mode" cooling does occur while charging if the battery is above this temperature.
You can "trick" the car into performing "aggressive mode" cooling while charging by charging with the car turned on.
During both "weak mode" and "aggressive mode" cooling there is a difference in behavior depending on if the passenger compartment AC system is active. If you do not have the AC setting enabled the car will cycle the AC compressor on and off several times per minute but if the passenger AC is turned on the AC compressor runs continuously. Also at least when "weak mode" cooling (probably also with "aggressive mode") the battery coolant temp is chilled to a much colder temperature (about 10C colder) if the passenger AC is turned on.
I have a lot of raw data I've collected from OBD if you are interested.
Good information! I posted a question above about whether or not the battery loop evaporator operates when the temperature is low but the cabin A/C is on (for defroster or whatever). Did you test that condition? I didn't see any electrical control on the battery loop chiller block that could override operation, but it's possible there is a temperature-limit built into it. Otherwise, they would need to run the battery loop heater to compensate for A/C operation.
@@gregoryjward The Perfesser mentioned in a reply to me that the battery cooling loop pump is modulated. If coolant isn't flowing the refrigerant in the coolant heat exchanger will reach the same temperature as the cabin evaporator and cool no further. This could cause an issue only if the battery needed heating but the cabin needed cooling, a Very unlikely scenario.
Fantastic video! Thank you so much for taking the time to carefully explain each part of the cooling systems and for explaining why they don't use the a/c compressor as a heat pump, to warm the passenger cabin.
My pleasure, thank you!
having a battery heater in very cold weather makes sense, due to battery compound/chemistry. I totally didn't catch that in previous video, either my ears missed it or I didn't think about it. nobody is perfect and nor will anyone ever be. it's a fact of life, all you can do is be as best as you can and always keep learning and help when you can with tips and tricks!
Thank you!
Great Video Professor. You know with all these cooling systems, especially with component location and positioning, there will be problems. Corrosion will take it's toll on the modules and I suspect owners may or may not follow that 5 yr/150,000 mile service. If I owned one, I'd change the coolant every 2 to 3 years. Experience has taught me that, regarding GM's "orange" coolant.
The pumps will cause problems also. BUT, it seems the motoring public wants these vehicles!
Thanks for your feedback. I agree, that coolant must be changed at the proper service interval with the exact coolant required or trouble will occur.
As a person used to doing his own ICE car maintenance, this series of videos are very helpful for understanding my new (2023) Bolt (same drive train as in these videos I believe). According to the user manual the a/c desiccant is scheduled to be changed after 10 years or so (don't have the manual in front of me, pulling that number from memory). As far as having separate coolant loops and the lost opportunity to reuse reject heat across systems, I believe the Tesla "octovalve" does just that. Maybe that sort of system will become standard in the industry.
This video makes me appreciate my bolt even more! Thank you professor for the knowledge!
Thank you for sharing your wide ranging knowledge Professor. We all need to learn more about these automotive high voltage systems
Thank you very much!
Fascinating review of the cooling system and you've finally stumbled onto "my turf."
A properly designed refrigerant system with a properly functioning TXV won't return liquid to the compressor. The tube-in-tube heat exchanger's primary function in to reduce the temperature of the liquid refrigerant. Cooler high pressure liquid passing through an expansion device wastes less of its mass (called "flash gas" in the industry) cooling the refrigerant itself before it can begin absorbing heat from the cabin. While the efficiency improvement is significant the main reason automakers are doing this today (my opinion) is to reduce the R1234 refrigerant charge which is, as you state, very costly. Adding tube-in-tube heat exchangers does increase the superheat seen by the compressor so there are other design considerations to manage before just slapping one on.
A quick note on POE oil- Ester based oils are used in high voltage automotive compressors because PAG (glycol based) oils dissolve the lacquer insulation on the windings inside the compressor, eventually leading to a 400V short inside the compressor. Cross-contamination with PAG can be a real issue with these systems on previous generation EVs that used R134a. And, yes, PAG and POE really do absorb that much water. Cool experiment- Get a cheap 4-place electronic scale from your local purveyor of drug paraphernalia. Pour out a sample of either oil into a small dish and record the weight. Allow it to sit for 2-3 days and weigh again to see how much it has gained. All the new weight is water absorbed from the air.
