What is a C0265 Engine Code Problem?

A C0265 on your Chevy or GMC Will read: Electronic Brake Control Module Relay Circuit. While that’s a mouthful, it doesn’t really give you a great idea of what the problem is.

The EBCM, or electronic brake control module, is the electronic system that controls brake sensors and activates both traction control and ABS. Traction control helps keep your car going in a straight line and ABS prevents your brakes from locking-up and sending you into a skid when you hit the brakes. So, having a bad EBCM problem can be a serious safety hazard for your vehicle as it can disable both of these systems.

What Causes the EBCM Relay Circuit to fail?

While it’s common to blame the full control module itself, the whole control module actually isn’t the problem here. On Chevy and GMC vehicles, this engine code is caused by a bad connection at the EBCM ground, which is located inside of the unit itself. If you open the EBCM it looks like a traditional circuit-board. It has various grounds which control different functionalities of the module.

The code is caused by one bad connection on the EBCM board. The ground that causes this issue varies depending on which vehicle you have:

Midsize Chevy/GMC vehicles: ground 304
Chevy SSR: ground 400
Fullsize trucks and utility vehicles: ground 110

Symptoms of a C0265 Code

Folks with this issue will report that their ABS light is either consistently stuck on, or that it will intermittently go on and off when hitting bumps and things like that.

• ABS light is on
• Park Brake light is on
• Check engine light is on
• Car won’t go into 4WD
• C0201 and U1041 engine codes

EBCM Repair Options

Please do not buy a completely new control module and have it installed. If you go this route and have a shop do it, you could easily be out over $1,000. Because this problem is caused specifically by one ground on the EBCM, the easiest repair option is to fix the ground connection with a soldering kit. It’s actually super easy to DIY, even for those without soldering experience.

If you aren’t comfortable soldering yourself, you can uninstall the EBCM unit and mail it off and have it fixed for $130 plus shipping by someone like this.

Alternatively, if you want to DIY this for all of $0-$20 depending on whether you have a soldering iron, this is a great video to watch here:

This repair guide and the video above are applicable for all the following vehicles: 

2002-2006 Cadillac Escalade, EXT & ESV
1999-2007 Chevrolet Silverado
2000-2006 Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe
2002-2006 Chevrolet Avalanche
2002-2007 Chevrolet TrailBlazer & EXT
2003-2006 Chevolet SSR
1999-2007 GMC Sierra
2000-2006 GMC Yukon / Denali / XL
2002-2007 GMC Envoy / XL
2004-2005 GMC Envoy XUV