On road trip - getting P219A code

[DaveO9]

On the front end of a 1500 mile road trip - going to pick up my daughter from college for the summer. (from Vancouver, WA to San Jose, CA, various side trips included) A couple hundred miles into the trip, MIL came on. Stopped at O'Reilly and got a scan (I don't have my Tech 2 with me). Printout says P219A, and that it's most likely a fuel injector. Did some research in the hotel last night, including multiple threads here, and it could be a bunch of things, including injectors, but definitely not limited to them. Drivability and fuel economy are unchanged - I have noticed zero symptoms. I did put a can of Techron in the tank at O'Reilly, but so far engine light is still on. Right before the trip, I installed a catch can - could that be causing it? I guess there could be a vacuum leak from the additional connections I added in to the PCV system. Or I possibly dislodged the PCV valve. I'll do some checking this morning before we drive on, but since it's just bank 1, I am leaning more towards an injector on that side. Thoughts?

In regard to driving with the light on, I don't have too many concerns since drivability and fuel economy seem to be unaffected. I guess if there's a rich condition I could be damaging my cats, so there is that concern.

Anything else I should try?

 

[j91z28d1]

I feel like the catch can might have something do with it since it was just installed and on that bank. do you have enough tools to pull the hose off and bypass it for a while?


I don't know the destils of the code but just a quick Google says imbalance. if it's not running bad, or sitting a rich/lean or miss fire code. I'd probably just drive it.

 

[Doubeleive]

if you do not find anything obvious, swap coil packs, clear the code and see if it stays or moves or if it even returns at all.

 

[j91z28d1]

took a peek at the code, yeah it's basically saying one of your cyl is running richer or leaner than the others on bank 1.

if you had some data it says to watch knock count, it might point you to the correct cyl. but mostly it seems to be a vacuum thing. aftermarket air intakes, stuff not tighten. could be exhaust leak too but mostly vacuum. could even be an injector or ring.

without your scanner you're basically just guessing unless it throws a 2nd code.


on the road, I'd do my best to bypass the catch can that was just installed. look for any other leaks, have them clear the code if you can and see if it comes back. but as long as it's not throwing miss fire codes, I don't believe you're hurting the engine driving it.

 

[DaveO9]

So, the light is off now! It was on all day with 300+ miles of driving, but I put the can of techron in yesterday and a tankful of Chevron 89, that also has techron today, and tonight I noticed it's off. Could be the techron, or could be unrelated. I'm not going to worry about it too much till I get home, assuming it stays off.

if you do not find anything obvious, swap coil packs, clear the code and see if it stays or moves or if it even returns at all.

If it comes back, I will try this. So assuming you mean take all four off from one side and swap to the other? Without knowing the specific cylinder in bank 1, not any other way to do this?

took a peek at the code, yeah it's basically saying one of your cyl is running richer or leaner than the others on bank 1.

if you had some data it says to watch knock count, it might point you to the correct cyl. but mostly it seems to be a vacuum thing. aftermarket air intakes, stuff not tighten. could be exhaust leak too but mostly vacuum. could even be an injector or ring.

without your scanner you're basically just guessing unless it throws a 2nd code.


on the road, I'd do my best to bypass the catch can that was just installed. look for any other leaks, have them clear the code if you can and see if it comes back. but as long as it's not throwing miss fire codes, I don't believe you're hurting the engine driving it.

Yeah, it definitely seems to be a generic, catch-all code. Many of the threads, the guys have other codes that go along with it, but when it's by itself, seems hard to diagnose. If the light comes back on, I will try to bypass the catch can. To install it, I cut a section out of the plastic pipe between PCV valve and intake port - I should be able to just reconnect with a small length of hose.

 

[Doubeleive]

So, the light is off now! It was on all day with 300+ miles of driving, but I put the can of techron in yesterday and a tankful of Chevron 89, that also has techron today, and tonight I noticed it's off. Could be the techron, or could be unrelated. I'm not going to worry about it too much till I get home, assuming it stays off.


If it comes back, I will try this. So assuming you mean take all four off from one side and swap to the other? Without knowing the specific cylinder in bank 1, not any other way to do this?

Yeah, it definitely seems to be a generic, catch-all code. Many of the threads, the guys have other codes that go along with it, but when it's by itself, seems hard to diagnose. If the light comes back on, I will try to bypass the catch can. To install it, I cut a section out of the plastic pipe between PCV valve and intake port - I should be able to just reconnect with a small length of hose.

