P2601
Coolant Pump Control Circuit Range/Performance
- Severity
- High
- Driving
- Drivable — book it in
The coolant pump circuit is electrically sound but the pump is not performing as commanded - running slowly, drawing the wrong current, or not moving coolant. A jammed impeller and an air lock both produce this with a healthy circuit.
Possible causes
- CommonFailed electric coolant pump
- CommonCorroded connector or damaged wiring
- CommonBlown fuse or failed relay
- CommonAir lock in the cooling system after a previous repair
- CommonLow coolant level
- PossibleDebris or scale jamming the pump impeller
- RareFailed control module driver
What you might notice
- Engine running hot
- Temperature gauge climbing, particularly in traffic
- Heater blowing cool
- Coolant warning
- Check engine light on
- On a turbocharged engine, the pump running after switch-off may have stopped
What to check, in order
- Watch the temperature gauge and stop if it climbs. An engine without coolant circulation overheats quickly, and overheating damage is expensive and permanent.
- Check the coolant level when the engine is cold. Never open a hot cooling system - it is pressurised and above its normal boiling point.
- Check the fuse and relay for the pump circuit before anything else.
- Listen for the pump. Many run at ignition-on and continue after switch-off, so silence when one should be running is a clear finding.
- Check for an air lock if the cooling system has been opened recently - an air-locked pump cannot circulate coolant even though it is running.
- Inspect the connector for corrosion.
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
Computer output circuits and control module
P2600P2601P2602P2603P2604P2605P2606P2607P2608P2609P2610P2611P2612P2613P2614P2615P2616P2617P2618P2619P2620P2621P2622P2623P2624P2625P2626P2627P2628P2629P2630P2631P2632P2633P2634P2635P2636P2637P2638P2639P2640P2641P2642P2643P2644P2645P2646P2647P2648P2649P2650P2651P2652P2653P2654P2655P2656P2657P2658P2659P2660P2661P2662P2663P2664P2665P2666P2667P2668P2669P2670P2671