OBD-II code family
Cylinder Contribution and Balance Faults (12 codes)
12 related fault descriptions. Use each full code and the exact vehicle service information to identify its circuit, monitored condition, and required tests.
Codes in this family
This is the complete published member list for this guide. Each code retains its own page; shared diagnostic context does not mean that every member has the same test or repair.
- P0263Cylinder 1 Contribution/Balance
- P0266Cylinder 2 Contribution/Balance
- P0269Cylinder 3 Contribution/Balance
- P0272Cylinder 4 Contribution/Balance
- P0275Cylinder 5 Contribution/Balance
- P0278Cylinder 6 Contribution/Balance
- P0281Cylinder 7 Contribution/Balance
- P0284Cylinder 8 Contribution/Balance
- P0287Cylinder 9 Contribution/Balance
- P0290Cylinder 10 Contribution/Balance
- P0293Cylinder 11 Contribution/Balance
- P0296Cylinder 12 Contribution/Balance Fault
What these codes mean
These twelve entries identify contribution/balance faults for cylinders 1–12. They are separate from injector circuit low/high/open codes: an electrically intact injector circuit does not establish normal fuel delivery, combustion, or cylinder mechanical condition.
Use the exact engine cylinder numbering and the manufacturer’s monitor conditions. There is no universal idle balance-rate limit. Ford’s covered diesel monitor and GM bulletin 19-NA-232 illustrate engine-specific checks; neither establishes a test or a failure threshold for every engine or higher-numbered cylinder.
Investigate companion circuit, fuel-pressure, timing, and misfire faults, then use the specified balance, compression, ignition where applicable, and fuel tests. A correction-rate number or cancellation result alone is not universal proof of a defective injector. Do not remove a fuel-pump fuse or disable injection using instructions for another vehicle.
Repair the cause confirmed by testing, perform any specified injector coding or learning, and verify under the applicable conditions. The injector replacement estimate is one conditional repair example. Diagnosis, wiring, fuel contamination, and mechanical repairs have different costs.
Identify the circuit on your vehicle
Match the full DTC, reporting module, and any failure-type suffix to the service information for your exact year, make, model, engine, and equipment. An identifier alone does not establish installed hardware count, location, connector pinout, or a universal measurement.
Where the manufacturer publishes its own meaning for this code, that is the one to work from — it describes the actual component on your vehicle, which the generic definition cannot. Keep the generic description for what it is good for: it tells you which subject area the standard assigned the code to, which is useful context when the two appear to disagree. If they do disagree, follow the manufacturer.