Check Engine Light

[bjl584]

A retail outlet like Autozone only has a basic code reader. They'll be able to give you a baseline code. It's basically a place to start. It will identify a system in your car that is experiencing trouble and causing your check engine light to come on. From there, you will have to figure out which component within the system is failing. It could be one of many things. the only way to determine specifically what is wrong is to go to a repair shop that has a more advanced code reader or to try and trouble shoot it yourself. Both options can get expensive. There is something wrong with your emissions system from the code you gave. I'm going to go ahead and guess that you have a bad selenoid somewhere in your emission control system that isn't allowing a valve to open and recirculate your emission gasses. It's probably fairly inexpensive if you can do the job yourself.

[disneysteve]

Of course, sometimes something stupid goes wrong. A while back, my light came on. I took it to the shop. They checked everything and it turned out that the sensor that makes the light come on went bad. There was nothing at all wrong with the car. Isn't technology wonderful?

[red92s]

UPDATE: I stopped by AutoZone last night & they pulled the code. The OEM Number was P0455 & the technician said it's the fuel cap. The store was busy, so he really just said "fuel cap" and handed me a printout. He didn't have time for any other questions, which I understand. Rhe print-out he gave me listed the following probable causes:
1. Faulty Fuel Cap
2. Canister faulty
3. Purge valve solenoid faulty
4. Damaged/leaking EVAP hose
5. Faulty EVAP leak detection pump.

I tightened the fuel cap this weekend after the light first came on, so I doubt that a loose fuel cap is the problem. However, I did read online somewhere that it can take a few trips to "reset."

I really don't want to start running down this list replace things that aren't actually the source of the problem. However, I also don't want to pay $80-$90 for my mechanic to tell me I need a new fuel cap.

As of right now, I'm thinking about just driving it until this weekend to see if it goes away. From the list above, it doesn't look like I'll do a ton of damage if I wait a little while. But, I'm not very knowledgeable about cars, so ...

Some more info for you. I would see if whoever checked the code can "clear" it from memory for you after checking your gas cap for tightness. Even when a problem is fixed, the error code is retained in memory. This can also be done by disconnecting the battery for ~10 minutes on most cars.

You are likely not damaging anything buy continuing to drive. If anything, you are just allowing more fuel vapors to escape to the atmosphere rather than being combusted in the engine. Not necessarily a "bad" thing to be doing to your car, but you certainly won't pass any state emission inspection with it.

Symptoms

You likely won't notice any drivability problems.
Causes

A code p0455 most likely means one or more of the following has happened:

* A loose or improperly affixed gas cap
* A non-conforming gas cap (i.e. not factory/original brand)
* Other leak or damaged piece in EVAP system

Possible Solutions

With a p0455, the most common repair is to:

* Remove and reinstall the gas cap, clear the codes, and drive for a day and see if the codes come back.
* Otherwise, replace the gas cap, and/or
* Inspect the EVAP system for cuts/holes in tubes/hoses (you may hear a vacuum noise or smell fuel), repair if necessary

[am_vanquish]

Some more info for you. I would see if whoever checked the code can "clear" it from memory for you after checking your gas cap for tightness. Even when a problem is fixed, the error code is retained in memory. This can also be done by disconnecting the battery for ~10 minutes on most cars.

You are likely not damaging anything buy continuing to drive. If anything, you are just allowing more fuel vapors to escape to the atmosphere rather than being combusted in the engine. Not necessarily a "bad" thing to be doing to your car, but you certainly won't pass any state emission inspection with it.

Red, thanks for the advice. You seem to know what you're talking about & you've got a great way of communicating it. I will disconnect the battery tonight to reset the light. Hopefully it was a loose gas cap & the light won't come back on. If it does, I'll replace the gas cap (I found out they're only10 bucks) & reset it again.

If that still doesn't fix it, I'll give up and pay the $80-$90 to have a "professional" take a look at it. red92s, if you're available, I'll have you take a look at it ... I trust you. Surely you live in close proximity to the metro atlanta area, right???

[maat55]

UPDATE: I stopped by AutoZone last night & they pulled the code. The OEM Number was P0455 & the technician said it's the fuel cap. The store was busy, so he really just said "fuel cap" and handed me a printout. He didn't have time for any other questions, which I understand. Rhe print-out he gave me listed the following probable causes:
1. Faulty Fuel Cap
2. Canister faulty
3. Purge valve solenoid faulty
4. Damaged/leaking EVAP hose
5. Faulty EVAP leak detection pump.

I tightened the fuel cap this weekend after the light first came on, so I doubt that a loose fuel cap is the problem. However, I did read online somewhere that it can take a few trips to "reset."

I really don't want to start running down this list replace things that aren't actually the source of the problem. However, I also don't want to pay $80-$90 for my mechanic to tell me I need a new fuel cap.

As of right now, I'm thinking about just driving it until this weekend to see if it goes away. From the list above, it doesn't look like I'll do a ton of damage if I wait a little while. But, I'm not very knowledgeable about cars, so ...

You may have to have auto-zone clear the code. Sometime fixing the problem does not clear the code. It could be fixed, but needing the code clear electronically.

[red92s]

Red, thanks for the advice. You seem to know what you're talking about & you've got a great way of communicating it. I will disconnect the battery tonight to reset the light. Hopefully it was a loose gas cap & the light won't come back on. If it does, I'll replace the gas cap (I found out they're only10 bucks) & reset it again.

If that still doesn't fix it, I'll give up and pay the $80-$90 to have a "professional" take a look at it. red92s, if you're available, I'll have you take a look at it ... I trust you. Surely you live in close proximity to the metro atlanta area, right???

Ha. Actually, I was raised in metro atlanta, went to high school there, went to college there . . .then moved to New England after graduation in 2007. Sorry.

I am not even close to being a mechanic. I've just a very analytical person (engineer, naturally) and have grown up working on cars.

How does someone with a title like "AM Vanquish" know so little about cars?

Now that I know you are in GA: You WILL fail the GA state inspection. If your car is throwing any emissions-related check engine lights, you will fail. They are plugging in and checking the codes just like you. This is also why it's important to clear the codes, even if you find and fix the problem!

[red92s]

You may have to have auto-zone clear the code. Sometime fixing the problem does not clear the code. It could be fixed, but needing the code clear electronically.

Disconnecting the battery will usually accomplish the same thing. When you remove power, the ECM memory is lost. Typically you can just pull out a certain fuse that will do this also, and maybe not kill your radio presets in the process. On my Honda it was on the same circuit as the radio anyways, so there was no way around it.

NOTE: you only need to disconnect the NEGATIVE (black) batter terminal, not both. Disconnecting one has the same affect as disconnecting both!

[am_vanquish]

How does someone with a title like "AM Vanquish" know so little about cars?

Haha ... you busted me. Most people can't make the leap from AM to Aston Martin, so I usually get away with being ignorant. I've got an appreciation for the appearance of nice, expensive cars. How their engineered & how they operate is a different issue altogether ... no clue.

Now that I know you are in GA: You WILL fail the GA state inspection. If your car is throwing any emissions-related check engine lights, you will fail. They are plugging in and checking the codes just like you. This is also why it's important to clear the codes, even if you find and fix the problem!

Ironically, I just had my inspection about 5 weeks ago, so this won't be an issue in the immediate future. That said, I have every intention of resolving this issue (I'm hoping this car will last me another couple years). I'm really just trying to make sure that I don't get ripped off along the way by someone capitalizing on my ignorance. Thanks to you guys, that shouldn't happen!