Jump to content

2013 4.3L Intermittent Trans and Engine overheating warning when not overheating

RadoRevival
 Share

Recommended Posts

RadoRevival Enthusiast

RadoRevival

Posted
Posted

I dont know if I have 2 problems or one so any help would be appreciated. 

 

I bought the truck from the auction a few weeks ago. 4.3L 2013 126K miles. It started giving the transmission overheat idle engine warning at startup. Then intermittently when I would hit the gas. That went away for a few days. No engine code, 

 

Then today, I got P0128. The temp gauge went to 0 and I got the high temp AC turned off warning. It started right when I started the engine. Didn't even get a chance to warm up. 

 

Are these two different issues or does this point to a ecm or something? Again, any help appreciated. 

newdude Senior Enthusiast

newdude

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, RadoRevival said:

I dont know if I have 2 problems or one so any help would be appreciated. 

 

I bought the truck from the auction a few weeks ago. 4.3L 2013 126K miles. It started giving the transmission overheat idle engine warning at startup. Then intermittently when I would hit the gas. That went away for a few days. No engine code, 

 

Then today, I got P0128. The temp gauge went to 0 and I got the high temp AC turned off warning. It started right when I started the engine. Didn't even get a chance to warm up. 

 

Are these two different issues or does this point to a ecm or something? Again, any help appreciated. 

 

 

P0128, I'd start with a new thermostat.  If its stuck closed, you have no coolant flow and will overheat.  The transmission is cooled via the radiator so if there's no coolant flow through there, the ATF tank can't exchange heat through the radiator and cool the transmission.  

  • 2 weeks later...
RadoRevival Enthusiast

RadoRevival

Posted
  • Author
Posted
On 4/9/2024 at 9:11 AM, newdude said:

 

 

P0128, I'd start with a new thermostat.  If its stuck closed, you have no coolant flow and will overheat.  The transmission is cooled via the radiator so if there's no coolant flow through there, the ATF tank can't exchange heat through the radiator and cool the transmission.  

 

If its the thermostat, why would it start working when I clear the code? As soon as I clear the code, the temp gauge goes from 0 to normal and the warning clears.

newdude Senior Enthusiast

newdude

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, RadoRevival said:

 

If its the thermostat, why would it start working when I clear the code? As soon as I clear the code, the temp gauge goes from 0 to normal and the warning clears.

 

 

After you clear it and the gauge goes back, does it then turn the light on and the gauge goes back to zero?  If it does, that's by design per the DTC in the ECM.  At the end of the day, its 4 possible culprits.  Bad thermostat, bad coolant temp sensor, bad wiring somewhere on the circuit or bad ECM.  The first two are the most likely culprits.   

 

Action Taken When the DTC Sets
  • DTC P0128 is a Type B DTC.
  • The Engine Coolant Temperature Gauge is inoperative.
  • The A/C is commanded OFF and inoperative.
  • The Cooling Fans are commanded ON.
Conditions for Clearing the MIL/DTC

DTC P0128 is a Type B DTC.

Diagnostic Aids

DTC  P0128 occurring causes the Engine Coolant Temperature Gage to default to cold.

 

  • Like 1
RadoRevival Enthusiast

RadoRevival

Posted
  • Author
Posted
On 4/24/2024 at 8:31 AM, newdude said:

 

 

After you clear it and the gauge goes back, does it then turn the light on and the gauge goes back to zero?  If it does, that's by design per the DTC in the ECM.  At the end of the day, its 4 possible culprits.  Bad thermostat, bad coolant temp sensor, bad wiring somewhere on the circuit or bad ECM.  The first two are the most likely culprits.   

 

Action Taken When the DTC Sets
  • DTC P0128 is a Type B DTC.
  • The Engine Coolant Temperature Gauge is inoperative.
  • The A/C is commanded OFF and inoperative.
  • The Cooling Fans are commanded ON.
Conditions for Clearing the MIL/DTC

DTC P0128 is a Type B DTC.

Diagnostic Aids

DTC  P0128 occurring causes the Engine Coolant Temperature Gage to default to cold.

 

 

That's super helpful. So I am going to change both the thermostat and temp sending unit. So hopefully that will clear that.

