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ENRUDEPLES

P0261 — Cylinder 1 Injector Circuit Low

moderate

What it means

The control module has measured an abnormally low voltage in the control circuit of the cylinder 1 injector, which normally indicates a short to ground or a winding with too little resistance. The injector may stay permanently open and flood the cylinder, or lose proper control of the injection timing. The result is misfire on cylinder 1, a rich mixture, a fuel smell and, on high impedance systems, an overloaded driver stage in the module.

Likely causes (most common first)

  1. Short to ground in the injector control wire, usually where the harness chafes against the engine or bracket
  2. Internal short in the injector winding, resistance below the specified value
  3. Water or corrosion inside the injector connector bridging the terminals
  4. Insulation damage where the harness passes a sharp edge or a hot exhaust part
  5. Failed injector driver stage in the engine control module
  6. Wrong injectors fitted, for example low impedance units in a high impedance system

Can you drive with it?

Drive only as far as the workshop: a stuck open injector floods the cylinder with fuel, dilutes the oil and can hydraulically damage the engine.

This is the generic meaning. What about your car?

The same code has different typical culprits on different engines. Tell the AI your make, model and year — it will rank the causes for your exact car and give you a check order.

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