OBD-II DTC · SAE J2012

P230C

Cylinder 3 Air-Fuel Ratio Imbalance - Adjustment At Limit During Balance

Fuel System → Depends on cause

What P230C means

P230C is a standard SAE J2012 powertrain diagnostic trouble code with the defined meaning: Cylinder 3 Air-Fuel Ratio Imbalance - Adjustment At Limit During Balance. This is the OEM-agnostic definition; specific manufacturer interpretation may add detail (subsystem, bank, sensor location) but the core meaning is consistent across all OBD-II compliant vehicles since 1996.

Common symptoms when P230C is active

Hard start, fuel pressure regulator MIL, injector circuit codes, lean / rich trim codes after a fuel system component swap.

Can this code be suppressed via ECU tuning?

Whether this code is safe to suppress depends on the underlying cause. Diagnose first, suppress only after confirming the mechanical issue is benign or rectified.

How to remove P230C with Softechpro V5

Recommended service: DTC OFF (fuel branch) — only after fixing the root cause. Step-by-step workflow:

  1. Diagnose first: fuel pressure, injector flow, regulator function.
  2. If the code persists after repair due to ECU adaptation lag, Softechpro V5 DTC OFF can suppress the residual code.
  3. Load .bin, select DTC OFF + the fuel DTC group, save patched .bin, flash back.

Softechpro V5 supports 1,400+ ECU firmwares across Bosch (EDC15, EDC16, EDC17, MD1, MG1, ME7, MED17), Siemens / Continental (SID, SIMOS, EMS), Delphi (DCM, DDC), and Magneti Marelli platforms.

Related codes in the P23xx family

P2300P2301P2302P2303P2304P2305P2306P2307P2308P2309P230AP230B