I'm dealing with a friends truck rightnow that has these codes 1211 and 1212 and it's been frustrating trying to diagnose this issue because of the lack of good info. These codes can be thrown by a bad <ACRONYM title="Low Pressure Oil Pump">Lpop</ACRONYM>, <ACRONYM title="High Pressure Oil Pump">Hpop</ACRONYM>, Injector, Fuel pump, fuel filter, Clogged fuel pick up, gas in fuel, etc. I found this info and decided to post it up, becuase it's full of great information and diagnoses as well should any of you have these symptoms and or codes.

<ACRONYM title="Injection Pressure out of range, above or below desired">P1211</ACRONYM>, P1212 Ford Powerstroke Diesel0
Ford Diesels use oil pressure to drive the high pressure fuel injection system. The engine oil pump not only pumps oil to lubricate engine components, but also pumps oil into a reservoir to be used by the high pressure oil pump.

The high pressure oil pump pulls oil from the reservoir and raises the pressure to the point where it can pop open the injectors. The high pressure pump also increases the pressure of the diesel fuel so it can inject into the cylinders and vaporize quickly.

The oil pressure generated by the high pressure oil pump is regulated by an electric solenoid that is pulsed by the <ACRONYM title="Powertrain Control Module">PCM</ACRONYM>. As this Injection Pressure Regulator (<ACRONYM title="Injection Pressure Regulator">IPR</ACRONYM>) solenoid is powered and de-powered, a small shaft moves back and forth, allowing spurts of oil to flow into the high pressure oil lines The <ACRONYM title="Injection Pressure Regulator">IPR</ACRONYM> can regulate pressures in excess of 3,000psi. The high pressure oil moves from the pump to the cylinder head through braided steel lines.

The <ACRONYM title="Powertrain Control Module">PCM</ACRONYM> fires the diesel fuel injectors by energizing a solenoid coil in the injector. Unlike gas fuel injectors where the solenoid lifts a pintle off a seat to allow pressurized fuel to flow into the cylinder, the solenoid in Ford diesel fuel injectors allows high pressure oil to flow. Think of this like a doctor’s syringe. The pressurized oil pushes on the plunger of the syringe to “inject” the fuel through the injector and into the cylinder. Since the minimum <ACRONYM title="lbs per sq inch">psi</ACRONYM> required to open the injectors is 400psi, the <ACRONYM title="Powertrain Control Module">PCM</ACRONYM> monitors the actual pressure of the oil going to the injector with an Injection Control Pressure (<ACRONYM title="Injection Control Pressure">ICP</ACRONYM>) sensor. Using data from the <ACRONYM title="Injection Control Pressure">ICP</ACRONYM> sensor, the <ACRONYM title="Powertrain Control Module">PCM</ACRONYM> can adjust the pulse rate to the <ACRONYM title="Injection Pressure Regulator">IPR</ACRONYM>.

Since the <ACRONYM title="Injection Pressure Regulator">IPR</ACRONYM> operates off of a pulsed voltage, the amount of ON time versus OFF time is referred to as “duty cycle.” The high pressure pump can easily achieve pressures in excess of 3,000psi. But it’s up to the <ACRONYM title="Injection Pressure Regulator">IPR</ACRONYM> to regulate the amount of pressure going to the injectors. The <ACRONYM title="Injection Pressure Regulator">IPR</ACRONYM> can regulate a 3,000 <ACRONYM title="lbs per sq inch">psi</ACRONYM> reading with no more than a 12% duty cycle. Yet, the <ACRONYM title="Powertrain Control Module">PCM</ACRONYM> is capable of providing up to a 60% duty cycle to the <ACRONYM title="Injection Pressure Regulator">IPR</ACRONYM>. However, once it reaches 50%, the <ACRONYM title="Powertrain Control Module">PCM</ACRONYM> sets a trouble code <ACRONYM title="Injection Pressure out of range, above or below desired">P1211</ACRONYM> or P1212 for “ICP above/below normal.

