Another observation - of many:
Today I had work done on my son's 2004 S10 Blazer. According to the tech, the fuel filter was "severely restricted" and "the junk that came out of it was black." We recently bought this truck with 150K on it. Aside from poor mileage, the truck was running fine. It was probably the stock OEM filter...
The comparison to a 4.3L gasser stops there, but consider if the Blazer's ECM was concerned with rail pressure enough to set a check engine light and limp the truck. The fuel filter would have been changed long, long ago.
In my thinking, GM engineers and EMC programmers have stepped on it with on this one, because their test mules didn't consider the myriad of circumstances can cause low rail pressure, including but not limited to:
#6 will almost always be a transient condition - where the limp mode is counter-productive to driveability...i.e. stranding a loaded 5-er on some grade climb out of Denver. NOT GOOD.
- Restricted fuel filters (obvious and purposeful cause for the limp)
- Crimped, collapsed, or restricted fuel lines
- Hot, thin fuel
- Weak or work injectors
- Weak or worn pump
- High fuel demand, combined with one or more of the above!!!
The sooner somebody programs around the limp, and sets the SES as an 'informational' message, the better. Just like the venerable LB7s...run until they choked.
My .03 worth!
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