The ECU has seen supply voltage outside its expected window. Almost always charging or battery related, and it can throw a scatter of unrelated codes alongside it.
P0560 — also written PO56O, P 0560, 0560 — is the OBD-II code for system voltage malfunction. Same code, same fix: this page covers every spelling of it.
P0560 is a electrical fault code, typically costing £80–£650 to put right in a UK garage.
What causes P0560?
- Failing battery losing capacity
- Alternator over- or under-charging
- Corroded battery terminals or earth strap
- Loose or worn alternator belt
How P0560 is fixed
- Load-test the battery and check charging voltage at idle and 2,000rpm
- Clean and remake terminals and earths
- Replace the alternator or regulator
- Fit a new battery if capacity is down
P0560 repair cost in the UK
Most P0560 repairs land between £80–£650 including parts and labour. The spread is wide because the cheap fix (a sensor, a hose, a leak) and the expensive fix (a major component) throw the same code — which is why a proper diagnosis before parts are bought saves the most money.
Can you drive with P0560?
Risk of being stranded. Get the charging system tested before a long trip.
Urgency: high.
What P0560 is telling you
This is a wiring-first code. The ECU sees an impossible voltage on the circuit, and until the loom, connector and earth path have been checked, replacing the component is a gamble.
On P0560 specifically — system voltage malfunction — the stored code records the moment that check failed, not the moment the part gave up. That gap is why two cars with the same code can need completely different repairs.
How P0560 is diagnosed properly
Each of the known causes is ruled in or out in cost order, cheapest and most likely first. On P0560 that means working through them like this:
- Failing battery losing capacity — confirmed with live data before any part is bought.
- Alternator over- or under-charging — confirmed with live data before any part is bought.
- Corroded battery terminals or earth strap — opened, inspected for green corrosion and spread pins, and back-probed rather than unplugged, so the reading is taken with the circuit live.
- Loose or worn alternator belt — confirmed with live data before any part is bought.
An hour of diagnostic time on P0560 routinely saves more than it costs, because the alternative is buying the most expensive part on that list and hoping.
The repairs that actually clear P0560
- Load-test the battery and check charging voltage at idle and 2,000rpm
- Clean and remake terminals and earths
- Replace the alternator or regulator
- Fit a new battery if capacity is down
After the repair the code is cleared and the car is driven until the relevant readiness monitor completes, rather than handed back as soon as the light goes out. A code that has only been erased will come straight back on the next drive cycle.
What happens if P0560 is ignored
This is a stop-and-sort fault rather than a wait-for-the-service fault. Ignoring it risks turning a sensor-money repair into a component-money one.
For reference, P0560 typically lands at £80–£650 all-in at an independent garage in the UK — main-dealer quotes for the same job usually sit above that.
Getting P0560 looked at
Bob's Mechanical Repairs is an independent garage in Birnam, Dunkeld, Perthshire, with 32 years of Bob's experience on the tools. If P0560 is showing on your car, bring the scan results with you — we will read the live data ourselves, tell you which of the causes above it actually is, and price the repair before any work starts.