OBD-II Code · Fuel & Air
P0262
Cylinder 1 Injector Circuit High
Severity
high
Left alone, this one tends to take other parts with it.
Can you drive it
Not for long
Driving on this one risks further damage. Get it to a shop rather than carrying on with it.
Indicative cost (USD)
$100–$500
Varies by vehicle, diagnosis, parts, and local labor. This is not a repair quote.
Cyl 1 injector circuit voltage high.
How a shop works this
Work from evidence to part, not the other way round. A code names a circuit or a symptom; it does not name the part that failed.
Note every code that is set, not just this one.
Codes that appear together usually narrow the cause faster than any one of them read alone.
Read the freeze frame — the conditions the fault was recorded under.
Cold or warm, idle or load, road speed and engine speed. A fault that only appears cold is a different fault from one that only appears under load, even with the same code on the scanner.
Confirm the fault is current rather than history.
Clear the code and see whether it returns under those same conditions. A code that does not come back may have been logged during a repair, a flat battery, or a bad connection that has since been disturbed.
Then work the likely-causes list in the order shown.
That order is what a shop checks first for this code — wiring and connections before the component they run to, because a connector costs nothing to inspect and is a common answer.
If the code comes back after a repair, the underlying fault is still there. That is the point to bring in a scanner with live data and freeze-frame, or a shop that has one.
Common symptoms
- Misfire cyl 1
- Check engine light
Likely causes
- Failed injectorMost common
- Wiring short to power
Read the full diagnostic procedureP0262 sets when the PCM detects voltage on the cylinder 1 injector low-side driver circuit that stays high when the driver commands the injector ON,…
P0262 sets when the PCM detects voltage on the cylinder 1 injector low-side driver circuit that stays high when the driver commands the injector ON, indicating an open winding inside the injector, a broken signal wire between the PCM and the injector connector, or a short to battery voltage on the driver circuit.
Start with the cheapest tests first
- back-probe the injector connector with key-on engine-off and confirm you have battery voltage on the supply side (should read within 0.5V of battery), then measure injector winding resistance pin-to-pin at the injector (typical port-fuel-injection spec 11.4 to 18 ohms at 68F, GDI low-impedance injectors 1.5 to 4 ohms) and compare against the other three cylinders, a delta over 2 ohms on PFI or 0.8 ohms on GDI flags the suspect injector.
- Scope the driver circuit with key-on and look for the square-wave pulse pulling to near 0V during the ON period, a flat line stuck at 12-14V confirms an open driver path or open winding.
- The expensive misdiagnosis here is condemning the PCM after a parts-cannon injector swap, the driver transistor inside the PCM can be damaged by a shorted injector but it cannot be tested without isolating the harness first, always unpin the injector connector and recheck before authorizing a PCM replacement.
Vehicle-specific patterns2003-2007 Ford 6.0L Powerstroke under-valve-cover harness chafe on the cylinder 1 injector pigtail is the textbook cause, TSB 07-15-2 covers the FICM…
- 2003-2007Ford 6.0L Powerstroke under-valve-cover harness chafe on the cylinder 1 injector pigtail is the textbook cause, TSB 07-15-2 covers the FICM/UVCH replacement procedure;
- 2005-2010Chevy Cobalt/HHR 2.2L Ecotec sees corrosion in the injector connector terminals from coolant weeping past the intake gasket onto the harness;
- 2007-2013BMW N54 with HPFP-era piezo injectors throws P0262 when the index code in the DME no longer matches a swapped injector or when the injector itself fails internally, BMW SI B13 01 10 covers the recoding procedure.
Estimated repair$180 to $1,400.
Look up another code
P0262 — frequently asked
What does a P0262 code mean?
Cyl 1 injector circuit voltage high.
What causes a P0262 code?
Common causes: Failed injector; Wiring short to power.
What are the symptoms of a P0262 code?
Typical symptoms: Misfire cyl 1; Check engine light.
Is it safe to drive with a P0262 code?
Not for long. Driving on this one risks further damage. Get it to a shop rather than carrying on with it. Estimated repair: $100-$500.
How do I diagnose a P0262 code?
Work from evidence to part, not the other way round. A code names a circuit or a symptom; it does not name the part that failed. 1. Note every code that is set, not just this one. 2. Read the freeze frame — the conditions the fault was recorded under. 3. Confirm the fault is current rather than history. 4. Then work the likely-causes list in the order shown.
More free tools