P261BCoolant Pump B Control Circuit Performance/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
- Unlike the wiring codes around it, P261B judges whether coolant pump B actually delivers when commanded. The verdict comes from pump feedback or from its effect on coolant temperatures, so the circuit can test fine while the pump does nothing. Ford's 2020-2023 and 2024 gasoline summaries list it for the component-cooling pump of the high-temperature loop, next to the circuit codes of that pump. Audi's 2.0 TFSI bulletin 2043142 (2012-2016) reports it as range/performance and traces it to a sporadically failing after-run pump that is replaced. GM's hybrid tables from 2014 group P261B with P261C in a no-flow fault bundle of the switchable water pump. Seized impellers, air in the loop or a weak pump are typical; P261E is the opposite stuck-on case.
- What you may notice
- Malfunction indicator lamp on
- Engine or turbo runs hotter after shutdown, possible boiling noises
- Heater or component cooling weak in certain conditions
- Likely causes
- LikelyAuxiliary pump motor or electronics failing intermittently
- PossibleAir pocket after coolant service, pump runs dry
- PossibleImpeller blocked by debris or deposits
- RareLow coolant level
- Inspection (ITP)
- Matters for the ITP. While the check-engine light is on, the car fails the emissions check.
- Repair
- Medium · Usually a job for a workshop.Typical cost: €150 – €800
- Related codes
Explanation from obdex (CC0), exactly as the app shows it. Guidance only; confirm with a workshop.