P2616: Cam-position output driver reports a short toward supply

P2616 is the high-circuit branch of the camshaft-position signal output diagnostic in GM's 2015 OBDG06 document. The monitored path is a controller-generated output. The code should not be treated as a direct verdict on a camshaft sensor's raw input or on mechanical cam timing.

The command state determines the electrical question

The table checks this branch with the output commanded low, the engine not cranking and powertrain relay voltage at least 11 volts. It identifies a short toward controller power, with a stated low-impedance threshold. Forty failed observations within 50 samples establish the result, using 100-millisecond sampling.

The diagnostic is Type C with no MIL. A driver may therefore have no engine warning lamp even though the output diagnostic has recorded a failure. A normal cam-position value on a scan display also does not validate a separate generated-output circuit.

Trace the output relationship

Identify the correct output conductor and receiving load from the exact application service information. Determine whether the output can follow a low command, rather than judging it by an unrelated high-state measurement. Keep the output-driver evidence separate from sensor input validity and engine synchronization evidence.

Verification should show normal commanded output behavior and a completed electrical monitor after the demonstrated cause is corrected. The table is not a universal connector map or a resistance-testing procedure, and its fault description does not independently establish which component created the supply-side connection. These thresholds remain specific to the cited GM document and require calibration confirmation.

Source: GM diagnostic parameters, physical PDF page 439.