P3487Cylinder 11 Exhaust Valve Control Circuit Low
- Generic OBD-II code · Powertrain
- Turns on the check-engine light
- Matters for the ITP
- How the car detects it
- P3487 would tell of a grounded control wire feeding a dedicated exhaust valve actuator on cylinder 11. No manufacturer documents this code publicly; cylinders 9 to 12 only exist on engines with nine or more, and J2012 keeps these codes for them. The closest real design is Mercedes' Active Cylinder Control on the CL 600 and S 600 V12 around 2000: it shut down one bank, and according to Wikipedia two solenoids uncoupled that bank's exhaust valves to keep pressure in the idle cylinders. That is one circuit per bank, not per cylinder. GM's V8 analogue flags a ground short below 0.5 ohm with the driver off. Grounded wiring could engage the actuator by itself and silence cylinder 11 when it is meant to fire. Siblings: P3485 (open), P3488 (high).
- What you may notice
- Check engine lamp on
- Bank shut-off no longer offered
- Possible misfire on cylinder 11 (P0311)
- Likely causes
- LikelyActuator wire chafed through to engine ground
- PossibleActuator coil shorted to its housing
- RareMoisture in the actuator connector bridging to ground
- Inspection (ITP)
- Matters for the ITP. While the check-engine light is on, the car fails the emissions check.
- Repair
- Medium · Often possible to do yourself.Typical cost: €60 – €900
- Related codes
Explanation from obdex (CC0), exactly as the app shows it. Guidance only; confirm with a workshop.