P0287

P0287 is the cylinder 9 contribution/balance fault — only valid on engines with 9 or more cylinders, so in modern shop work this means a V10 (Ford Triton V10, RAM Viper V10, Audi/Lambo 5.0L/5.2L V10), a V12 (BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, Aston Martin), or an inline-12 (almost extinct outside specialty marine/industrial). The ECM has detected cylinder 9 deviating from per-cylinder fuel trim average by more than +/- 5 mm3/stroke. On a Ford 6.8L Triton V10, cylinder 9 sits on the left (driver) bank, fourth from the front. On a BMW N73/N74 V12 (760i, Rolls-Royce Ghost/Phantom), cylinder 9 is on the right bank, fourth from the front. Cheapest-first ladder is the same as any contribution code: scan live balance trims, run cylinder cutout (healthy 80-150 RPM drop, weak less than 50), compression test, injector electrical and flow test. On V10/V12 platforms the labor cost on every step doubles because access is brutal — budget twice the time vs a V8. Expensive-misdiagnosis caveat: on V12 platforms with two independent ECMs (one per bank, common on BMW N73/N74), a P0287 can be set by an ECM-to-ECM correlation fault rather than a mechanical issue on cyl 9 — verify both ECMs are flashed to the same calibration level and communicating cleanly on the K-CAN/PT-CAN buses before replacing parts.

Vehicle-specific patterns: 2000-2010 Ford F-250/350/450 and Excursion with the 6.8L Triton V10 (2-valve and 3-valve) is the most common P0287 case in North America — the 3-valve V10 (2005+) suffers the same stuck-spark-plug, cam-phaser, and coil-boot carbon-tracking issues as the 5.4L 3V V8, and the left-bank cylinders (including cyl 9) are first to fail because of exhaust heat soak from the manifold collector. 2003-2010 Dodge RAM SRT-10 with the Viper 8.3L V10 throws P0287 from the well-documented coil-pack failures specific to that platform (10 coils, all in deep wells). 2002-2016 BMW N73/N74 V12 (760Li, Rolls-Royce) throws P0287 from index-code mismatches after injector swaps without coding, or from the N74 fuel pump module failure that causes uneven rail pressure between banks. 2011-2015 Lamborghini Aventador 6.5L V12 and 2008-2017 Audi R8 5.2L V10 (and Gallardo V10) throw P0287 from carbon buildup and coil-pack failures common to all VAG direct-injection platforms. Estimated repair: $300 (single coil + plug DIY on a Ford V10) to $12,000+ (V12 injector set + coding on a BMW N74).