As for the cabin coolant heater and not using battery or motor heat; existing cabin heater coils work best with coolant that is quite warm, 180F+. Lower temperature coolant can be used but it requires the use of very much larger heater coils. We are experimenting with PTC DC heating elements which heat the air directly. While more costly they are physically far less complicated. I imagine GM is using this system because the in dash components are likely shared with other vehicles, but that's just a guess. The motor will seldom generate enough heat to warm the cabin using a normal size heater coil and the battery never will.
Excellent feedback, thank you!
HI Bill,
About ten minutes ago, I wrote a post with a lot of questions about whether the batteries or the electronics & motor cooling loop produces more heat when the cabin needs it (I figure it is the electronics/motor). I think that it would be a really simply thing to add a heat exchanger that allows transfer of heat from the electronics/motor cooling loop to the cabin heating loop so that during cold weather (especially on long distance drives), one isn't wasting precious battery kWh to turn into cabin heat (as a physicist, I cringe when I see high grade energy turned into heat when a relatively easy alternative is available).
Do you have any comment on this idea?
Thanks,
Dave
PS. if you can't find the post, I will copy and paste it to you
I thank you for being very methodical in your explanation of the (3) cooling systems for the Bolt EV. They are all doing the same thing ( cooling or heating) in their respective areas. One could look at those systems and see where one could effect the other. The finding of that one and the replacement of it, could be quite expensive.
Thank you and thanks for your feedback! It could be expensive, but I believe they will be quite reliable.
I always wondered why my ioniq is doing refrigeration noises when plugged to rapid charger... I think that's answers this.
Thanks! Great video.
20:37 I always thought that would be a good idea, glad to see I wasn't over-thinking an optimal solution! Thank you for all of this content, very neat!
Thank you very much! It is a "Cool" idea ;)
Thank you for this excellent informative video on the Chevy Bolt EV, I am new to the Chevy 2023 EV Bolt and an Old School car mechanic. I am really interested in learning about the Chevy Bolt EV.
Extremely well explained as always. I'm very curious about the drive unit, been waiting since the (amazing) battery disassembly video!
Thank you, coming up next!
Thank you for another excellent presentation, especially without the annoying music with which most video makers insist upon assaulting your ears! Your videos are of the highest professional level, incorporating carefully articulated well chosen words, spoken at a pace that permits easy listening, & helps ensure correct interpretation of what was said. I had no idea that the support technology was so complicated, but am impressed by the quality of the Bolt's documentation & superb details such as alignment marks on hoses, & other essential data apparently stamped into the castings. Professor, I have remarked to several colleagues that the viewers remarks are nearly universally positive, with criticisms being essentially all positive, & the comments written in a style that suggests well educated correspondents, who understand the niceties of correct grammar, syntax, & spelling, 7& who eschew vulgarity or obscenities in their commentary. Many messages on other channels make me feel like a referee at a Sanskrit spelling bee ! Thank you again & I look forward to viewing any & all videos you choose to make.
Thank you very much! I have noticed the same thing about the comments.
You are one of the best teacher i see on youtube you are so detailed and simple thats very good thank you.
Lucid and enlightened presentation. I had no idea it was so complex in there....
Your channel has always had good content but these hybrid/electric/alternative powertrain videos have been exceptional. Thank you for doing these!
Thank you very much!
We just bought a 22 bolt euv. These videos are simply fantastic, I have been binge watching them anytime I have a minute. I can't stand owning and operating a machine without at least a fundamental understanding of how it works, so my appreciation of your work here cannot be overstated. Gear heads everywhere are forever indebted to you and folks like you who take the time to learn and share your knowledge. Much obliged. I may have missed it in the video, but I'm curious how much current the ac compressor uses? I know the heater uses 2kw, I imagine the ac would be in a similar range?
