P0216
Injector/Injection Timing Control Circuit
- Severity
- High
- Driving
- Drive only to a garage
A fault in the injection timing control circuit. On a diesel this controls when fuel is injected relative to piston position, which sets how the engine runs, how much smoke it makes and how hard combustion is. With timing control lost, the module will restrict the engine rather than let it run on uncontrolled timing.
Possible causes
- CommonFailed timing control solenoid or valve
- CommonWiring or connector fault at the injection pump
- CommonWorn or failing injection pump
- PossibleLow fuel pressure or air in the fuel system
- PossibleContaminated fuel
- RareFailed control module driver
What you might notice
- Reduced power or limp mode
- Excessive smoke
- Hard starting
- Rough running
- Noisy, harsh-sounding combustion
- Check engine light on
What to check, in order
- Check the connector and wiring at the injection pump.
- Measure the solenoid winding resistance against specification.
- Check for fuel system codes stored alongside - low pressure produces timing complaints with a healthy pump.
- Ask about recent fuelling. Contaminated or misfuelled diesel damages injection pumps and the symptoms start soon afterwards.
- Get a professional assessment before replacing the pump. Injection pumps are expensive and are often blamed for faults that lie in the wiring or the fuel supply.
Read this code from your own car
Plug an ELM327 adapter into the OBD-II port under the dashboard. Pin16 reads every stored, pending and permanent code, explains each one like this page does — offline, with no account — and shows what the car recorded when the fault was set.
Where this code sits
P00xxP01xxP02xxP03xxP04xxP05xxP06xxP07xxP08xxP09xxP0AxxP0BxxP0CxxP0DxxP0ExxP0FxxP10xxP11xxP12xxP13xxP14xxP15xxP16xxP17xxP18xxP19xxP1AxxP1BxxP1CxxP1DxxP1ExxP1FxxP20xxP21xxP22xxP23xxP24xxP25xxP26xxP27xxP28xxP29xxP2AxxP2BxxP2CxxP2DxxP2ExxP2FxxP30xxP31xxP32xxP33xxP34xxP35xxP36xxP37xxP38xxP39xxP3AxxP3BxxP3CxxP3DxxP3ExxP3Fxx
Fuel and air metering - injector circuits
P0200P0201P0202P0203P0204P0205P0206P0207P0208P0209P0210P0211P0212P0213P0214P0215P0216P0217P0218P0219P0220P0221P0222P0223P0224P0225P0226P0227P0228P0229P0230P0231P0232P0233P0234P0235P0236P0237P0238P0239P0240P0241P0242P0243P0244P0245P0246P0247P0248P0249P0250P0251P0252P0253P0254P0255P0256P0257P0258P0259P0260P0261P0262P0263P0264P0265P0266P0267P0268P0269P0270P0271P0272P0273P0274P0275P0276P0277P0278P0279P0280P0281P0282P0283P0284P0285P0286P0287P0288P0289P0290P0291P0292P0293P0294P0295P0296P0297P0298P0299