OBD-II trouble code
P0259: Injection Pump Fuel Metering Control "B" High (Cam/Rotor/Injector)
SAE J2012 APR2002: metering control B high. Greater than 1 volt is the A-chart external-voltage fail, and that chart is not labeled B. 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 is outside this pair)
- DIY difficulty
- Advanced DIY
Browse every code in P0200–P0299, or start from the full code library.
What does P0259 mean?
SAE J2012 APR2002 names P0259 Injection Pump Fuel Metering Control "B" High (Cam/Rotor/Injector). Circuit high is measured with the control connected. The other direction on this letter is P0258, circuit low. P0254 is letter A's high code. A ground repair is not supplied by the A-chart reprints as the cause of a high result, and it is not supplied for B either. Those reprints fail external voltage when the wire is greater than 1 volt above battery negative, driver and return measured separately.
That 1-volt sentence is attached to one actuator in a P0251 write-up, and the write-ups do not share circuit numbers. It becomes a B test only when the service information for the VIN says the B wire is the one being measured and prints the same comparison. Until then, measuring A's return and calling it B's high fault tests the wrong conductor. Voltage with the module still connected is not the isolation step those reprints use.
RepairPal's pump average was searched and does not say channel B. Diagnosis labor is the printed pair. Do not open a high-pressure fitting. Depressurize before a low-pressure connection is opened.
Common causes
- An above-range reading on control B with the control connected
- A short to power on the B wire the diagram names
- Voltage on the driver wire or the return wire in the state the chart says should be low
Symptoms
- P0259 stored
- Control B connected at the moment the high result is confirmed
- No agreed pin number for B's driver
- P0258 stored if the same control is shorted low instead
Diagnostic steps
- 1.Select B from the diagram before a meter lead moves. A's high-code wires are P0254.
- 2.If the VIN chart uses the greater-than-1-volt comparison, measure B's driver to battery negative and B's return to battery negative as two tests, actuator unplugged, module in the state that chart names. Greater than 1 volt fails that wire. Not greater than 1 volt does not clear the other wire.
- 3.Do not import a ground-first story. It was not in the A reprints, and no B reprint was found.
- 4.Less than 10 ohms to ground is the short-to-ground fail, which is the low row's kind of result.
- 5.The printed pair is diagnosis. The $2,630–$4,034 pump average is outside it.
- 6.Do not open high-pressure fuel. Depressurize a low-pressure fitting before opening it.
- 7.Verify key on, engine off, B connected, in the bay.
Repair cost
$125 – $183 (check engine light diagnosis and testing, labor only; the diesel injection pump is 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 a channel-B short to external voltage. Diesel injection pump replacement is $2,630–$4,034 nationally and $3,384–$7,376 on the Ram 3500 estimator, which lists other year lines. It was searched and is outside the pair.
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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.