P2255
O2 Sensor Negative Current Control Circuit Low (Bank 2 Sensor 1)
- Severity
- Medium
- Driving
- Drivable — book it in
A fault in the negative current control circuit for the upstream oxygen sensor on bank 2 - a low reading, usually a short to earth or an open circuit. A wideband oxygen sensor is not a simple voltage generator: the module passes a small current through a pump cell to hold the sensor at a fixed point, and measures the current needed. These are the wires carrying that current, so a fault here stops the sensor reporting at all.
Possible causes
- CommonCorroded or water-ingressed connector at the sensor
- CommonWiring damaged by exhaust heat or chafing
- CommonFailed wideband oxygen sensor
- PossibleAftermarket or wrong-specification sensor fitted
- PossibleLoss of reference or earth
- RareFailed control module driver
What you might notice
- Check engine light on
- Worse fuel economy
- Failed emissions test
- Fuel trim stuck at a default value
- Rough running in some conditions
What to check, in order
- Inspect the connector at the sensor. It lives in the hottest part of the exhaust and its connector fails more often than the element does.
- Check the harness where it passes near the exhaust for heat and chafe damage.
- Ask whether a non-original sensor was fitted. Wideband sensors are calibrated to the vehicle and a cheap substitute frequently sets exactly these codes.
- Check both banks. Both faulting together points at a shared supply or earth rather than two failed sensors.
- Clear the wiring before buying a sensor - wideband sensors are expensive.
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