OBD-II Code · Fuel & Air
P0280
Cylinder 7 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)
$40–$530
Varies by vehicle, diagnosis, parts, and local labor. This is not a repair quote.
Cyl 7 injector driver reads high (open).
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 7
- Check engine light
Likely causes
- Open windingMost common
- Broken harness
Read the full diagnostic procedureP0280 indicates a high-voltage (open) condition on the cylinder 7 injector control circuit, meaning the PCM commands the driver low but cannot pull t…
P0280 indicates a high-voltage (open) condition on the cylinder 7 injector control circuit, meaning the PCM commands the driver low but cannot pull the line down.
Cheapest test first
- swap injector 7 with another cylinder and clear codes; a migrating code confirms a broken injector winding.
- Measure resistance with the connector unplugged: 11 to 17 ohms expected on PFI, 1.5 to 4 ohms on GDI; open circuit (OL) confirms a broken winding.
- Key-on engine-off, the feed pin should show battery voltage and the driver pin should rise to near battery voltage through the injector coil; if the driver pin reads 0V with injector unplugged and key on, the harness or PCM driver is open.
- Scope confirms a clean square pulldown during cranking with pulse widths of 4 to 8 ms on cold-crank PFI engines and 0.5 to 1.2 ms on GDI. Caveat: on returnless fuel systems a single failed injector can pull rail pressure low enough to trigger neighboring lean codes (P0171/P0174), so don't chase trims until P0280 is resolved.
Vehicle-specific patterns2004 to 2008 Ford F-150 5.4L 3V triton again sees P0280 from the same passenger-bank harness chafe pattern as P0274; 2007 to 2009 Toyota Tundra 5.7L…
- 2004to 2008 Ford F-150 5.4L 3V triton again sees P0280 from the same passenger-bank harness chafe pattern as P0274;
- 2007to 2009 Toyota Tundra 5.7L 3UR-FE has reported broken injector connector locking tabs that lift the terminal off the pin;
- 2005to 2010 Chrysler 300C 5.7L Hemi has the Mopar TSB 18-040-07 cracked-winding pattern on the rear-bank cylinders.
Estimated repair$40 to $530.
Look up another code
P0280 — frequently asked
What does a P0280 code mean?
Cyl 7 injector driver reads high (open).
What causes a P0280 code?
Common causes: Open winding; Broken harness.
What are the symptoms of a P0280 code?
Typical symptoms: Misfire cyl 7; Check engine light.
Is it safe to drive with a P0280 code?
Not for long. Driving on this one risks further damage. Get it to a shop rather than carrying on with it. Estimated repair: $40-$530.
How do I diagnose a P0280 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.
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