OBD-II trouble code
P0269: Cylinder 3 Contribution/Balance
SAE J2012 APR2002: cylinder 3 contribution/balance. On the LWN diesel, 17-NA-194 points at an induction leak before an injector. The printed pair is one injector after compression is even.
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 19-NA-232 crank is even; the LWN charge-air leak and a compression repair are outside this pair)
- DIY difficulty
- Shop recommended
Browse every code in P0200–P0299, or start from the full code library.
What does P0269 mean?
SAE J2012 APR2002 names P0269 Cylinder 3 Contribution/Balance. P0267 is cylinder 3 circuit low and P0268 is circuit high. Quantity and electricity are different monitors. A VAG-group list prints 16653 P0269 as a fuel-injection quantity deviation on cylinder 3. The list gives no test.
Bulletin 17-NA-194, hosted as NHTSA MC-10166641, covers 2016–2020 Chevrolet Colorado and Express and GMC Canyon and Savana with the LWN diesel. P0269 is on the DTC list. The cause that bulletin names is an induction-system leak, and the test it names is Charge Air Cooler Diagnosis, the full-system air leak test. An injector is not the first sentence of that bulletin.
GM 19-NA-232, NHTSA MC-10168238, also lists P0269, on 2017–2020 Silverado and Sierra trucks with the L5D and L5P and the cab-chassis years in that bulletin, beside P0300 through P0308. The causes it allows are a fuel injector, an electrical issue, or loss of cylinder compression. Pull the fuel-pump control module B+ fuse, crank with no fuel, and read the downward dips in battery voltage. The scope is across battery positive and battery negative. The dip is voltage dropping as the starter draws more current on a compression stroke. A weak cylinder goes to mechanical diagnosis. An even trace does not, by itself, order an injector, but it takes compression off the list.
SB-10030789-2893 includes cylinder 3 because its balance-rate step monitors cylinders 1 through 4. Balancing rates alone do not indicate a specific failure on that sheet. Positive means fuel added. Negative means fuel removed. The temperature and rpm setup is that sheet's, and the numeric limit is the service manual's, which the sheet does not print. LBT-149's Duramax windows, +4 mm³ to −4 mm³ in Park or Neutral and +6 mm³ to −6 mm³ in Drive, are a different document and apply only where that reprint applies. A gasoline spark plug is not named in these diesel papers.
Common causes
- On a 17-NA-194 LWN, an induction-system leak
- On a 19-NA-232 truck, loss of cylinder compression
- A fuel injector or an electrical fault on that bulletin, after the battery-voltage trace does not show a weak cylinder
- Cylinder 3 fuel added or removed on the SB-10030789 balance monitor
- A Duramax cylinder 3 quantity outside the LBT-149 Park window or the Drive window
Symptoms
- P0269 stored
- An LWN that also stores another code from the 17-NA-194 list
- P0300 through P0308 beside P0269 on an L5D or L5P the 19-NA-232 header covers
- A cylinder 3 balance rate the 2012 sheet says is not a failure by itself
- P0268 stored, which leaves this page for the circuit-high test
Diagnostic steps
- 1.Clear the circuit codes first when P0267 or P0268 is stored. This page is the contribution row.
- 2.On a 2016–2020 LWN named in 17-NA-194, perform the full-system charge-air leak test before pricing an injector. The bulletin's cause is the induction leak.
- 3.On a 19-NA-232 L5D or L5P, remove the fuel-pump control module B+ fuse, crank two to three seconds, and compare the downward dips in battery voltage. Reinstall the fuse and clear codes that the open fuse created. A weak voltage dip goes to mechanical diagnosis. Do not order an injector from the balance rate alone.
- 4.On SB-10030789, use the idle setup for cylinders 1 through 4. Do not replace a component solely on the rate. A high rate continues to flow-rate programming, exhaust-port temperature within ±20°F, and compression.
- 5.Keep LBT-149's +4/−4 mm³ Park window and +6/−6 mm³ Drive window off the two bulletins. They do not print those millimetres.
- 6.Depressurize before an injector is opened. The printed pair is one injector after compression is not low. The charge-air repair is outside it.
- 7.Verify with the leak test, the cranking trace, or the same balance setup that failed.
Repair cost
$768 – $953 (one fuel injector replacement, parts and labor, after the 19-NA-232 crank is even; the LWN charge-air leak and a compression repair are outside this pair)
Injector replacement on RepairPal's national page, 3 September 2026, is $768–$953 including labor $304–$446 and parts $464–$507. The printed pair is that job for the injector still in play after relative compression looks even. 17-NA-194's charge-air repair was searched and has no total on this page, so it is outside the pair. Diagnosis is $125–$183 labor, separate. The national fuel-filter job at $258–$322 is not the test either bulletin names. The 2026 F-150 injector line at $1,130–$1,415 is a different vehicle line.
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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.