P0487
Exhaust Gas Recirculation Throttle Position Control Circuit
- Severity
- Medium
- Driving
- Drivable — book it in
An electrical fault in the control circuit for the EGR throttle - a throttle plate, fitted mainly to diesel engines, that restricts intake air slightly to create the pressure difference EGR needs in order to flow. It is not the main driver's throttle and this code does not mean the accelerator has failed.
Possible causes
- CommonCorroded or damaged connector at the EGR throttle actuator
- CommonFailed EGR throttle actuator motor
- PossibleWiring fault between the module and the actuator
- PossibleCarbon jamming the throttle plate and overloading the motor
- RareFaulty control module driver
What you might notice
- Check engine light on
- EGR disabled
- Reduced power in some cases
- Increased smoke on a diesel
- Failed emissions test
What to check, in order
- Inspect the connector and wiring at the EGR throttle actuator.
- Check the throttle plate moves freely. Soot builds up around it and a jammed plate can trip the circuit protection.
- Measure the actuator winding resistance against specification.
- Check for supply voltage at the actuator with the ignition on.
- Do not confuse this with the main throttle. If the accelerator pedal genuinely feels wrong, look for codes in the P0120 to P0124 and P2135 range instead.
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
Auxiliary emission controls
P0400P0401P0402P0403P0404P0405P0406P0407P0408P0409P0410P0411P0412P0413P0414P0415P0416P0417P0418P0419P0420P0421P0422P0423P0424P0425P0426P0427P0428P0429P0430P0431P0432P0433P0434P0435P0436P0437P0438P0439P0440P0441P0442P0443P0444P0445P0446P0447P0448P0449P0450P0451P0452P0453P0454P0455P0456P0457P0458P0459P0460P0461P0462P0463P0464P0465P0466P0467P0468P0469P0470P0471P0472P0473P0474P0475P0476P0477P0478P0479P0480P0481P0482P0483P0484P0485P0486P0487P0488P0489P0490P0491P0492P0493P0494P0495P0496P0497P0498P0499