Hey guys,
Just started having problems with my wife's 2001 LS sedan. About a week ago it triggered the CEL and so I had the computer scanned and it pulled up an "P0440 Evaporative Emission (EVAP) System" code. I thought it was just a gas cap problem, so I took it off, retightened it. Nothing. I pulled the battery cable off for 3 minutes and pressed the brake pedal to discharge the system...reconnected it...and its still on.
Now my wife says the gas gague needle is flickering back and forth for no apparent reason.
My question is: What else besides a gas cap could trigger this code? Is there a problem with the fuel sending unit? Anyone else have a similar problem?
As always, thanks for the advice.
-Daryl Scott
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt/cav.html">*86 Cavalier RS convertible
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt/scx.html">*92 Olds Achieva SCX
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt/cobra.html">*98 Mustang SVT Cobra #503</A>
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt/cav.html"><img src="http://www.j-body.org/registry/monkeyspunk79/thumbnail_suncav.JPG"></A> <A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt/scx.html"><img src="http://www.j-body.org/registry/monkeyspunk79/thumbnail_SCX%20side.JPG"> </A> <A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt/scx.html">
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt">Top Down, Tank Full, Pockets Empty
I bet you its a broken wire from the body going to Evap Purge valve...
--
silicon_freak
Thanks for the thread info. I'll give this a look and go from there.
-Daryl Scott
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt/cav.html">*86 Cavalier RS convertible
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt/scx.html">*92 Olds Achieva SCX
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt/cobra.html">*98 Mustang SVT Cobra #503</A>
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt/cav.html"><img src="http://www.j-body.org/registry/monkeyspunk79/thumbnail_suncav.JPG"></A> <A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt/scx.html"><img src="http://www.j-body.org/registry/monkeyspunk79/thumbnail_SCX%20side.JPG"> </A> <A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt/scx.html">
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt">Top Down, Tank Full, Pockets Empty
I can promise you that your evap codes have nothing to do with your gauges.
1979 Impala Sport Coupe Aeroback
If the loose wire is dangling underneath the car and hitting metal...wouldn' t that cause it to arc and spike the whole system? I've had similar issues with gauges and loose grounds, wiring etc before.
-Daryl Scott
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt/cav.html">*86 Cavalier RS convertible
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt/scx.html">*92 Olds Achieva SCX
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt/cobra.html">*98 Mustang SVT Cobra #503</A>
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt/cav.html"><img src="http://www.j-body.org/registry/monkeyspunk79/thumbnail_suncav.JPG"></A> <A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt/scx.html"><img src="http://www.j-body.org/registry/monkeyspunk79/thumbnail_SCX%20side.JPG"> </A> <A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt/scx.html">
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt">Top Down, Tank Full, Pockets Empty
the evap system wiring is an entierly different system.
1979 Impala Sport Coupe Aeroback
Okay, so thanks to Silicon Freak's link I knew what to look for and SURE ENOUGH one of the wires (the white one) on the purge solenoid harness was stretched and cracked, which I thought triggered the light.
I tried to repair the harness, but it was brittle and broke off too close to the damn plug. So I checked out the TSB and the replacement harness price at the Chevy dealer....$52!
I'm off to the pull-a-part to see if I can find a nice one on a used car.
But should I look for one on another GM car instead of the J-body? Will these all be like this?
I hate OBDII crap like this.
Thanks for all the help. This really led me to the right place to diagnose this problem.
RULES
-Daryl Scott
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt/cav.html">*86 Cavalier RS convertible
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt/scx.html">*92 Olds Achieva SCX
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt/cobra.html">*98 Mustang SVT Cobra #503</A>
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt/cav.html"><img src="http://www.j-body.org/registry/monkeyspunk79/thumbnail_suncav.JPG"></A> <A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt/scx.html"><img src="http://www.j-body.org/registry/monkeyspunk79/thumbnail_SCX%20side.JPG"> </A> <A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt/scx.html">
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/doctorsvt">Top Down, Tank Full, Pockets Empty
your welcome, i supplied that TSB
<img src="http://geocities.com/jimmythekid1/gecat2.gif">
I paid $22 for a new harness from the dealer, which I had to connect the end of myself. I just took the old plug on the one side, pushed the pins out in the plug, got new pins from the dealer, added the wires to the pins and reinserted the pins into the plug. Plugged the new harness back on and its worked great.
4cyltuner.com - Information Source For 4 Cylinder Tuners
Buy stuff from CarCustoms Ebay! Won't be disappointed!
okay, here's the last report from my scraggly ass-
I got it fixed. I wound up swapping a good used harness and solenoid assembly over. Seems the solenoid froze up (?) and still caused the light to stay on. I plugged this guy in, and cleared the code and I'm off and running.
Thanks Jimmy, Silicon, Shifted, and all the crew who chimed in with their help.
I really like working on my 86 instead though...less wires, less computer stuff, less horsepower
DOH!
Thanks again.
