Injectors: codes P0201-P0204 and P0261-P0263
The code names the cylinder — and that is half the job done. How to tell a dead injector from a broken wire without removing anything.
These codes are helpful because they name the cylinder straight away: the last digit is its number. P0201 is the first, P0202 the second, and so on. After that there is only one question: the injector itself, or what leads to it.
What the groups mean
P0201-P0204 — circuit fault. The unit sent a command and did not see the expected response. That can be the injector, the wire or the connector.
P0261, P0262 — short to ground or to positive. Here it is definitely electrical: the injector winding or the wiring.
P0263 — cylinder contribution out of range. The injector is alive and obeys, but the cylinder works weaker than the others. Usually a clogged nozzle rather than electrics.
Checking without removing anything
The simplest test is to swap injectors between cylinders. If the code follows the part, the injector is guilty; if it stays on the same cylinder, the fault is in the wiring or in the cylinder itself.
Before that, look at misfires: if a misfire sits on the same cylinder as the injector code, the picture adds up. And if there are misfires but no injector code, look at the plug and the coil — that is cheaper.
How this differs from «just dirty injectors»
A clogged nozzle usually gives no code at all: the engine simply pulls worse and drinks more. A code appears when the deviation becomes visible to the unit. So «I will clean the injectors just in case» and «I have P0202» are different stories: in the second case cleaning may not help and time will be lost.
Why not to drive with it for long
A dead injector means unburnt fuel goes into the exhaust. There it burns inside the catalyst and melts its honeycomb — a catalyst does not die on its own, this is what kills it.
