P0DCAHybrid/EV Battery Cell Balancing Circuit H Stuck Off
- Generic OBD-II code · Powertrain
- Turns on the check-engine light
- Matters for the ITP
- Needs a drive cycle to confirm a fix
- How the car detects it
- P0DCA flags circuit H as inactive: balancing was ordered, but group H keeps its charge. Ford includes the code in its 2017 hybrid OBD summary, again decided by the start-up comparison of six cells per circuit with the pack average. Not every pause is a fault, which makes this code tricky. TI's BQ79616-Q1 stops a channel when its timer runs out, when the cell drops below a programmable floor between 2.45 and 4 V, on an unmasked fault, or for a thermal pause. A controller has to separate such intended stops from a bleed path that never conducts, for instance an open resistor or broken tap. Over many charges the unbalanced group H caps the charge. Under 13 CCR 1968.2 this must be detected. Opposite: P0DC9.
- What you may notice
- Full charge reached earlier, with less range than before
- Cells of group H stay at the top of the cell list
- Check engine light
- Likely causes
- LikelyBleed resistor of group H open
- PossibleBroken cell tap or weld on the balancing lead of H
- RareIntended stop (timer, thermal pause) wrongly judged as no response by the software
- 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.