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2016 Diesel stalled on trail will not start

11K views 23 replies 15 participants last post by  cruzer5911 
#1 ·
Well today was an interesting day... Took the Colorado on its first trail run up in Plumas National Forest here in California. Made it about 6 miles in on dirt terrain (no 4wd necessary) and the truck shuddered and died. Was able to get it restarted and made it about another 1/4 mile before it shut down with the check engine light on. Had Onstar run a diagnostic on it and they said it is throwing 6 trouble codes, all engine/drivetrain related. Truck was recovered from the trail and is being towed to the dealer today to see what's going on, will keep everyone posted!

Quick note that when the truck stopped running I received two messages repeatedly on the DIC, one for "ice possible drive with care" even though it was 75 out and another "trailer brake engaged". No idea what is going on!



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#3 ·
Quick note that when the truck stopped running I received two messages repeatedly on the DIC, one for "ice possible drive with care" even though it was 75 out
so, I am guessing you didn't see the ice?
but seriously, that really sucks, having your day cut short and having to get towed. After you got it running, how long did you wait before moving the truck again?
 
#5 ·
so, I am guessing you didn't see the ice?

but seriously, that really sucks, having your day cut short and having to get towed. After you got it running, how long did you wait before moving the truck again?


Lol yeah no ice visible where we were, way too hot!

When it restarted I let it run for about 2 minutes and let it roll back to a flat area before the incline we were going up. Was running fine so we continued and then it died the second time.


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#4 ·
Let us know what it ends up being. I've been spending a lot of time up there myself and would hate to get stuck in some of the places I've gone to.

Is the snow mostly gone on the forest service roads yet? Three weeks ago there were still some very deep spots...
 
#10 ·
I remember another circumstance almost identical to yours but can't remember the thread.

The external temperature thing being wonky is what caused the ice message. As a result, the vehicle had to shut down in some type of protection mode.

The person or persons that have had this happen to them will hopefully read this to share their insight.
 
#15 ·
Any updates.
As already stated, lost communication with ECM or battery cable poor connection maybe..can only guess at this point. Was the battery able to turn the engine over, or just no response at all when trying to crank?
 
#16 ·
Hello all! Dealer inspected the truck this morning, they called me asking what was wrong because when they went out to sign it in it started right up and no check engine light!!

I told them what happened and they were able to pull the codes but we're having a hard time identifying a specific issue. They ended up clearing the codes and then hooked a laptop up and drove it around, they were able to replicate the issue and it stalled again a few miles into their drive.

Got a call this afternoon and it appears that they have identified the problem, a faulty crank position sensor. A new one has been ordered from Michigan and they anticipate having the repair completed by Friday.

Overall very happy with the experience thus far, GM covered a rental for me and the techs seem really excited to be working on a diesel, service advisor said it is the first one they've been able to work on!


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#18 ·
Good to know it's just a common modern vehicle issue instead of something diesel specific.
 
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#19 ·
So far, for a baby engine, and I mean first year release, There are not a lot of issues that plague baby models. I hope this is the trend as we put miles on them.
 
#20 ·
The thing that bothers me though is that it threw 6 codes for this one fault, and then the ice warning on the DIC along with the trailer brake engaged.

Do you have a list of what these codes are? Would like to keep a list for myself so I know what to look for.
 
#23 ·
I asked the same question, I was really surprised that this was all they came up with given the number of codes that onstar named. Onstar couldn't give me specific trouble codes just which systems were affected but I suggested the dealer reach out to them to get more info. I have requested a list of the codes discovered for my records when I pick the truck up and will share them once I have them in hand.


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#21 ·
I use to carry a spare Cam Position Sensor and 10mm wrench in my 7.3 PowerStroke Diesel and about every 6-18 months it wouldn't start and I knew exactly how to fix it.
 
#22 ·
Yes, exactly. My friend had the 7.3 as well, and it would act up the same way. No check engine light, but would through an intermittent Cam Position Sensor code when we were monitoring it.

My 6.6L has not had this issue yet, but when others reported it, it only threw this code and would light up the CEL. If it is showing several codes unrelated, then know to look at a grounding issue, usually along the driver side frame area.

I too was thinking a ground issue ( along with the BCM) due to the unrelated issue (temp sense wrong and trailer brake engaged) along with the 6 engine/powertraincodes being thrown.

So, just different I guess on how this software displays errors and that is why I was asking what was thrown so I can document it for myself.
 
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