 

Is there any chance that a bad ECM could be causing my trans temp to normally read nothing and when it does work it jumps all over the place? I have been told on other forums that its the temp sending unit built into the internal harness on my 2013 4L60E

RadoRevival Enthusiast

RadoRevival

Posted
  • Author
Posted
On 4/9/2024 at 7:03 AM, richard wysong said:

sounds like a wiring issue, possibly chafed harness  somewhere?

 

That is what worries me. You can chase those forever. Maybe I will crawl under the truck and look at the harness where it enters the firewall?

newdude Senior Enthusiast

newdude

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, RadoRevival said:

 

That's super helpful. So I am going to change both the thermostat and temp sending unit. So hopefully that will clear that.

 

Is there any chance that a bad ECM could be causing my trans temp to normally read nothing and when it does work it jumps all over the place? I have been told on other forums that its the temp sending unit built into the internal harness on my 2013 4L60E

 

 

Transmission is handled from the TCM on these year 4L60, not the ECM.  

 

Both the ECM and TCM however do share a common ground, ground G106 which is on the top right rear of the engine, so check that ground out.

 

As far as where each sensor has its ground, its in each module, so the coolant temp sensor grounds in the ECM, the transmission temp sensor grounds in the TCM.  

Edited by newdude
  • Thanks 1
RadoRevival Enthusiast

RadoRevival

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, newdude said:

 

Both the ECM and TCM however do share a common ground, ground G106 which is on the top right rear of the engine, so check that ground out.

 

That is super helpful. Thanks. I will inspect it. (top right rear, is that passenger side?)

 

Can you confirm that the trans temp is in the wire harness in the tranny? And any idea how I can find the part number other than going to the dealer? I can't find it anywhere.

 

Most the time I have no transmission temperature.

Edited by RadoRevival
newdude Senior Enthusiast

newdude

Posted
Posted
15 hours ago, RadoRevival said:

 

That is super helpful. Thanks. I will inspect it. (top right rear, is that passenger side?)

 

Can you confirm that the trans temp is in the wire harness in the tranny? And any idea how I can find the part number other than going to the dealer? I can't find it anywhere.

 

Most the time I have no transmission temperature.

 

 

The temp sensor is a part of the manual shift shaft position switch.  24248867.  

 

24248867 - Trans Parts Direct

RadoRevival Enthusiast

RadoRevival

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, newdude said:

 

 

The temp sensor is a part of the manual shift shaft position switch.  24248867.  

 

24248867 - Trans Parts Direct

 

Half the parts houses I look up that part say its the right fit, the other half say it's not and I need Automatic Transmission Manual Shift Shaft Position Switch - GM (19181161). Seeing how one is $29 and the other is $168 I am hoping you are right.  But nothing anywhere talk about transmission temp sending in any of these parts which is super frustrating.

Edited by RadoRevival
newdude Senior Enthusiast

newdude

Posted
Posted
57 minutes ago, RadoRevival said:

 

Half the parts houses I look up that part say its the right fit, the other half say it's not and I need Automatic Transmission Manual Shift Shaft Position Switch - GM (19181161). Seeing how one is $29 and the other is $168 I am hoping you are right.  But nothing anywhere talk about transmission temp sending in any of these parts which is super frustrating.

 

 

19181161 doesn't even fit a 4L60.  That's for a Tahoe Hybrid 08-13.  

richard wysong Senior Enthusiast

richard wysong

Posted
Posted

Instead of firing the parts cannon you should diagnose the problem lest you install all the new stuff and still have the same problem. Sounds like a wiring issue to me.

RadoRevival Enthusiast

RadoRevival

Posted
  • Author
Posted
6 minutes ago, richard wysong said:

Instead of firing the parts cannon you should diagnose the problem lest you install all the new stuff and still have the same problem. Sounds like a wiring issue to me.

 

 

How should I diagnose the problem? Visually inspect the harness?

