OBD-II trouble code
P0277: Cylinder 6 Injector Circuit High
SAE J2012 APR2002: cylinder 6 injector circuit high. On the 2008 G8 the control wire is shorted to voltage, and the internal pull-up is 2.6–4.6 volts. The printed pair is one injector.
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 2008 G8 continuity checks pass; the 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 P0277 mean?
SAE J2012 APR2002 names P0277 Cylinder 6 Injector Circuit High. A VAG-group list prints 16661 P0277 as injector 6-N84, short to positive. P0276 is the short-to-ground code on the G8 chart. No M5 page for P0277 was read, so no BMW rpm limit is stated here.
On the 2008 Pontiac G8 3.6L the ECM pulls each injector control circuit up inside the module and decides open, short to ground, or short to voltage from the feedback. P0277 sets when the circuit is shorted to voltage for greater than 4 seconds or for a cumulative of 30 seconds. Enable is engine speed greater than 80 rpm, ignition between 10 and 18 volts, and the injector commanded on and off at least once. Type B. The open on the same timing is P0206.
The measurement people skip is the 2.6–4.6 volt check, and it is not the first test. Ignition off, multi-way disconnected, and the P0201–P0206 opens that disconnection creates are expected. Key on, the ignition-supply lamp on the ECM side must light. A miss there is the feed: open fuse means a short to ground in that feed, good fuse means an open. Control pin to B+ must stay dark (that lit lamp is P0276's short to ground). Control pin to ground must stay dark. A lamp that lights on that ground check is the short to voltage. Test the wire, and replace the ECM only if the wire is normal. Only after those lamps does the key-on voltage test run: 2.6–4.6 volts from the control pin, ECM side, to ground. Outside that range the chart says to test the control circuit for an open/high resistance, and to replace the ECM if the wire is normal. A reading outside 2.6–4.6 volts is not, by itself, a short to voltage. The short-to-voltage result was the lamp to ground.
After the upper intake is removed, continuity from the ignition feed to the control wire at the injector side of the multi-way must be OL. Less than OL is a short between those two wires. Less than 1 ohm is the pass for each wire's own resistance. OL to ground, and OL to every other injector control wire. The coil, last, is 12–16 ohms. The G3 11–14 ohm, 10–32°C window is a different engine and is not used.
Common causes
- On the G8, cylinder 6's control circuit shorted to voltage for greater than 4 seconds or a cumulative of 30 seconds
- A short between the ignition feed and cylinder 6's control wire
- The ECM, after the control wire has tested normal
Symptoms
- P0277 stored
- A test lamp from the control pin to ground that lights, multi-way disconnected
- Control-pin voltage outside 2.6–4.6 volts, which is the open branch
- A meter that does not read OL between the feed and cylinder 6's control wire
- P0206 stored if the circuit is open instead
Diagnostic steps
- 1.Confirm the chart is the G8 six-cylinder page. Cylinder 6 is on it. The G3 four-cylinder page is not.
- 2.Disconnect the multi-way, ignition off. Expect P0201–P0206. Supply lamp must light before any control-pin conclusion.
- 3.Control pin to ground must stay dark. If the lamp lights, test for a short to voltage. ECM only if the wire is normal. A lamp to B+ that lights is the short-to-ground test and is P0276.
- 4.Then measure 2.6–4.6 volts, key on, ECM side, to ground. Outside the range: open/high resistance, then the ECM. Do not call that voltage miss a short to voltage.
- 5.Upper intake off, injector unplugged. OL between feed and control. Less than 1 ohm through the control wire and through the feed. OL to ground. OL to the other control wires.
- 6.12–16 ohms across the injector if every circuit test passed. Depressurize first. The printed pair is that injector, not the short and not the ECM.
Repair cost
$768 – $953 (one fuel injector replacement, parts and labor, after the 2008 G8 continuity checks pass; the short to voltage and the ECM are outside this pair)
One injector on RepairPal's national estimator, updated 3 September 2026, is $768–$953 total, labor $304–$446, parts $464–$507. The pair is that replacement, which the G8 reaches only after the circuits test normal. A short to voltage, a feed-to-control short, and an ECM are outside. Diagnosis labor is $125–$183 and is separate. The 2026 F-150 injector total of $1,130–$1,415 is a different line on the estimator.
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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.