It's very easy to derive the amperage of the compressor, we know the high voltage battery uses 350V, you just divide Watts by Volt then you got the current. For the compressor, it would be likely around 6.5 kw at max. Which is draw in between 5A to 18A of power depend on the load.
Thanks again for such great information. Watching your explanation of the Voltec system on your Chevy Volt is one of the reasons I purchased a 2016 Volt Premier back in November. You make the complexity of these systems less "scary" for the lay person. I've always done my own oil changes, tune ups, etc. on my vehicles. I hope to go full electric in four years, around the time I retire, and no longer have the need to commute. Hopefully our choices in BEV's will be much larger. Who knows, maybe a few more Chevy's!
Thank you! The Volt is a GREAT car!
These videos are incredibly helpful. I've been converting a car to electric and being able to see what manufacturers do has had a huge impact on my designs for my conversion. Thank you sir!
Glad it was helpful. Thanks for watching
Thank you, John. I really enjoy your lessons. These are excellent quality videos and I so enjoy your enthusiasm! You have several avid RUclips students out here and I am one.
Thank you Prof. Kelly, this vehicle has some very intelligent engineering. My impression is each aspect is fairly simple in operation. In concert they make a very functional unit.
I finally got Android Auto & My Chevy link working together. I am looking forward to some road trips this year. A big one will be SLC to Flagstaff to see my nephew. Got to learn about DC fast chrg'ng.
Great car. Have a nice trip.
Really thank you for your honesty
, great exlpanation and your time
Thank you!
So the desiccant in the AC condenser must be the desiccant they say you need to have serviced every 7 years I think it was? POE is short for polyolester oil, a synthetic refrigerant oil that replaced the old mineral oils used in chlorine base refrigerants when R12 was widely used in automotive air conditioning systems. These videos are great for us Bolt owners.
On behalf of all 40,000 + Bolt EV owners, than you. Would love to see instruction video on minor maintenance like headlamp , brake tail light or wiper blade replacement.
Thank you for your feedback!
Thank you professor, I enjoyed every single second of your videos :)
Thank you very much!
Absolute excellent series. Congratulations Professor !
Thanks you very much!
Those coolant hose clamps on a lot of gm vehicles lock in the fully open position which makes removing/installing much easier
I like your honesty and retake of, by the way, I missed this in the last video! That's just the way things work sometimes in automotive repair and life, we may not catch it the first time but, before we're done, we will get it right! I look forward to your next video. You are a great teacher and congrats on your award!
Thank you very much!
Thank you so much for your superb instructional videos! You have greatly helped me understand the Bolt EV.
Thanks!
Thank you very much!
JOHN!! I AM YOUR BIGGEST FAN!!! Thank you so much for educating us. This is fantastic.
Thank you very much!
I monitored the passenger cabin loop with a thermometer and when asking for a few degree increase in temperature, the coolant spiked up over 100F for a short period. I've also noticed that there must be an air diverter vane in the airbox under the dash that quickly selects between warmed air and airconditioned air paths. Turning off the heat/ac button but still manipulating the temperature knob demonstrates this behavior. Although I see Professor Kelly's point about wanting to heat the cabin w/o heating the battery, I'd be very happy using the waste heat from the SPIM to heat the cabin. If there's enough heat to need a radiator, there's got to be a better use for it on cold mornings.
Thank you for the information! Yes, there is an air-mix door to blend heat and cooling for optimum vent outlet temperature. On cold day there may not be enough heat from the SPIM to satisfy passenger heating requirements.
Wes - I am having a discussion with Bill Kerr about this very topic . If you are interested, my post was on Saturday Feb 2.
thank you very much, just bought my first ev..chevy bolt euv. very helpful idea
Thank God modern EPDM hoses last a very long time. See you in March.
Great video, just got a Bolt and love learning about it from your videos. Compared to hybrid this system is simple.
I cannot say how great these videos are.
