Reduced engine power: How could this happen?
 

What can this be? I start the car for the first time in 5 days with the intention on taking it to the just opened Hooters in Temecula. I back out of the garage and drive 3 houses down to my neighbors house approx. 200 feet and turn the car off to talk for a couple minutes. The car is still cold right? Upon starting the car to leave I instantly get a reduced engine power message in the DIC. So I park the car back in the garage and change cars. 3 hours later, I start the car and get same message. I am familliar with the well documented problems by Short-Throw and RadekG. Their incident is the result of performance driving the car when this happened. I have had the car since Nov. and have 1500 miles on it. It has never been driven hard, I have not even had the AH or TC turned off yet. Yeah, I know, drive it like you stole it. Believe me I love you guys that do! I wanted some good driving schools first. I love the car and this forum for the excellent info and stories that are always shared. Before I break into the C.A.I. shroud and check the sticker that has caused other problems, what else can it be? I thought the car had to be driven hard for the oil burping to cause this problem.

Regards,

Lgraham









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Buy yourself a cheap CAN code reader and see what's cooking.

Have you topped off the oil lately? A few people have had similar loss of power problems related to oil getting in the air intake and mass air sensor:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1454302

Why guess? Sounds like a dealer visit to me.

hey DVHoozer,

I had the oil changed at 700 miles as part of the breakin period.
I checked the oil level aftewards today and it is half way up the stick as it should be.

Lgraham

Well then she might have a point--LOL!

reduced engine power
 

Just an FYI with my experience with this wonderful thing "reduced engine power". My reading came at 200 miles on the car when I made the mistake of starting the car while up in the air with the front left wheel removed from the car. Apparently the computer's sensor could not locate a reading for the wheels sensor and reverted to reduced engine power.

Then learned that it is not so easy to get codes removed from these new cars. The Tech II seemed to be the only answer for getting this code removed and that meant a trip to the dealer. I live in fear of the service department. Being a regular customer to their parts department (familiar face), was able to convince a tech to come out and plug in the Tech II to remove the code before running it through the regular service department. This is where it became more interesting. Once plugged in the Tech II was now reading 6 or 7 different codes for no reason and the "reduced engine power" would not clear. This car was untouched under the hood and everywhere else with the exception of the removal of the front left wheel. The technician became frustrated and questioned whether I was being accurate on stating that I had touched nothing. After about 20 minutes of attempting to clear the codes another GM tech rolled by and asked what was up...after a short discussion he suggested that a plug next to the accelerator (which I have yet to find) be wiggled and checked for tightness. The tech working the car tried this....said the plug was already tight but cleared the codes again....and this time it worked. I bought him lunch and couldn't get out of there fast enough. This experience was an eye opener for me. Had this been run through service there may have been all kinds of things messed with for no good reason. Obviously an experienced tech is invaluable.

I would like to know if there was a reasonably priced piece (hundreds not thousands) of equipment that will read and clear codes on these cars.

Just a heads up for those dealing with this.
Bill
VR

This has occured 3 or 4 times on my c6 and is always associated with either "service TC" or "Service A/H"

The codes spit out were P02135: Which is related to throttle position sensors.

On my last visit to the dealer yesterday, they have ordered a new throttle body.

we'll take it from there

Inagine all that engine power, now blow up your cheeks without letting any air out. Think of that engine and if anything ( any connection is loose ) has not been totally pushed in, in that engine compartment, then they can get blown off ( disconnected )

This happened to me a few days after I got my racing heads and cam put in. I couldn't go above 25mph and the Reduced Engine Power light was on.

Open the hood and check the most obvious things to push in and reconnect, then go to the air filter. Maybe something is halfway down the throat of your air intake. The sensors on the LS7 are very sensitive, but this is a good thing !!:thumbs:

You can always try disconnecting and reconnecting your battery also to reset things.:cheers:

You have a battery tender??? Dont let a C6 sit for several days without a battery tender. The batter gets drainned from all the elctronics that can not be turned off so funny messages appear do to computer problems.

Will all due respect, EGL,

Personally, I let my car often sit for a weeek at a time without starting it - I imagine many others do the same.

Awhile back, when I was inquiring about storing my c6 for the winter - the common opinion was not to let it sit longer than 3-4 weeks without driving it.

A few days sounds a little off?

Jordan

Reduced engine power
 

For any with unexplainable "reduced engine power" or trouble clearing the code....stopped by the dealer today and spoke again to the tech that solved my problem posted above. Asked more detail about which plug and why it solved my problem. Said that it involved the throttle positioning and the plug connection was located at the top of the accelerator pedal/lever inside the car. He said that he had seen numerous occurrences of problems where the plug was not seated properly pulling a code or codes.

As a footnote to this experience...you cannot clear "reduced engine power" by disconnecting the battery or removing fuses inside the car or under the hood. Tried them all.
Hope this helps.

Bill
VR

Not a problem. Severl guys around were I live found they needed the battery tender as they dont drive the cars all the time. 7-10 days and ppl are experinceing DBS. Older vetts are no problem, but with all the new electronics, Low battery voltage is cause computer problems and Reduced power mode is one of the problems.

In short may be time for a trip to the dealer.

Hey konadog06,

Well I called the chevy USA roadside service this AM about towing the car to my local dealer. Their service and response time was first rate. The flatbed tow truck driver was experienced with many other exotics and handled the Z with care. The dealership called me when they got the car and told me they were waiting for an open bay. Meanwhile they checked my VIN to see if within the roof recall range. Yes it is!. I received a call later from the service manager with an answer to the problem causing the reduced engine power warning. It was caused by a defective accelerator position pedal sensor. Hope this may help any one faced with a similar incident.

Regards,

Lgraham

Was that attached to the flux capacitor by chance?:D

Glad that problem was easily resolved.:thumbs:

Sounds like Konadog and you experienced the same problem, easy fix I hope.

Thanks Lgraham for your post.

"received a call later from the service manager with an answer to the problem causing the reduced engine power warning. It was caused by a defective accelerator position pedal sensor"

This reduced engine power is a frustrating experience and it's good to have some knowledge going into it. Suppose checking the air intake system for loose stickers and now the accelerator position sensor are good places to start.

Curious what they/you decided on your roof...
Thanks for the information.

Bill
VR