For owners of a 2019 or 2020 Ford Fusion plug-in hybrid, P0B68 is best known from bulletin 23-2039: the car will not start, the battery energy control module stores one or more open sense line codes from P0B3B to P0B7C, and the prescribed repair is a complete high-voltage traction battery. Technically the code says that the tenth measuring channel, J, has lost its connection to the cells. GM describes the test in detail for its lithium-ion packs: within 0.6 s it looks for adjacent cells 1.3 V apart, a cell under 36 mV while being balanced, or splice voltages above 0.1 V or 0.5 V, and sets P0B68 as Type A. GM's BAS Plus mild hybrid uses a 1.4 V and 0.5 V rate-of-change test, Type B.
High severity. Can I keep driving?If the car still runs, drive as little as possible and go to a specialized repair shop. Do not touch the orange cables: they carry high voltage.
Symptoms
- No start, vehicle does not become ready
- Hybrid system warning on the cluster
- Plug-in charging unavailable
Most likely causes
- Internal traction battery failure, pack replacement (Ford Fusion PHEV 2019-2020)
- Open sense wire or cell tap on channel J
- Bad bus bar or splice connection near channel J
What to check, in order
Start with the simplest. You can tick off each step.
Good to know
- It can trigger limp mode.
- It affects emissions.
What each character of P0B68 means
- P: Powertrain: engine and transmission
- 0: Generic code: same on every make
- B: Subsystem depends on the code range
- 68: Specific fault in that system
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep driving with code P0B68?
If the car still runs, drive as little as possible and go to a specialized repair shop. Do not touch the orange cables: they carry high voltage.
What causes code P0B68?
The most common causes are: internal traction battery failure, pack replacement (Ford Fusion PHEV 2019-2020); open sense wire or cell tap on channel J; bad bus bar or splice connection near channel J.
Related codes
- P0B69Hybrid/EV Battery Voltage Sense J Circuit Range/Performance
- P0B6AHybrid/EV Battery Voltage Sense J Circuit Low
- P0B6BHybrid/EV Battery Voltage Sense J Circuit High
- P0B6CHybrid/EV Battery Voltage Sense J Circuit Intermittent/Erratic
- P0B63Hybrid/EV Battery Voltage Sense I Circuit
- P0B6DHybrid/EV Battery Voltage Sense K Circuit
Sources
- static.nhtsa.gov: MC 10232489 0001
- gsi.ext.gm.com: 19OBDG01 Hybrid Diagnostics
- gsi.ext.gm.com: 13OBDG05C Hybrid Diagnostics
- law.cornell.edu: 13 CCR 1968.2
Values and procedures vary by manufacturer. If it affects brakes, steering, fuel or high voltage, see a professional. Updated: 2026-11-04. How we build these pages.