Looks similar to my Spark EV system, I was checking the reservoirs for leaks and following the lines. Looking for a coolant flush how to, just draining the radiator seems like it would not flush all three systems. Looking for the Chevy service manual for the Spark EV
Yes, very similar. Visit www.acdelcotds.com/acdelco/action/subscribehome for access to online manual subscription (3 days for $20 USD) Best wishes
It's really fantastic! It's a such good explanation with real parts and really very easy for us to understand. Thanks a lot!
Love to see "WALMART" be the first to have about 6+ charge stations @ EVERY STORE in USA near front or side of store to buy say a 1 hour Charge! Walmart knows the Customer will have an hour+ to shop during the charge & we will know that if you go to Walmart to shop there here will be charge stations too!
I like the simplicity of the cabin heater loop. It would add a lot of cost and complexity to scavenge heat from the motor/inverter. At some point it was probably just easier to use that money to put a bigger battery in it.
Sort of like the concept of putting solar on a car. The cost of adding 200 watts solar is enough to add 1 kWh of battery, which can be used even at night.
Thank you for your feedback
IMHO - I think I disagree with you: As a physicist, turning valuable battery storage energy into heat is a sin - and increasing battery storage is a MUCH more expensive way to deal with it than a few more controls and a little bit of piping and valving.
I suspect that GM simply didn't figure it out and will add it to in the next few years.
Dave Conna, GM has been building EVs since the 60s. Even Tesla doesn’t use a heat pump. Is Elon too stupid to figure out what Jaguar, Leaf, Zoe knows about heat pumps?
@@imho7250 I'm not following your reply - I wasn't suggesting a heat pump. That having been said, the Nissan Leaf does (or at least DID) use a heat pump for cabin heating:
www.quora.com/Which-types-of-electric-cars-use-heat-pumps-as-a-cabin-heater
That having been stated, there are problems with this approach: a heat pump delivers much lower temperature air and thus would not work for defrosting or quick heating of the cabin during cold starts. But for long distance travel, it should work, even in colder (but not too cold) climates.
At any rate, the initial question was about how to scavenge the waste heat to heat the cabin, which I still think is possible and will happen in the future.
Dave Conna, I PACE reportedly scavenges heat from the drive unit/inverter, but it can only be done with a heat pump, and it requires more valves and hoses. If you look at the Tesla cooling system it’s already got plenty of failure points, but it allows them to redirect coolant where needed. It doesn’t scavenge that heat, it more likely allows the heat from the motor/inverter to heat the battery.
With cheap cars comes some loss of efficiency, but I’d rather have a $25k EV that goes 200 miles on a 60 kWh battery than a $35k car that goes 200 miles on a 50 kWh battery. I’ll spend $1-$2 more per 200 miles.
Great info ! Just got a used bolt and knowing what’s what and how it work is great info. Thank you.
Another very informative and well presented video. Thank you for this.
Very interesting and I saw many chevy Bolts EV on 10 day drive thru Ohio
I wonder why they decided to use a liquid system for the interior heater. Teslas use a heater which is just a resistor with fins like a space heater you would use in your house. Doing it that way eliminates the heater core, pump, reservoir, and hoses. Also the heat comes on immediately on a cold morning because there is no waiting to heat a reservoir of liquid coolant first.
Professor,I love your channel and wish I lived closer. My friend and I tour the USA in his Tesla (and hopefully, some day, my own) and would love to visit you on one of our trips, take you do dinner, and just talk EVs. Would you be up to a visit some day from some fans?
Excellent in depth series. So great to have actual details of operation and how everything is connected. Are you planning the same for other Electric vehicles. It would be interesting to contrast the different designs. I'm specifically interested in how the Leaf's cooling/heating is laid out as it has a heatpump for cabin heat and loses much less range in the winter.
Thank you. Yes, I am planning on the leaf in the near future.
Radiators are passive cooling. Used when the temperature delta is high, for example ICE.
The battery need to stay at a lower temperature, sometimes even lower than ambiant, that’s why a radiator wouldn’t work. Need an heat exchanger, and active cooling with compressor.
