Hey guys my car smells like gas, sometimes it is pretty bad and other times it goes away. What do you think the problem is? Also the SES light is on, and it is reading code 1441, which is related to the evap system, and likely the problem. I dont know how to go about solving the problem, however. Any thoughts?

 

Where is the smell concentrated.... at the front of the car or at the back?

P1441 inidcates a vacuum is present in the EVAP purge line when the purge solenoid is supposed to be closed. There's a possibility the vacuum solenoid has carbon particles in it, and that in turn means the line from the EVAP canister to the solenoid may have carbon in it. If the system is not adequately purging the canister, or if the canister is saturated and the carbon is breaking down, the rear of the car may produce a fuel smell.

 

Well it seems to be inside the cabin, but never on the outside! Is there a possibility that I need to replace the carbon canister?

 

You need to fix P1441 first.

 

How do I do that? I went to the library and looked in a Mitchell manual for some assistance, but the manual said I need a scanning tool to actuate the valve inside the solenoid. I dont have that tool, so what do you think I should do?

 

You need to figure out if the EVAP purge solenoid is sticking open. All you need to do is pull the hoses off and blow through it. If air goes thru it, its stuck open. Then check the line from the EVAP canister to the vacuum sensor switch. Pull it off both ends and blow thru it. In both cases, you are looking for carbon particles. If you don't find the solenoid stuck open, or particles in the purge line, you have to look for other causes. Could be a stuck vacuum sensor switch. Or, the "in" and "out" hoses on the solenoid could be switched.

If all you want to do is "actuate" the solenoid, pull the harness connector off the solenoid, and apply +12V to one of the solenoid pins, and ground to the other side.