Powertrain, shared range

P3488 Cylinder 11 Exhaust Valve Control Circuit High

Check engine lightOn
EmissionsRelevant
Drive cycleNot required
Limp modeNo

With P3488, the cylinder 11 exhaust actuator line sits too high, most often since the wire has picked up battery voltage. 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. Later V12 and W12 designs give it no job: Bentley's W12 idles a bank of six with its valves still moving, while the Aventador from Lamborghini parks one bank under 135 km/h. Only Mercedes' V12 of around 2000 uncoupled exhaust valves, using two solenoids for that bank. GM's comparable V8 check calls a circuit high below 0.5 ohm to supply while the driver is on, 20 of 25 samples, Type B. The actuator then cannot be engaged, and the engine just runs on all cylinders. P3487 is the ground fault.

Likely causes

Control wire of the cylinder 11 actuator touching a battery feed
Shorted turns in the actuator coil
Output stage in the engine control module failed

Symptoms

  • Check engine lamp on
  • Engine stays on all twelve cylinders

Repair estimate

DifficultyMediumDIY possible
Parts and labour€60–900
Time0.5–4 h

Typical range across vehicles; the real cost depends on what the testing finds.

Parts involved

cylinder deactivation solenoidwiring harnessecm

Related codes

P3485P3486P3487P3484P3497

References: law.cornell.edu, mobilityengineeringtech.com, newatlas.com, en.wikipedia.org.