P0DC1Hybrid/EV Battery Cell Balancing Circuit F Stuck On
- Generic OBD-II code · Powertrain
- Turns on the check-engine light
- Matters for the ITP
- Can trigger limp mode
- Needs a drive cycle to confirm a fix
- How the car detects it
- P0DC1 says that the bleed path of cell group F appears to stay engaged. Ford lists it for the BECM of its full and plug-in hybrids in the OBD system summaries of model years 2014 to 2019. The battery there is split into fourteen balancing circuits, A to N, each looking after six cells. The check runs for 100 ms at every power-up while the main contactors are still open, so no load current blurs the readings: if any of the six cells in a circuit strays more than 75 mV from the mean of all cell voltages (in the 2019 summary for 0.1 s), the circuit is judged stuck. A group drained by a closed switch during standstill shows up exactly this way. Paragraph (e)(15.2.3) of the CARB regulation explicitly allows such switch-response monitoring. Opposite case: P0DC2.
- What you may notice
- Check engine light with hybrid battery warning after a cold start
- Cells of group F clearly below the pack average after standstill
- Reduced electric range or assistance
- Likely causes
- LikelyBleed transistor of group F shorted, so the resistor stays connected
- PossibleMonitoring chip output keeps the switch of circuit F enabled
- RareA cell of group F with high self-discharge mimicking a drained group
- Inspection (ITP)
- Matters for the ITP. While the check-engine light is on, the car fails the emissions check.
- Repair
- Workshop only · Usually a job for a workshop.Typical cost: €300 – €4,500
- Related codes
Explanation from obdex (CC0), exactly as the app shows it. Guidance only; confirm with a workshop.