I was at an idle waiting for my turn to pour gas when my truck powers down and on the display message I read reduced power, traction fault. I turn the truck off and try to restart it, which does not restart. I wait about 5 minutes and the truck starts up but immediately dies again and again. The check engine light had been on for a couple of months and the code read PO128. Something about the coolant below temperature. Could this be the cause?
GM's power strategy will reduce power if it doesn't see proper charging. It does this to conserve battery power by shutting off non-essential electrical accessories. It can also mean that the traction control system is reducing engine power to avoid a skid. The traction control system gets input data from the wheel speed sensors to figure out if you're entering a skid or the wheels are locking up. One way to get you out of the skid is to reduce engine power or pump your ABS brakes. In your case you should get the trouble codes read. An ABS or traction code code could be a C, U or B code which can't be seen by a cheap scan tool or the tools they use at auto parts stores. GM had major problems with the ABS wheel speed sensors built into the wheel bearing hubs in these vehicles. The fix involved replacing the hub. So get the codes read by a pro scanner to find out which wheel sensor is setting the code. Then do the fix. Also, the P0128 is usually caused by a bad thermostat. Fix that first, because if the engine doesn't get up to operating temperature, the computer can limit some features.
Read these posts for more trouble code information
http://ricksfreeautorepairadvice.com/p0128/
http://ricksfreeautorepairadvice.com/abstcs-light/
SOURCE: what causes a 2004 gmc searra to have Reduced engine power come up
You may want to have your catallitic converter checked
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