OBD-II trouble code
P0255: Injection Pump Fuel Metering Control "A" Intermittent (Cam/Rotor/Injector)
SAE J2012 APR2002: metering control A intermittent. One Chrysler reprint sends a bright lamp to an intermittent test, and another replaces the pump. The printed pair is diagnosis only.
Quick facts
- System
- Powertrain
- Category
- Fuel & Air
- Severity
- High severity
- Drivable
- No — stop driving until repaired
- Repair cost range
- $125 – $183 (check engine light diagnosis and testing, labor only; the diesel injection pump and a connector reseat are outside this pair)
- DIY difficulty
- Advanced DIY
Browse every code in P0200–P0299, or start from the full code library.
What does P0255 mean?
SAE J2012 APR2002 names P0255 Injection Pump Fuel Metering Control "A" Intermittent (Cam/Rotor/Injector). Section 3.9 is a signal that is temporarily discontinuous, a fault too brief to count as an open or a short, or a rate of change that is excessive. P0253 and P0254 need the low or high fault to be present for their tests. This row is the one that does not stay.
The dieseltruckresource reprint that places the incandescent lamp at step 10 sends a bright flash, about 20 seconds after connection, to the intermittent-condition procedure, and a lamp that stays dark to an ECM replacement. The igotacummins reprint places a bright flash at step 1 and replaces the fuel pump. A flash is not an intermittent verdict on every copy, and it is not a $0 connector cleaning. No price was found for reseating a connector. RepairPal diagnosis labor is the printed pair. The pump average of $2,630–$4,034 was searched and is outside it.
Capture the dropout with a recording while the actuator harness is moved, key on, engine off, in park, in the command state the VIN chart uses. Do not do that from the driver's seat on the road. A still resistance check can pass section 3.9. When the fault is actually present, the open check and the short checks are the ones on the P0251 reprints: less than 10 ohms passes an open and fails a short; greater than 1 volt fails an external-voltage short. Circuit labels still have to match the VIN, because the reprints use both K604/K65 and K181/K31.
Do not open a high-pressure fitting to chase a glitch. Depressurize before a low-pressure connection is opened.
Common causes
- A dropout on control A too brief to count as an open or a short
- A connector on the metering control that opens only when the harness moves
- A rate of change on that circuit that section 3.9 calls excessive
Symptoms
- P0255 stored
- A miss that is gone when the harness is still
- A recorded loss of the PWM return while the connector is moved, in park
- P0251 stored if the mismatch stays present for that monitor
Diagnostic steps
- 1.Save the recording before the code is cleared. Key on, engine off, in park. Move the actuator connector and the harness while the PWM return is recorded. Do not road-test with the driver watching the tool.
- 2.Do not replace the pump because a lamp flashed, and do not replace the ECM because it did not. Those are two different reprints of a P0251 chart, not an agreed P0255 ending.
- 3.When the dropout is present: ignition off, module and actuator disconnected. Open check, less than 10 ohms is intact. Short checks, less than 10 ohms is a fail. External voltage, greater than 1 volt is a fail. Flex the wire while you measure. A still pass can miss the break.
- 4.Use the VIN's circuit numbers. K604 is not K181.
- 5.There is no $0 repair on this page. Diagnosis labor is the pair. The pump and the $258–$322 filter were searched and are outside it.
- 6.Do not open high-pressure fuel. Depressurize a low-pressure fitting before it is opened.
- 7.Verify with another recorded flex, key on, engine off, not with a cleared code alone.
Repair cost
$125 – $183 (check engine light diagnosis and testing, labor only; the diesel injection pump and a connector reseat are outside this pair)
RepairPal's check engine light diagnosis and testing, updated 3 September 2026, is $125–$183 labor. The printed pair is that figure. No parts-and-labor total was found for an intermittent connector. Diesel injection pump replacement is $2,630–$4,034 nationally and $3,384–$7,376 on the Ram 3500 line, which lists other year lines. A fuel filter is $258–$322. All were searched and are outside the pair. One P0251 reprint replaces a pump on a lamp flash; another sends that flash to an intermittent test. Neither price is a connector.
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DIY vs shop
This is an advanced DIY job. It typically requires specialty tools, scan-tool access, lifting equipment, or careful sequencing to avoid causing new failures. Plan for extended downtime and have a backup vehicle. Most owners are better served by a shop that has done this repair before.