If you receive this code, your first step is to check the oil level in the crankcase. Since the entire high pressure system depends on having enough oil in the reservoir, a drop in oil level of 3 or more quarts can bring the system to a quick stop. Unlike a gasoline engine where the oil pressure sending unit is located in the engine block in an oil gallery, the oil pressure sending unit on a Ford Diesel is located in the top of the high pressure oil reservoir. In other words, Ford wants to make sure the high pressure oil reservoir is getting good oil pressure. If the oil “idiot” light does not go out the high pressure oil reservoir isn’t getting enough pressure. The high pressure pump cannot produce high pressure if it’s not getting enough oil from the engine oil pump. If the oil level checks out and the oil pressure light goes out, move on to the rest of the checks.

The <ACRONYM title="Powertrain Control Module">PCM</ACRONYM> monitors RPM during cranking. As soon as RPMs reach 150, the <ACRONYM title="Powertrain Control Module">PCM</ACRONYM> activates the <ACRONYM title="Injection Pressure Regulator">IPR</ACRONYM> to begin regulating oil pressure. At the same time, the <ACRONYM title="Powertrain Control Module">PCM</ACRONYM> starts monitoring the <ACRONYM title="Injection Control Pressure">ICP</ACRONYM> sensor to double check oil pressure buildup. As mentioned earlier, the <ACRONYM title="Powertrain Control Module">PCM</ACRONYM> can command up to a 60% duty cycle for the <ACRONYM title="Injection Pressure Regulator">IPR</ACRONYM>. But if the <ACRONYM title="Powertrain Control Module">PCM</ACRONYM> is providing maximum duty cycle and the <ACRONYM title="Injection Control Pressure">ICP</ACRONYM> reports either less than 400psi or 2,000-2,500psi, and the engine is not running, it concludes there is a problem (a reading of 2,000-2,500 is a programmed “default” reading the <ACRONYM title="Powertrain Control Module">PCM</ACRONYM> provides on the scan tool when it believes there’s a fault in the <ACRONYM title="Injection Control Pressure">ICP</ACRONYM>). If you see 2,000-2,500psi on the <ACRONYM title="Injection Control Pressure">ICP</ACRONYM> scan tool readout AND the engine isn’t running, you should suspect a bad <ACRONYM title="Injection Control Pressure">ICP</ACRONYM> sensor.

If the engine won’t start, you can conclude there’s a problem in the high pressure system. Either the high pressure pump isn’t working, <ACRONYM title="Injection Pressure Regulator">IPR</ACRONYM> is faulty, or there’s a large leak somewhere in the system that’s preventing pressure buildup. To eliminate a cylinder head leak from the troubleshooting process, remove the high pressure line from the right side head and cap it with a plug that can hold 3,000psi. Then remove the high pressure line from the left side cylinder head and attach a high pressure (3,000psi or more) gauge to the line. Then crank the engine and watch the pressure gauge. If you get a low reading, the problem is either a faulty high pressure pump or a bad <ACRONYM title="Injection Pressure Regulator">IPR</ACRONYM>. First you must replace the <ACRONYM title="Injection Pressure Regulator">IPR</ACRONYM>. If the problem still exists, replace the high pressure pump.

 

Wow awesome write up

 

A 1211 is a normal code if you have a chip or tuner programmer..
P1212 = ICP voltage not at expected level. "Injector control pressure" Probably air in the system (got this from another forum)

 

Great piece of info m8. Gunna print that one out and keep it on file. reps sent.

 

reps sent...

how do we get this added to the common mod and maintinace link on the top?

EDIT: i sent a PM to a moderator about having this added!

 

So added. I also put back a whole bunch of other links that had been gone for a while.

 

VERY VERY HELPFUL TY for posting.

 

IIRC that is the code that Barney (bfife) had that took him a long time to figure out. Ended up being an injector solenoid. Shoot him a pm and ask.

 

hello everyone, i just joined this site. i know its cooking nite for most. me as well. i have a 02 250 7.3 with 290k. great truck. putting a sct tuner on it today. kicked back errors. p1249. p0733. p1212 ????? i have reaD
d the posts i could find on these. would appreciate anyones input. i want to fix this truck up nice but dont really know what needs to be done or in what order. help