P2673: Injection Pump Timing Calibration Not Learned
What to do
If this appeared straight after work on the injection pump, the engine module, or a software update, that is almost certainly the explanation — and nothing is broken.
A new pump has to be taught to the engine module, either by running a calibration routine or by entering a code printed on the pump itself. Until that is done the module uses default values, and the engine runs exactly as though the pump were worn out: hard starting, a harsh rattle, smoke and poor economy.
This matters because of what usually happens next. A car that runs badly immediately after a new pump looks like a faulty new pump, and people replace it a second time. The second one behaves the same way, because it has not been calibrated either.
Go back to whoever did the work and ask specifically whether the pump calibration was performed. It takes a few minutes with the right equipment, it is part of the job rather than an extra, and it very often resolves the whole complaint.
What this code means
The module has no timing calibration stored for the injection pump, and is running on default values until it is given one.
This is not a fault code. It is a procedure notice, and reading it as a fault is what makes it expensive.
No two injection pumps are identical. Manufacturing tolerances mean each one delivers fuel at a moment fractionally different from its neighbour, and modern diesels do not attempt to build that difference out — they measure it and correct for it. The correction is either a value learned by the module through a calibration routine, or a code printed on the pump that must be typed in when it is fitted. Either way it is a step in the job, not something that happens by itself.
The code therefore appears after work rather than after a failure: a pump replaced, an engine module replaced or reprogrammed, sometimes a battery disconnection or a software update. And the vehicle it appears on is one that has just come back from a garage.
Here is why that combination costs people money. Running on defaults feels exactly like a worn-out pump — hard starting, a harsh rattly note, smoke, poor economy, less power. So a car that runs badly immediately after having its injection pump replaced presents as a faulty new pump, and the natural next step is to replace it again. The second pump behaves identically, because it has not been calibrated either.
The rule is simple and worth stating plainly: a diesel running badly straight after pump or module work should have its calibration checked before any part is suspected. The routine takes minutes with the right equipment.
This is the same shape as several others in the corpus — the transmission adaptations erased at P0949, the turbocharger actuator end stops at P2563, the oil life counter at P0897. A modern vehicle holds a great deal of learned knowledge about itself, and replacing a part throws that knowledge away. Restoring it is part of the repair.
Likely causes
Start here
- Injection pump replaced without calibration · specialist
- Engine control module replaced or reprogrammed · specialist
Less common
- Battery disconnected or module reprogrammed · easy
- Degraded module memory · specialist
- Interrupted module programming · specialist
Symptoms
Components involved
Information, not instruction
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Have anything you intend to act on checked by a trained person against the manufacturer's own procedure for your vehicle. Nothing here replaces that procedure.
Community experience
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What makes one worth reading:
- The car — make, model, year and engine. The same fault behaves differently on each.
- What you measured, not only what you replaced.
- What actually fixed it — or that nothing did, which is worth knowing too.
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