Damaged, chafed or shorted wiring to the cylinder 6 injector, shorting to ground; Faulty cylinder 6 injector with an internal coil short or very low resistance; Corroded, loose or contaminated injector connector or terminals; Wiring harness damage where it passes hot or moving parts or after earlier engine repairs; Fault in the injector driver circuit inside the engine control unit; Water ingress into the connector or harness.

P0276

Cylinder 6 Injector A Circuit Low.

Generic
Powertrain
Generic code
Medium severity

How this code is built

P: SystemPowertrain
0: Defined bySAE, the same on every car
2: AreaFuel and air metering (injector circuit)
76: FaultThe specific fault in that area

What it means

P0276 means the engine control unit has detected a low voltage or signal fault in the control circuit for the cylinder 6 injector. The control unit monitors the injector circuit and saw a voltage lower than expected, which points to a short to ground, a wiring or connector fault, an injector coil fault, or a driver fault inside the control unit. The cylinder 6 injector may not operate correctly, so the cylinder can misfire or run poorly. Exact circuit layout and test values depend on the engine and whether it is petrol or diesel.

Symptoms

Engine management warning light on
Rough running or a misfire on cylinder 6
Loss of power and hesitation under load
Rough or unstable idle
Hard starting or a long crank
Raised fuel consumption or a fuel smell from the exhaust

Possible causes

Damaged, chafed or shorted wiring to the cylinder 6 injector, shorting to groundlikely
Faulty cylinder 6 injector with an internal coil short or very low resistancelikely
Corroded, loose or contaminated injector connector or terminalspossible
Wiring harness damage where it passes hot or moving parts or after earlier engine repairspossible
Fault in the injector driver circuit inside the engine control unitrare
Water ingress into the connector or harnessrare

How to diagnose

Read all stored and pending codes and the freeze frame data, and note whether other injector or misfire codes are present, especially for cylinder 6
Check the live data and misfire counters for cylinder 6, and note whether the fault is constant or intermittent
Visually inspect the cylinder 6 injector connector, terminals and the harness for chafing, heat damage, corrosion, moisture or previous repairs
Wiggle test the harness and connector with the engine running or the circuit being monitored, and see whether the fault appears
Measure the injector coil resistance and compare it with the specification for that engine
With the ignition off and the control unit connector disconnected as the procedure allows, test the control wire for a short to ground and for continuity
Swap the injector with another cylinder if the procedure allows, clear the codes and see whether the fault follows the injector
Check the injector driver signal with a suitable scope or the manufacturer's test procedure, and only suspect the control unit once the wiring and injector are proven good

How to fix

Repair or replace the damaged wiring or the shorted section of harness
Replace the cylinder 6 injector if its resistance or operation is out of specification, and code or adapt it if the engine requires this
Clean, repair or replace the injector connector and terminals
Dry out and seal any water ingress, and replace affected connectors
Repair or replace the engine control unit only after all other faults are ruled out and the manufacturer's procedure confirms the driver fault

Can I keep driving?

Medium severity

Drive only as far as needed to get the car repaired. A cylinder that is not firing properly can send unburnt fuel to the catalytic converter and cause damage, and the engine may run roughly or lose power, so avoid heavy loads and long journeys.

Guide written by AI from the code's definition. Confirm with a diagnosis before replacing parts.