P2246
O2 Sensor Reference Voltage Circuit High (Bank 1 Sensor 1)
- Severity
- Medium
- Driving
- Drivable — book it in
The reference voltage for the upstream oxygen sensor on bank 1 is reading high - typically shorted to a higher voltage or with a lost earth. The sensor's readings will be skewed high across the board, so the module cannot trust them.
Possible causes
- CommonReference circuit shorted to a supply voltage
- CommonLost earth on the sensor circuit
- CommonCorrosion bridging adjacent pins in the connector
- PossibleChafed harness bridging to a heater supply wire
- PossibleFailed control module reference supply
What you might notice
- Check engine light on
- Worse fuel economy
- Failed emissions test
- Fuel trim stuck at a default value
What to check, in order
- Check the sensor earth before assuming a shorted signal wire - a lost earth commonly drives a circuit high.
- Inspect the connector for corrosion bridging adjacent pins. The oxygen sensor connector carries both the heater supply and the signal circuits, so corrosion between them produces exactly this.
- Unplug the sensor and check whether the high reading persists at the harness.
- Check the harness for chafe damage near the exhaust.
- Check for other reference voltage codes stored alongside.
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
P2200P2201P2202P2203P2204P2205P2206P2207P2208P2209P2210P2211P2212P2213P2214P2215P2216P2217P2218P2219P2220P2221P2222P2223P2224P2225P2226P2227P2228P2229P2230P2231P2232P2233P2234P2235P2236P2237P2238P2239P2240P2241P2242P2243P2244P2245P2246P2247P2248P2249P2250P2251P2252P2253P2254P2255P2256P2257P2258P2259P2260P2261P2262P2263P2264P2265P2266P2267P2268P2269P2270P2271P2272P2273P2274P2275P2276P2277P2278P2279P2280P2281P2282P2283P2284P2285P2286P2287P2288P2289P2290P2291P2292P2293P2294P2295P2296P2297P2298P2299