Thanks for your feedback
Perfect,is technology of the future!!beautiful!! I Love
Being a refrigeration repair tech. I see they have fairly complex simple a/c System. From how that is designed it's a charge critical System. There isn't much room for error on the charge. The tech working on it better have things in order when he's working on it
Thank you for your feedback!
Nice explanation, I hope you always provide the best
Another great video! I am guessing that tieing into the electronics cooling system would make little sense. It would provide only minimal cabin heat at low ambient temps, would need a dual-circuit heater core (do these exist?), an electronically controlled valve, more hoses, more coolant, programming. We’ve now increased cost, weight, and complexity, still need the other heater, and saved 2 miles of range
Thank you, I have not heard of a dual circuit heater core.
Or perhaps a heat exchanger that takes heat from the drive cooling system just before the radiator and puts it into the cabin heating system before the heater element.
Ian - I will bet that for those who use their EVs to take longer trips, scavenging heat rather than producing it via electric resistance WOULD make sense in the long run.
you would certainly need the electric heat during start up and until the heat coming off the motor and electronics was sufficient -but at that point, you would be able to run the fan at a lower speed and perhaps the lower temperature coolant would be adequate.
Before we can answer this question definitely, we need to know HOW much heat is removed from the various parts of the car and what the coolant TEMPERATURE is. Without that info, we are only guessing at what makes sense...
Love your vídeos professor. Best regards from Portugal.
Extremely well explained as always.
Thank you very much!
Thank you, Professor, I am Chinese.
You are awesome for doing this. Thanks a lot!
Excellent as usual John.
Wonderful explanation, thank you Professor!
You are welcome
Thank you for this helpful video
Thanks for another great video, Prof. Kelly
Thank you
I noticed the hose going to the passenger cabin (at about 21:12) evaporator says "R134a," but the Bolt uses R1234YF for the AC. Any thoughts, comments, or observations about this?
Thank very much Professor Kelly
Thank you!
Something i did not quite understand here was that the black part of the DC fast charge cable harness was for locking the cable while charging. But the cable also locks when not dc charging (I have type 2 version), does the j1772 plug not lock by default?
great videos by the way, you were one of the reasons I bought an ampera e as my first car
Excellent video professor, as usual. Thank you!
Do you mind sharing any documentation / mechanization that lays out the Battery heating / cooling loop. This seems to be complicated and want to follow when you explain it in words.
Great video. I feel informed after watching this.
Regarding the liquid heater core... it seems like that's the tech GM like to use. IMHO the direct acting PTC heater cores, like Tesla and Fiat use work much better since they heat up more quickly and seem to provide hotter heat.
On the PEHVs it makes sense, but it was always puzzling to me to have a heater, hoses, pump, and heater core on a BEV like the Bolt / Leaf. Though it does mean there's no HV cabling in the passenger compartment!
I think the priorities for GM was cost, reliability, and user experience. These newer systems have not been used and or perfected by GM before, long term reliability would likely have been an issue, not to mention out of warranty repair costs once that new fangled tech failed. The systems they use seem complex, but they are tried and true, and have proven to be very reliable, and above all inexpensive. When they do fail out of warranty, it will be the pumps, and they look to be easy and cheap to replace. One of the things I love about the Bolt is it's simplicity.
i own a 2021 in Canada. I find that it does not heat enough in winter below -10 deg. Celsius. Could it be just the thermostat motioned at 30:47 ?
I wonder if it was decided to use a conventional cabin HVAC system and if that had an influence on the drive train temperature management design. Thank you for this series and the rest of your videos.
All EVs that I am aware of use a conventional AC system. The heating systems can be different.
Hey professor 20:45
the ac hose that goes from the batt chillar to the evaporator has a rubber section before the “pipe on pipe”
In my 2020 bolt is cracked How durable are these? My bolt isn’t that old. Please let me know when I should change it. Ty
great and very helpful summary!
Thank you very much, it's amazing video!
