Hard to start...Now sputtering.

[Milkman]

Well, I have a 2003 with D/A combo. This morning is was quite cold, about -30 celcius and started the truck no problem. I went into town and had a coffee. I shut it off for about 35 minutes or so at the coffee shop and when I got back in it, it would not start. I turned the key off and tried a second and the third time it started. The kicker was that it would not shift out of I believe third or go over 50 km/hr(possibly limp mode) and the engine light was on right after it started. It stayed on so I pulled over and shut it off and started it again. Still had the engine light but it would now go over 50km/hr. The only problem is that it is spitting and sputtering when I give her fuel to accelerate and I get a clound of blue/white smoke. I got it to the dealer after chekcing with ONSTAR who advised me that there did not seem to be any serious codes present in the remote diagnostic.

Any suggestions would be appreciated since it will now not start at the dealership.

On another note as I have previously posted, if you have the Service 4WD light come on on your 2003, more than likely that it is the transfer case "encoder motor" which was not machined correctly from the factory. After months of diagnosis and connector checking and dealer visits, this is what kept my DIC clear of that error message. Hope this helps anyone having that problem.

Whew! My lonely typin finger is tired! Good thing I have 9 spares.

:D

[SteveO]

Milkman,

Did OnStar happen to give you the Code or Codes?

[Milkman]

No they did not SteveO. They(ONSTAR) did last time but not this one. There were three codes registered as per the GM scan tool. I did not write them down. It was a blonde moment for sure. One had something to do with the speedometer sensor, another was a loss of signal to the fuel pump(something like that) and the other one I cannot remember.

Keith

[Kennedy]

With the spitting/sputtering/blue smoke, I'd look hard at fuel filter restriction. Could be your fuel is getting to the CFPP (cold filter plug point) due to waxing...

[Milkman]

Thanks for the info John. I think the dealer is going to replace the fuel filter first before doing the GM diagnostic procedure. Apparently they have had a few other trucks with few kilometers on them with a clogged fuel filter.

Keith

[SteveO]

Milkman,

Please update us on what the dealer finds..

[Milkman]

Steve O,

Well, the problem turned out to be quite simple. I should have guessed it.

Lesson #1- Never leave the fuel attendant unattended while going to get a coffee after specifically saying "20 bucks Diesel please".

It turns out that I had 1/2 of a tank of gasonline instead of diesel. I just hope that I did not do any damage. I got it back from the dealer today $365.00 CAN later. On the bright side of things, the owner of the fuel station is paying for everything.

She seems to be running like a dream again.

Keith

[HESS101]

Milkman,
Tell me more about this encoder motor. I recently had the same message, service 4 wheel drive and 2H light out. Got to my destination left my truck. When I came back, I started the truck and the message was gone and the 2H light was back on. No problem since. One thing I remember is testing my prodogy brake controller with no trailer attached. Probably not a smart thing to do. Did yours happen more than once? And what did the dealer do to fix it?
Thanks,
Steve

[Milkman]

Hess,

It did happen more than once and it didn't only happen when I started the truck. At first it only came on then, but I began getting the message while I was travelling on long trips. Apparently the dealer did all the steps that GM listed as far as checking all the wiring connections etc and then they took out the encoder motor which was poorly machined and not sitting level.

No more messages!! Woo-hoo!

Hope this helps

Keith

[Kennedy]

The key here is WARRANTY. GM and it's dealers are pretty strict when it comes to gasoline in diesel. I would look to cover my bases with both the dealer/fuel station so IF you have a fuel system failure under warranty, you aren't excluded due to the former presence of gasoline. I think it would be handy to have legal documentation of the incident for peace of mind.

As for the gasoline causing any harm, it typically does not unless used repeatedly. I wouldn't sweat the system failing, only the "elephant like" memory of the service dept. should a future incident arise. They seldom remember the good, but ALWAYS the bad...

[SteveO]

Milkman,

Again, I agree with Kennedy!!!!!

Gas in a diesel engine will wipe out everything in a VERY short period of time..

I hate to say this, I wish this was a case of a loose fuel filter, bad injector pump or anything other than Gas in a Diesel!!!

Get something in writing...

Good Luck..