I misread your post, I assumed it has been narrowed down a specifc injector, these are the common causes for your code. which is a air/fuel imbalance

• Engine vacuum leak
• Defective oxygen sensor
• Engine exhaust leaks
• Faulty mass air flow or manifold air pressure sensor
• Faulty Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) system
• Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV) system leaks
• Bad fuel pump
• Leaking fuel injectors
• Low fuel pressure
• Clogged fuel filter
• Issues with the electrical wiring and connectors

 

[mike singleton]

On the front end of a 1500 mile road trip - going to pick up my daughter from college for the summer. (from Vancouver, WA to San Jose, CA, various side trips included) A couple hundred miles into the trip, MIL came on. Stopped at O'Reilly and got a scan (I don't have my Tech 2 with me). Printout says P219A, and that it's most likely a fuel injector. Did some research in the hotel last night, including multiple threads here, and it could be a bunch of things, including injectors, but definitely not limited to them. Drivability and fuel economy are unchanged - I have noticed zero symptoms. I did put a can of Techron in the tank at O'Reilly, but so far engine light is still on. Right before the trip, I installed a catch can - could that be causing it? I guess there could be a vacuum leak from the additional connections I added in to the PCV system. Or I possibly dislodged the PCV valve. I'll do some checking this morning before we drive on, but since it's just bank 1, I am leaning more towards an injector on that side. Thoughts?

In regard to driving with the light on, I don't have too many concerns since drivability and fuel economy seem to be unaffected. I guess if there's a rich condition I could be damaging my cats, so there is that concern.

Anything else I should try?

On the front end of a 1500 mile road trip - going to pick up my daughter from college for the summer. (from Vancouver, WA to San Jose, CA, various side trips included) A couple hundred miles into the trip, MIL came on. Stopped at O'Reilly and got a scan (I don't have my Tech 2 with me). Printout says P219A, and that it's most likely a fuel injector. Did some research in the hotel last night, including multiple threads here, and it could be a bunch of things, including injectors, but definitely not limited to them. Drivability and fuel economy are unchanged - I have noticed zero symptoms. I did put a can of Techron in the tank at O'Reilly, but so far engine light is still on. Right before the trip, I installed a catch can - could that be causing it? I guess there could be a vacuum leak from the additional connections I added in to the PCV system. Or I possibly dislodged the PCV valve. I'll do some checking this morning before we drive on, but since it's just bank 1, I am leaning more towards an injector on that side. Thoughts?

In regard to driving with the light on, I don't have too many concerns since drivability and fuel economy seem to be unaffected. I guess if there's a rich condition I could be damaging my cats, so there is that concern.

Anything else I should try?

Dave - We have a 2011 Chev Suburban LTZ 5.3 with 137K on it and recently had this same code. My mechanic fixed it be replacing an O2 sensor and due to the number of miles and the fact that it's in beach sand quite a bit, we just replaced all 4 of them. 2 of them upstream, 2 of them downstream and 2 of them are heated. The aftermarket devices worked fine and were not very costly 20-30 each. It did take about 20-30 miles for it to clear the codes but she's fine now. "The trouble code P219A can be defined as Bank 1 Air/Fuel Ratio Imbalance. This code is a generic trouble code, meaning it applies to all vehicles equipped with the OBD-II system, especially those made from 1996 up to present. It’s also more common among Audi, Citroen, Chevrolet, Ford, Hyundai, Nissan, Peugeot, and Volkswagen vehicles."

 

[DaveO9]

Dave - We have a 2011 Chev Suburban LTZ 5.3 with 137K on it and recently had this same code. My mechanic fixed it be replacing an O2 sensor and due to the number of miles and the fact that it's in beach sand quite a bit, we just replaced all 4 of them. 2 of them upstream, 2 of them downstream and 2 of them are heated. The aftermarket devices worked fine and were not very costly 20-30 each. It did take about 20-30 miles for it to clear the codes but she's fine now. "The trouble code P219A can be defined as Bank 1 Air/Fuel Ratio Imbalance. This code is a generic trouble code, meaning it applies to all vehicles equipped with the OBD-II system, especially those made from 1996 up to present. It’s also more common among Audi, Citroen, Chevrolet, Ford, Hyundai, Nissan, Peugeot, and Volkswagen vehicles."

Thanks, Mike. Good info. Yes, I am definitely wondering if the driver side O2 is getting ready to go. But using the can of Techron along with a tank of Chevron 89 with Techron in it seems to have helped, so I'm back to thinking it may have been an injector. I drove about 700 miles more on the trip after the light went out, and it fortunately hasn't come back. We'll see.

I'm a big fan of Chevron Techron. It costs almost twice as much as some other cleaners, but Ill pay. it seems to have helped in this case. Back around 2004, I bought an 02 Dodge Dakota with a 4.7 V8 with about 25k miles. It was a great truck - I had it for 10ish years - but the first year of ownership was frustrating with an intermittent sticking injector or two that the dealer could never quite find. It caused a noticeable miss or shudder when driving. I finally got so frustrated I just started dumping a can of Techron in with every fill up. After four or five times, the miss cleared up and never came back.