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P257C

Vacuum Reservoir Control Circuit High

The vacuum reservoir control circuit reads stuck high — short to battery voltage or open coil. The driver cannot pull the line low to actuate the valve/motor.

  • Check engine light: Yes
  • Emissions related: No
  • Repair difficulty: medium

Common causes

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

  • Control wire shorted to battery voltageCommon
  • Open coilPossible
  • Connector pins corroded - high contact resistanceLess likely

Parts involved

  • Vacuum Reservoir Control Valve

P257C 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.