OBD-II trouble code
P0265: Cylinder 2 Injector Circuit High
SAE J2012 APR2002: cylinder 2 injector circuit high. On the 2009 G3 7.5–16 V Type A procedure the stored condition is a control wire shorted to voltage. The printed pair is one injector after that wire is cleared.
Quick facts
- System
- Powertrain
- Category
- Fuel Injectors
- Severity
- Medium severity
- Drivable
- Usually safe to drive short-term
- Repair cost range
- $768 – $953 (one fuel injector replacement, parts and labor, after the 2009 G3 circuit tests pass; a short to voltage and the ECM are outside this pair)
- DIY difficulty
- Shop recommended
Browse every code in P0200–P0299, or start from the full code library.
What does P0265 mean?
SAE J2012 APR2002 names P0265 Cylinder 2 Injector Circuit High. The reading is taken with the injector connected. P0264 is cylinder 2 circuit low. On charts that split an open into its own code, that open is P0202. Which injector is number 2 comes from the numbering diagram.
Two 2009 Pontiac G3 publications print this chart and they do not agree. AllOEMManuals G3 L4-1.6L and gm.saturn.team 7725/145178, the 7.5–16 V Type A procedure, cover P0261, P0262, P0264, P0265, P0267, P0268, P0270, and P0271 together. Ignition voltage is supplied to the injectors. The ECM grounds the control circuit with a driver. On that procedure the code runs with the engine running and ignition 1 voltage between 7.5 and 16 volts, continuously, the set is Type A, and the ECM commands open-loop fuel. The setting line for P0265 is specific: the ECM detects the injector control circuit shorted to voltage. P0264 on the same procedure is the open or the short to ground. Document 8100/175665 prints ignition 1 voltage between 11 and 16 volts, Type B, terminal 2 as ignition, and terminal 1 as control. The terminal numbers and the 7.5–16 volt enable below are the 7.5–16 V Type A procedure, not every 2009 G3 connector.
The lamp order is the part that gets skipped. Ignition off, unplug injector 2. Ignition on, a test lamp from ignition terminal 1 to ground should light. No light: repair the ignition 1 feed for a short to ground or an open/high resistance, and replace the fuse if it opened. A dark feed lamp is not the control-wire result. Ignition off, connect J 34730-405 between control terminal 2 and ignition terminal 1. Engine running, the lamp should flash. Stay off the belt and the fan. Always on: test the control wire for a short to ground, and replace the ECM only if that wire tests normal. Always off: the chart says test for a short to voltage or an open/high resistance, then the ECM if the wire is normal. P0265's setting sentence is the short to voltage. The open on this car is P0264. Do not file an open as P0265, and do not replace the injector for an always-on lamp.
Component resistance is 11–14 ohms between ignition terminal 1 and control terminal 2, ignition off, unplugged, and only when coolant is 10–32°C (50–90°F). The G3 says the ohms are not accurate outside that window. A coil inside 11–14 ohms does not repair a harness short to voltage.
The 2008 Pontiac G8 3.6L chart uses a multi-way and a different split. There P0265 sets when the control circuit is shorted to voltage for greater than 4 seconds or for a cumulative of 30 seconds. The open on the G8 is P0202. Do not move terminal 1 and terminal 2 onto that multi-way, and do not move the G8's 2.6–4.6 volt pull-up onto the G3.
Common causes
- On the 7.5–16 V Type A G3 procedure, injector 2's control circuit shorted to voltage
- On the 2008 G8, that control circuit shorted to voltage for greater than 4 seconds or a cumulative of 30 seconds
- The ECM driver, after the control wire on that chart tests normal
Symptoms
- P0265 stored
- Open-loop fuel on the G3 when this Type A code sets
- J 34730-405 dark while the engine runs, after terminal 1 has already lit a lamp
- 11–14 ohms at the injector while the harness short to voltage is still present
- P0264 stored if the G3 control circuit is open or shorted to ground instead
Diagnostic steps
- 1.Separate P0265 from P0264 before the lamp. On the 7.5–16 V Type A procedure, high is shorted to voltage. Low is open or shorted to ground. On the G8, the open is P0202. An open on the G3 procedure is P0264, not this code.
- 2.On that 7.5–16 V Type A procedure, ignition off, unplug injector 2. Ignition on. Lamp from ignition terminal 1 to ground. No light: repair the ignition feed for a short to ground or an open/high resistance, fuse included. A dark lamp there is the feed, not the control short. Stop there for the feed.
- 3.On that same procedure, ignition off. J 34730-405 from control terminal 2 to ignition terminal 1. Engine running, expect a flash. Stay off the belt and the fan.
- 4.Always off: test the control wire for a short to voltage and, as a separate result, for an open, with both ends disconnected. Replace the ECM only if those tests are normal. Always on: that is the short-to-ground branch, which this setting line does not name.
- 5.Ohms only after the circuits are cleared, or as the component test at the end of the 7.5–16 V Type A procedure: 11–14 ohms from ignition terminal 1 to control terminal 2, coolant 10–32°C, ignition off, unplugged. A coil in that window does not clear a shorted harness.
- 6.On a G8, use the multi-way steps and the greater-than-4-seconds or cumulative-30-seconds short-to-voltage line. Do not reuse the G3 pin numbers.
- 7.Depressurize before the injector is removed. The $768 – $953 pair is that injector, not the shorted wire and not the ECM.
- 8.Verify with the engine running, ignition 1 voltage still inside 7.5–16 volts on that Type A procedure, and P0265 not returning. Document 8100/175665 enables at 11–16 volts instead.
Repair cost
$768 – $953 (one fuel injector replacement, parts and labor, after the 2009 G3 circuit tests pass; a short to voltage and the ECM are outside this pair)
RepairPal's fuel injector replacement, estimates last updated 3 September 2026, is $768–$953 (labor $304–$446, parts $464–$507). The printed pair is that national average for the injector the G3 replaces when the circuits test normal or the coil is outside 11–14 ohms. A control wire shorted to voltage, a fuse, and an ECM are outside it. The 2026 F-150 line on that estimator is $1,130–$1,415 and the 2026 Tucson line is $456–$604; both sit outside the national pair. Diagnosis is $125–$183 labor and is separate. RepairPal says the job removes the intake on the engines it covers and is not a DIY repair.
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DIY vs shop
Leave this one to a qualified shop. The barrier here is high-pressure fuel components, where residual pressure remains after shutdown and escaping fuel can penetrate skin. DIY attempts often produce a more expensive problem than the original code.