P081B
Starter Disable Circuit High
Starter disable circuit reads stuck high — short to battery voltage. The disable cannot be asserted, weakening the safety chain.
- Check engine light: Yes
- Emissions related: No
- Repair difficulty: medium
Symptoms
- Check engine or transmission warning light on
- Harsh, delayed, or missing shifts
- Possible limp mode (locked in one gear)
- Slipping or shuddering during gear changes
Common causes
Ordered by how often each turns out to be the cause.
- Disable wire shorted to battery voltageCommon
- Connector pins corroded - high contact resistanceLess likely
- Supply wire pinched against B+ sourceLess likely
Parts involved
- Starter Disable Circuit
P081B 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.