The way I understand it if the air conditioning system breaks you must service the vehicle immediately, essentially the battering cooling system is not functioning as well. Also can you explain how air conditioning refrigerant is split between the cabin and the battery cooling. I had a Chevrolet volt, I believe it had a similar system, I could feel the air conditioning on even when the cabin air conditioning was off, I believe it was cooling the battery even on mild days.
Great video!
The pumps on the cooling circuits, do you happen to know if they are "wet rotor" type (no shaft seals needed)?
Like the ones that run non-stop in hot tubs, quietly, for years.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH , YOU ARE DOING ALOT FO US .
I really enjoy your videos, great knowledge and and a great sharing of enjoyment in auto evolution. Any thought or hopes of checking out a Hyundai Kona Electric?
Thank you! That would be fun
It seems like a system that could benefit from an aftermarket thermal bypass solution. That way, hot coolant could be diverted away from the radiator and into the cabin heating system, thereby reducing the energy needed to power the heating element. Just thinking out loud...
Thanks for your feedback
It doesn't seem like that would be too complicated. A pair of actuated valves and a heat exchanger between the two loops with a bit of firmware ought to do it.
Some measurements would need to be taken as to how effective this would be, although I'd bet it would work pretty well in mountainous terrain or on highways.
I want to come help you put the Bolt back together!!! :)
Gracias maestro..! 👏🏻😎
Excellent videos !!! Very good!!! My regards from Uruguay !!!
Love to watch your interesting educational videos .I was wondering will there be a video on how to test the air conditioning systems on electric /hybrid vehicles ?
That is on my list of future videos
Great. Look forward to it. Thanks for the reply
Nice from India.
Wonderful explanations! Question: If cabin heat is just an electric heating element, heating coolant that's pumped through the heater core to transfer the heat to the cabin air, why couldn't they simply have put the electric heating element in the air stream instead, and not needed the coolant and pump and surge tank?
Thank fou for your great and helpful video
Thanks for the video! Quick question: Does the CCS system communicate with the BMS through its own cable or that secondary power cable you presented in this video?
Also, regarding 26:33 Based on my observations, the battery chiller will start cycling the AC somewhere between 92 F and 94 F. With the cabin fan on, you will start to feel chilled air even when the cabin climate control is not activated.
Thank you. There are CAN lines between the OBCM and the EBCM. The CCM is hard wired to the OBCM.
Nice video. I wonder why GM didn't do a direct air heater for cabin heating like Daimler did with the Smart ED? It'd have saved a bunch of weight, I imagine.
Thanks for your feedback
GM said they picked the method of heating they did because it was the most effective. And I can confirm that, the heat in our Bolt gets HOT, and it gets hot fast. Keep in mind GM is based in Michigan, they know a thing or two about cold weather.
Professor Kelly, thanks for striving for accuracy in your presentations.
Is the APM active while the high voltage battery is charging? It seems like it is on my ELR, I have an issue causing a 12v battery drain. I can see 100-250 watts of draw on my 240v charging station, even after the high voltage battery is done charging. If I clip on an external 12v battery charger the draw on the charging station will go down, so it seems the car is able to charge the 12v battery while not charging the high voltage battery.
Yes, the APM is active while charging. It needs to provide power to run the cooling fan(s), water pumps, and the computers involved in monitoring and controlling the battery temperature. It also keeps the 12V battery charged while plugged in. It is normal to see additional current draw from your charger after the battery is charged. The battery temperature will still be hot from charging; the cooling system will continue running as long as is needed until you unplug your charger. My 2014 Volt will see a pulse in power usage every few hours when parked in my hot garage at home in the summertime just to keep the battery cool. The Nissan leaf does not do this and it is killing their batteries from overheating.
Your videos are amazing. Thank you for posting them. Do you know how similar this is to the 2023 Bolt?
Still waiting for the Imiev. That would help lots and lots of imiev owner that have been left for dead by mitsubishi.
Sorry, that is not going to happen unless someone donates a vehicle.
BTW, excellent video - superb presentation!
Thank you!