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P04F2

Catalyst Heater Supply Voltage Bank 1

The electric catalyst heater on bank 1 - used on hybrids and modern petrol cars to bring the catalyst above light-off temperature within seconds of cold start - reports that its supply voltage is outside the expected window. The heater cannot deliver the rated power, so cold-start emissions rise until the catalyst reaches light-off conventionally.

  • Check engine light: Yes
  • Emissions related: Yes
  • Repair difficulty: hard

Symptoms

  • Check engine light on
  • Failed emissions inspection
  • Possibly slightly increased fuel consumption
  • Sulfur (rotten egg) smell from exhaust under load

Common causes

Ordered by how often each turns out to be the cause.

  • Heater supply voltage low or unstableCommon
  • DC/DC converter fault on heater railPossible
  • High contact resistance in supplyLess likely

Parts involved

  • Electric Catalyst Heater B1
  • High Voltage Supply
  • Dc Dc Converter

P04F2 is a generic OBD-II code defined by SAE J2012. Exact wording and diagnostic procedure vary by manufacturer and model. Code definitions are drawn from the public-domain OBDex dataset; the workshop notes are our own.