Software Update on C8 today and now car is dead.

[AndrewJ]

I went for a short drive and when I returned home my car did an update. It is now dead. It has been an hr.
Would disconnecting the battery help?

Update...disconnected the battery for a few minutes then reconnected. Same status.
Plugged in the battery tender and will call the dealer in the am.
I checked the battery and it seems fine.

I have contacted GM roadside assistance to get it towed to dealer in the am.

 

[Murray20c8]

I went for a short drive and when I returned home my car did an update. It is now dead. It has been an hr.
Would disconnecting the battery help?

Update...disconnected the battery for a few minutes then reconnected. Same status.
Plugged in the battery tender and will call the dealer in the am.
The battery tender is not showing full charge although I had it connected all winter.

If it's like what happened to mine it will be OK in the morning. The update sucks battery for some reason.

 

[Murray20c8]

Car still dead although brake lights come on..that's it.. tried boosting the battery..battery tender showed fully charged this am.
Hopefully tow company can get it out of the garage using dolleys .

Are you in front ways or backed in? Front I should think they would be OK. Did you try removing the battery cables and shorting them together?

 

[crazylegs]

Car still dead although brake lights come on..that's it.. tried boosting the battery..battery tender showed fully charged this am.
Hopefully tow company can get it out of the garage using dolleys .

Are you in front ways or backed in? Front I should think they would be OK. Did you try removing the battery cables and shorting them together?

Put a volt meter on the battery, should be about 12.5 volts if fully charged

 

[Cariboocreek]

Maybe it's a social credit issue and the federales do not deem you worthy and have instructed Skynet to shut you down....Just a thought....

 

[Murray20c8]

Shorting the 2 cables together resets the car. That will likely be the first thing the dealer does.

 

[Murray20c8]

I will try that.

I'm not sure how long they have to touch, so hold them for at least ten seconds.

 

[Murray20c8]

One fellow just left the battery disconnected for 10 minutes and the PCN reset.

Took the 10 mm wrench I borrowed from the gym...and disconnected the negative battery terminal (all silver) NOT THE POSITIVE RED COVERED ONE) for ten minutes , then reconnected the terminal tightened up and the car reset the pcm and the car knew it was in park and the car would start up right away.

 

[Murray20c8]

With voltmeter it does test at 13.5v

14 hrs later GM Roadside assistance can't find anyone in my area to get the car...

The exact same thing happened to a guy in Florida!
Curious: Did you try holding the start button without your foot on the brake?
Haven't heard yet whether it got resolved. His died yesterday also

 

[Murray20c8]

Yes I did..no go..At least someone is coming to get it now.

That's good! And remember ... NEVER back your C8 into the garage! lol

 

[Mach147]

That's good! And remember ... NEVER back your C8 into the garage! lol

Why not?

 

[Murray20c8]

Why not?

Because the rear wheels are locked via parking brake alarm system. Not that the towing company could likely get their rig in the garage close enough anyway.
Also the car is steer by wire so it must be flat bedded. The manual says not to use a sling type tow truck.
Edit:

GM recommends a flatbed tow truck to transport a disabled vehicle. Use ramps to help reduce approach angles, if necessary. A towed vehicle should have its drive wheels off the ground.

 

[Mach147]

I suppose it would help to have better access to the rear wheels in this case.
For the record, the C8 has an electrically boosted mechanical steering system, not a true steer by wire. The only company I am aware of that is (was?) foolish enough to physically disconnect the wheels from the steering shaft (under certain conditions) is Infiniti (the 2015 Q50), and all for the sake of isolating road feel.

 

[Murray20c8]

For the record, the C8 has an electrically boosted mechanical steering system, not a true steer by wire.

Thanks for that. I must be thinking of the throttle.

 

[DenisC8]

I am tempted to install my updates in the dealer’s parking lot. If it dies, it’s already there.

 

[Sparro]

I still have not received any updated notifications, but all my past updates went through without a hitch

 

[Murray20c8]

What a nightmare...car finally at dealership . GUYS..DO NOT let the car do an update when you are backed in. The Tow company was useless and the dealer in my small time does not even know what to do with the car as they don't even have wheel dolleys to move it around. Also GM Roadside assistance is a complete joke. DO yourself a favour and find a tow company yourself that you are comfortable with and deal with them yourself. FFS I even had to use my low profile jack in my garage to put the wheel dolleys on the rear tires as the tow dude would not touch it..Then I brought the jack to the dealer and jacked it again while 2 young techs watched so I could give the tow dude his dolleys back. Complete 2.5 hr episode or Mr Bean. Getting it out of my garage and unloading at dealer I almost get crushed and the car almost got crushed as the the rear end slides around on the casters/dolleys.

My jack is still at the dealership. I offered to leave it as they don't even have a jack that is low enough..wtf

Sorry to hear you had to go through all that.
FYI The guy in Florida had his fixed.

So they had to pull the body control module out and "reprogram" it and then reinstall. That did the trick they said.

 

[Mach147]

After reading all this I think I will invest in some positioning jacks. Maybe these ones: Motomaster Positioning Dolly
I have a single hydraulic one already that I use to change truck tires with, it works very well. A bit bulky to store maybe.

 

[Driver_WT]

After reading all this I think I will invest in some positioning jacks. Maybe these ones: Motomaster Positioning Dolly
I have a single hydraulic one already that I use to change truck tires with, it works very well. A bit bulky to store maybe.

I have four of the position dolly's (two from Canadian Tire and two from Princess Auto). I use them when I store my cars and need to fit four cars in three bays. If I had to get my C8 out of the garage with them, I would put two dolly's on the rear wheels and sheet of plywood on my gravel driveway so that we could push the C8 out of the garage. If you use four dolly's you really need three people to control the movement of the car, especially when going through a doorway.

I also use the dolly's under my project cars when they have to be moved around the garage.

Your post tells me to only do updates in my driveway and not anywhere else. Thanks. Hope you get the problem resolved soon.

 

[Mach147]

The mention of using four jacks has me asking a question: can you unlock the steering column with no power to the vehicle? I'm assuming there is a lock of some kind on the steering.