Okay, so two nights ago I pumped a bit of gas on the way home. The next day, my CEL came on, figured the gas cap wasn't on "just right". Ran by the closest Advance Auto, used their scanner to check it, sure enough, it gave me the P0442 code (EVAP Emissions Leak - small), which is 99.9% of the time, a mis-shut gas cap. I took the cap off, tightened it (5 turns with clicks) and used the OBDII tool to turn off the code. Went about my day, then later that night, I stopped at a gas station to fill up. Tightened the cap like I always do (3-5 turns with clicks). I drove from the station to Wal-Mart, then to my girlfriends house, then home.. so probably about 50 miles total. Today on the way to work, the CEL light came on again. Since I work at Advance, I used our scan tool to check it, and once again, I got the P0442 code. I retightened my gas cap
again, but didn't turn the code off.. figured I'd wait to see if it goes off by itself. After work, I turned on the car, light was still on, so I popped the hood to check for vaccum leaks. Couldn't see or hear anything unusual. Drove 15 miles to my friends house, light stayed on. Then another 15 miles home and the light stayed on, but I noticed that my gas gauge had dropped some. It went from one notch below full, to two notches below full.. which in a frame of 30 miles at no more than 65 - 70 MPH, shouldn't have dropped that much. So my question is, what
else throws thaht code other than the gas cap not being on correctly? I can't afford to have such @!#$ty gas mileage.
Edit: Car Info:
2003 Cavalier
2.2 Ecotec
56230 miles
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It means you have an evaporative system leak. So, check the wires on the evap canister by the spare tire well, underneat the car. Look for loose or broken wires, the harness is on the passenger side. After that, might want to try replacing your gas cap. If those still don't do it, then you may have to get a smoke test done on your tank.
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Shifted wrote:It means you have an evaporative system leak. So, check the wires on the evap canister by the spare tire well, underneat the car. Look for loose or broken wires, the harness is on the passenger side. After that, might want to try replacing your gas cap. If those still don't do it, then you may have to get a smoke test done on your tank.
Yeah it's by the fuel filter, right? I remember seeing it when I channged out the filter a few months ago. I'll try to get under the car tomorrow after work. One more question.. could it possibly have anything to do with the EGR?
Oh and thanks for the speedy reply =)
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Well I just got owned =P
While at work today I checked out a haynes manual on the EVAP system. According to it, "the evap system is made to be maintenance free and should last for the life of your vehicle".. blah. I haven't checked under the car yet, but I will after lunch. Should I check out the purge canister in the engine bay as well?
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maybe its just a bad gas cap, get a new one
Well I crawled under the car today at my girlfriends house (note to others, let your girlfriend know what you're doing instead of just crawling under the car when you first get to her house, causing her to run out and go "ARE YOU OKAY?!").. anyways.. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. The hoses weren't wet or colapsed, the plugs were in place, the wires weren't frayed or loose, I smelled no gas at all. Didn't look at the purge valve in the engine bay, but I already checked that out Monday night in the parking lot, leaving my job and saw/felt/smelled nothing out of the ordinary there either.
I guess I'll replace the gas cap and see if that works.. if not, I'll probably just take it to Sears Auto (I trust their work) and let them mess with it. I'm all about repairing my car myself, but I don't have the time to hunt for whatever is causing that light to come on.
Oh, by the way.. how do you tell you have a "bad" gas cap? I looked mine over and the seal looks like it's ok, but I don't know what else I should look for (if there is even anything you can visibly see)
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Well I replaced the gas cap today after work. Drove home, then later on went downtown for dinner and drove around a bit, trhen went home and the CEL is still on. I'm giving it until tomorrow to go off before I give Sears Auto a call to see what it'll cost me to bring it in.. I'd rather not have to do that, but it's leaving me no choice.
Quick question to shifted (if you read this).. should the engine be running when I check the evap canister or purge valve?
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Wow I have had the same problem with my car..it was the 02 sensor
the first time mine did that i talked to the dealer and they told me it will take close to 40 eng cycles for the light to go off by itself, so i would disconnect that battery to get rid of it because its going to be awhile before it goes out if your just driving like normal.
04 Cav 2.2 Ecotec
I had the same problem. I had the Evaporative emission canister purge vaccuum switch (Evap Sensor) replaced at 19984 miles.
Nate wrote:the first time mine did that i talked to the dealer and they told me it will take close to 40 eng cycles for the light to go off by itself, so i would disconnect that battery to get rid of it because its going to be awhile before it goes out if your just driving like normal.
What exactly do you mean by cycles? Starting, running to normal temperature and then shutting off? Or am I completely wrong on that? =P
Polo wrote:I had the same problem. I had the Evaporative emission canister purge vaccuum switch (Evap Sensor) replaced at 19984 miles.
How much did that run you?
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It was covered under warranty............no clue........sorry.
yeah, a CEL won't just shut off when a problem is fixed, it usually takes up to 50 miles for the damned thing to shut up
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mikec2003 wrote:yeah, a CEL won't just shut off when a problem is fixed, it usually takes up to 50 miles for the damned thing to shut up
Someone told me yesterday that they've never heard of a CEL going off after a problems fixed. He said that after a certain amount of time, the ECU gets "stuck" into remembering that code on every cycle. I'm gonna turn the code off today at work and see if it pops back up.
Thanks for all your help, guys.. I'll keep this updated if I have any more problems with this.
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