Chevy HHR Network - Engine Power Reduced Light on

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goetylsd-

You might be getting a weak cell in the battery & the overnight GPS is killing it.

Too bad you couldn't check the battery in the morning w/GPS off overnight..

Our batteries are minimal AMPS at best for our rides. When I ever replace a battery, I find the biggest AMP battery that will still fit..
Costs a little more but for me lasts a good while longer..

Should be noted that when it killed my wife's MKZ battery it was from Friday night till Monday morning. Just sitting... but who knows when it actually was dead. Monday morning it was dead dead dead dead. Makes you wonder how that happens, you'd think once the gps was charged it would be done....

Wow, I had no idea that a GPS could cause this to happen. I always thought that GPS would draw minimal power from the battery. It seems like a small device that would barely make a difference. Plus, once the GPS is charged up completely, is it still drawing power from the car's battery? I guess I won't leave it plugged in at all anymore, but I just never would've guessed such a small device would be enough to kill the battery. I'm kinda surprised...

I agree that I wouldn't think it pulled enough and that you would think once charged it would quit. I was proven double wrong... live and learn. We don't leave ours plugged in anymore.

Even with GPS charged up, must still be some parasitic drain, as all the other HHR goodies do..

Quote:

Originally Posted by goetylsd (Post 501363)

I went to go somewhere today, and my HHR wouldn't start. I having been having problems with the battery, I think I might have a weak battery or something. So, I jumpstarted it with my battery pack, which I've had to do a few times lately. It started running extremely rough, and it basically sounded like a diesel or something. The "Eng Pwr Reduced" light came on, and it stayed on the entire time. It was making a "bogging" noise, and I drove to a nearby garage. On the way, it was very hard to drive. It didn't want to go above 25-30, and it took forever to even get moving at all. It felt like it had about as much horsepower as a lawn mower. When I got there, they plugged the computer into it, and he said he didn't find any codes. Now, the check engine light was on, so I thought there would be codes. I could be wrong, but I thought whenever the check engine light was on, there would for sure be codes. Is that right? He said I would have to come back on Tuesday and they would have to search around and look at it in depth to diagnose it. I know it's hard to say for sure, but does anyone have any thoughts on what it could possibly be? Is my engine going bad or something? Has anyone ever had this "Eng Pwr Reduced" thing happen to them? Up until this point, there have been absolutely no problems with my HHR, it's been a great car.

Thanks, Tyler

Happened to me too. Battery drained due to winter loads and short trips which did not recharge it. I note poster gives address in Wisconsin and that there has been some cool weather just north of the border lately.

Winter loads include rear window automatic defrost, heater motor, lights and optionally heated seats. I too was wary about repeat failure so I installed a battery charger beside the spare wheel and ran the power cord to the front bumper where I can plug it in with or without the block heater, battery blanket and oil pan heater.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marzipan (Post 501967)

Yes, it definitely has been colder here lately. I've been using remote start a lot more lately and the defogger and heater and stuff. I don't have leather seats though. But I guess that's always a possibility too. My car's been running normally now for the past few days, the check engine light has gone off, and it hasn't given me any further trouble. I unplug my GPS when I shut my car off now, and hopefully I won't have any more trouble with it. At this point, I'm thinking the very, very low battery might have just caused everything to go wacky. The lights were flashing on and off, doors were locking and unlocking, and it was kind of bizzare. But I think that it all was probably just because of the low (or dead) battery.

Could the "Engine Power Reduced" light come on due to coldness until it warms up? I woke up this morning and was going out to start my vehicle to go out shopping, and found that light and message up. HOWEVER, I didn't have anything plugged in over night. Not even something with a tiny led on. My Warning lights were plugged in, but unless on, do not draw any power. Any ideas? I just bought this vehicle 3 months ago, and it was "GM Certified Used"

Good morning 1151 and happy Black Friday. Low system voltage caused by a low battery charge can cause a code to be set and the check engine light to go on. Once the system voltage recovers the light will go out and the code will clear for the time being. Since you're under the certified warranty I'd get your HHR to the dealer soon since a discharged battery can cause real headaches. They will be able the pull the codes with a scan tool, and you might not be having a battery issues. There are several other parameters that the ECM and BCM monitor upon start up that can also trigger the MIL. I'd bet since this issue cropped with the cold, its the battery beginning to fail, but have it checked ASAP. Hope this helps, and keep us posted.

843de. Thanks bud. And Happy Gobble Gobble Day/Black Friday to you too. Here I sit @ the dealership while Stiglitz is being fixed.