  • Like 1

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Forum Statistics

    250.4k
    Total Topics
    2.7m
    Total Posts

  • Member Statistics

    342,759
    Total Members
    8,960
    Most Online
    DM22
    Newest Member
    DM22
    Joined

  • Who's Online   2 Members, 0 Anonymous, 3,038 Guests (See full list)

  • Latest Articles

  • Posts

    • B14Sierra
      Cam chain tensioner question

      By B14Sierra · Posted

      So I'm in the middle of a DOD AFM delete on my 6.2 L86 Sierra. I had a pick holding the tensioner but after I got the Cam phaser gear off I was cleaning off all the rtv and apparently I didn't have the pick seated far enough in. I bumped it and the tensioner sprang forward.  I think everything is good but I want a second opinion. The top of the tensioner is just a looped piece of plastic that rides in that channel right? There is no spring or anything is there? I got the gear and chain back on and it seems tight and everything looks right. I'm hoping nothing fell out.
    • dna9656
      No low range 4 x 4

      By dna9656 · Posted

      My 2015 1500 LTZ Silverado suddenly won't go into 4 x 4 low. It will go into 4 x 4 high.
    • asilverblazer
      Transmission Woes :-(

      By asilverblazer · Posted

      Yep, just a quick reference point.    My main point being I’d do a thousand other things before I’d pay 10k for a transmission.    Speaking in ignorance cause I don’t look at these trucks, what is it worth? 20k?
    • asilverblazer
      Intermittent no-code issues on 2022.5+ V8 trucks — what did the shop fail to capture?

      By asilverblazer · Posted

      I think users are going to want to pick their monitored parameters, which parameters they want to see first.    It should probably start with baseline at a minimum and adjust to learned, but be able to overlay baseline for comparison.   A simple severity level would be able to determine what type of alerting is appropriate or user selectable.    Why not use the OBD port though?   I think a phone connection would be a good idea, push notifications type deal.   Number 1 issue is having data is useless if you don’t know what the data should be under normal conditions. 
    • Chuck FB
      summer road trips in the 2026 2500HD

      By Chuck FB · Posted

      I thought I would use your thread and add to it as I just did my first longer drive with my truck in the last couple of days. I drove from the Grande Prairie area of Alberta down to Edmonton and most of where I drove in the city was the ring road so fairly free flowing but a bit of stop and go as well in the city. Stayed the night and returned home and not too many stops along the way each way but every restart and certainly every cold start sets it back for fuel mileage. Why I say that is I see some people will cherry pick a fuel mileage leg after the vehicle had been warmed up driveline wise before hand and its a forgiving ( easy rolling drive leg for example ) and call that their fuel mileage which can give a false perception of reality. I was not heavily loaded at all but never the less the flip bak cover, rubber bed mat, various tools etc and extra jerry cans of fuel all way up to a few hundred pounds of dead weight so its not an empty truck. The cold inflation tire pressures are set more near the freezing point so once they are warmed up driving I was showing 45 front and over 40 rear and realize high inflation pressures would help a little in fuel mileage but certainly not the ride on our crap sections of highway. The weather was good so was not raining as that can really drag mileage down, in fact I had a bit of a tail wind on average driving home. Most people on here would never have driven on that freeway to visualize it but its got a fair bit of rolling type of landscape with numerous river valleys. For the most part I had it on cruise set to 62 although kicking it off if I caught it in time before it started down shifting and self braking going down the grades. Most of the more substantial grades its shifting into 7th I believe as 8th just doesn't have it. Total distance round trip was 643 miles and my overall average and I did refuel three times in all, figured out to 17.65 miles per US gallon. My best fuel mileage section refuel within all of this figured out to 18.46 and these are all hand calculated figures. I find if anything that the trucks computer can be over optimistic, sometimes its pretty close but other times its stretching it. On paper persay in theory the truck would have just about made it on fumes for that whole drive without refueling once.    Which made me think of the topic thread of the wonder if these trucks could do 20 mpg and that is a good question, certainly would have to be on an easy going flat highway, no head wind, the right temperature, not packing around a bunch of dead weight and puttering along even slower than I was I would suspect and going steady and not stopping to smell the flowers or take a piss !. It probably is possible but not without effort to attain that with the wind resistance and weight of these trucks. Of course on my drive most people are passing me if they have the power as per loaded highway tractors, never mind a lot of speedy vehicles but the speed limit is 68 and most are at or well over that. 

  • GM-Trucks.com Clubs

  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...