MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2020 - APR4

seen ECM software updates (Figure 9) which are
supposed to "increase robustness of environmental
temperature model." A reflash however, did not repair this vehicle.

e.	 Lowering the heat to your pan / water container
should then reverse the process and allow the wax in
the sensing section of the thermostat to contract. The
stat's spring should then slowly close it. Failure to
open or close in this manner means the thermostat is
faulty.

Finally Repaired . . . with a THIRD Thermostat!

Some technicians have reported that even new
OEM thermostats can fail the ECM's thermostat
monitor and set P0128 DTCs. Most of them had repaired the vehicle with an aftermarket thermostat.
Mike replaced the second new OEM stat with a
leading aftermarket brand and cleared the DTC. It
did not reset.

Some of Mike's fellow technicians suggested he
look at GM's exact DTC parameters (Figure 8) to see
how the vehicle's ECT and ambient temperatures
were moving prior to the DTC setting. A couple of
techs experienced in programming modules had

Diagnosing P0128
Thermostat Performance
DTCs

GM

As stated before, a
P0128 is a DTC that can
set if the cooling system
temperature doesn't rise
at the correct rate. The
very first thing to check
is of course coolant level. The ECT sensor is the
ECM's input to report
the cooling system's
temperature. If it's not
completely immersed in
coolant (as in the case
of a cooling system low
on coolant), it can't accurately report the engine's temperature. If
you're wondering exactly how this DTC sets,
you can find quite a bit
in OEM documents
like the GM DTC
parameter
chart
(Figure 8) and the
Ford OBD-II documents which are
often used to obtain Mode $06 information.

GM

Figure 8: GM DTC Criteria / Enabling Conditions Chart.

Figure 9: GM calibration update for P0128? A Google search for "GM CAL ID" gets you to the no
charge https://tis2web.service.gm.com/tis2web website where the vehicle's VIN can be entered. Selecting ECM, we see there has been a calibration update for the diagnostic section of the ECM's software
to "increase robustness of environmental temperature model." That's not exactly a smoking gun to
lead you to try a calibration update quite yet, but if you've done all you can do . . . try the updated
flash!

April 2020	

4	

MACS Service Reports


https://tis2web.service.gm.com/tis2web

MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2020

MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2020 - JAN1
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MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2020 - FEB1
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MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2020 - MAR1
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MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2020 - APR1
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MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2020 - MAY1
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MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2020 - JUN1
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MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2020 - AUG1
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MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2020 - AUG7
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2020 - AUG8
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2020 - SEP1
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MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2020 - OCT1
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MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2020 - OCT8
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2020 - DEC1
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MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2020 - DEC8
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2020 - DEC9
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