OBD-II trouble code
P0214: Cold Start Injector 2 Malfunction
A fault in the second cold start injector circuit. Because a second cold start injector is fitted almost exclusively to larger V-configuration and diesel engines, the first useful question is whether your engine has one at all — and if it does, whether both cold start injectors are failing together.
Quick facts
- System
- Powertrain
- Category
- Fuel Injectors
- Severity
- Medium severity
- Drivable
- Usually safe to drive short-term
- Repair cost range
- $90 – $650
- DIY difficulty
- Intermediate DIY
What does P0214 mean?
P0214 is the companion code to P0213, and it refers to the second cold start injector. Everything true of the first applies here: it is an extra injector, separate from the main set, mounted in the intake rather than at a cylinder port, and it fires only during a cold crank to add the additional fuel a cold engine needs to catch and idle. Once the engine is warm, it does nothing. That is why the signature symptom is a difficult cold start followed by a perfectly normal warm start.
What makes P0214 worth treating as its own topic rather than a copy of P0213 is that a second cold start injector is a much rarer piece of hardware. Most engines that use the design use exactly one, feeding the whole intake plenum. A second injector is fitted where one cannot distribute fuel evenly enough — typically larger V-configuration engines, where each bank has its own plenum runner and a single injector on one side would enrich one bank while starving the other, and a range of diesel engines, where the cold start aid is more critical because a cold cylinder may not reach compression-ignition temperature at all. So before spending anything on P0214, establish that your engine physically has a second cold start injector. If it does not, the code is almost certainly a scan tool misreading a manufacturer-specific code or looking one up in the wrong table.
When the engine genuinely does have two, the code carries a diagnostic advantage the single-injector case does not: you have a built-in reference. If P0213 and P0214 are both stored, the fault is very unlikely to be two injectors that failed on the same morning. It is far more likely to be something they share — a common fuse or relay, a shared power feed or ground, the thermo-time switch that grounds both circuits, or the coolant temperature signal that tells the module a cold start is happening. Chasing the shared element first will usually resolve both codes with one repair. If only P0214 is stored while P0213 is not, the fault is genuinely local to the second injector's own circuit, and the healthy first injector gives you a known-good comparison for resistance readings, connector condition, and commanded behavior.
On many systems the cold start injectors are not driven the way the main injectors are. Instead they are switched by a thermo-time switch, a temperature-sensitive switch threaded into the coolant passage that closes the ground circuit only below a set point and contains a heating element limiting how long the injectors stay energized so the engine does not flood. Other systems hand control to the ECM using coolant temperature as the trigger. Either arrangement means the injector's operating window is a few seconds at the start of a cold crank and nothing else.
The inverse failure applies here as well. An injector that leaks, or one held open by a stuck thermo-time switch or a shorted circuit, keeps adding fuel after the engine has warmed. That gives you black smoke, a fuel smell, fouled plugs, poor economy, and a hard hot start from flooding — a rich condition that no amount of work on the main fuel system will resolve.
Common causes
- Failed second cold start injector — clogged, stuck closed, or an open coil winding
- Shared fuse, relay, power feed, or ground fault affecting both cold start injectors
- Faulty thermo-time switch not closing the circuit when the engine is cold
- Corroded, loose, or damaged connector at the second injector
- Broken, chafed, or shorted wiring in the second cold start injector circuit
- Leaking second cold start injector holding fuel into the intake continuously
- Low fuel pressure so the injector cannot deliver its intended volume
- Failed engine coolant temperature sensor on systems where the ECM controls the injectors
- Fault in the ECM's cold start injector driver circuit
Symptoms
- Hard starting when the engine is cold — long cranking before it catches
- Normal, immediate starting when the engine is already warm
- Rough idle, stumbling, or stalling in the first seconds after a cold start, sometimes noticeably uneven between banks
- Check engine light with P0214 stored, often alongside P0213
- Black smoke, fuel smell, and rich running if the injector is leaking instead of failing closed
- Poor cold-weather fuel economy
- Increased emissions during the warm-up period
Diagnostic steps
- 1.Confirm the engine physically has a second cold start injector. Most engines that use this design have only one, and if yours does, re-scan with a tool that supports your make before spending anything.
- 2.Check whether P0213 is stored as well. Both codes together point at something the two injectors share — a fuse, relay, power feed, ground, thermo-time switch, or the coolant temperature signal — not at two injectors failing at once.
- 3.If only P0214 is stored, use the healthy first injector as a known-good reference for resistance, connector condition, and commanded behavior.
- 4.Inspect the second injector's connector and wiring for corrosion, chafing, heat damage, and backed-out pins.
- 5.Measure the injector's coil resistance with the key off and compare it against both the specification and the first injector's reading.
- 6.Test the thermo-time switch if the system uses one. It should close the circuit below its temperature threshold and open above it.
- 7.With the engine cold, confirm the injector is actually being commanded during cranking with a noid light or by monitoring the circuit.
- 8.Check fuel pressure, since a cold start injector cannot deliver its intended volume on low system pressure.
- 9.Inspect for leakage by pressurizing the fuel system and watching the injector tip. A dripping injector causes rich running rather than hard starting.
- 10.Verify the engine coolant temperature sensor is reading accurately on ECM-controlled systems, since a falsely warm reading suppresses cold start enrichment entirely.
- 11.Replace the injector only after the shared circuit elements, wiring, fuel pressure, and coolant temperature signal have all checked out.
Repair cost
$90 – $650
A wiring or connector repair is often $90-$200, and a blown fuse costs very little. A thermo-time switch is typically $30-$120 in parts plus about an hour of labor, with some coolant loss because it threads into a coolant passage — and on a two-injector system that one part can resolve both codes. A cold start injector itself commonly runs $60-$250 in parts with 0.5-1.5 hours of labor. The upper end reflects older and lower-volume applications where the part is dealer-only or scarce, cases where both injectors need replacing, and situations where prolonged rich running from a leaking injector has fouled plugs or damaged the catalytic converter.
Estimate your repair
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Open the Repair Cost Estimator with fuel injector replacement preselected. Adjust labor rate and vehicle category to fit your situation.
DIY vs shop
This is an intermediate DIY job. It usually involves diagnostic steps, specialty parts, and some careful work in tight spaces. If you have the tools and a service manual or trustworthy video for your specific vehicle, it is achievable in a weekend. Otherwise, a competent independent shop will be faster.