P202C
Reductant Tank Heater Control Circuit High
The DEF tank heater control line reads above the expected voltage — short to B+ or open ground. The sensor heater warms the element to operating temperature (~600 °C); without it the lambda sensor stays inactive in closed loop and the ECM cannot trim mixture.
- Check engine light: Yes
- Emissions related: Yes
- Repair difficulty: medium
Symptoms
- Check engine light or NOx warning on
- AdBlue/DEF level or quality warning
- Possible no-start countdown after ignore period
- Failed emissions inspection (NOx)
Common causes
Ordered by how often each turns out to be the cause.
- Short to B+Common
- Connector pins corroded - high contact resistanceLess likely
- Supply wire pinched against B+ sourceLess likely
Parts involved
- Reductant Tank Heater
P202C 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.