well someone recommended chaning the EVAP solenoid, because the SES light is on and its the EVAP system which is bad. ive gotten 2 different quotes from places and they were both around 80 bucks an hour to check it out and they said they would be able to pinpoint the exact problem for me. so what should i do? spend the money to have it completely fixed correctly or just try the solenoid for the hell of it. BTW it was a p144 code which is Evaporative emmisions flow during non-purge...?

 

You can replace both parts for less than $80. They are about $20 each.
part #s are 1997201 and 12555984. Its worth a try IMO because its half the price of the diag fee.

 

The code must have been P1441.

Could be the purge solenoid stuck open. Might have some carbon particle in it. Have you tried removing it and cleaning it out? Have you tried blowing through it to see if its stuck open?

Could be a problem with the flow detector switch (#11 in the diagram below). Have you checked that out?

Shoebox shows $14.89 + shipping for the solenoid.

From Shoebox's website:

 

Easy to check for that. Mine used to do it everytime I drove in the rain. Pull the outlet hose off the canister purge solenoid if theres vacuum then its stuck open. I replaced the solenoid the first time and then the next wet day it did it again. I figured I got a bad part so I got another one.........now I just pull it off and blow through it with compressed air and stick it back on done that dozens of times and finally it stopped doing it. Don't really know what caused it but it seemed to get water in the solenoid and lock it up.

 

Just realized I've already answered this question for you, and posted the same diagram.

Just curious - why post a whole new thread, without letting people know what you've already learned, what you've done to fix the problem, etc??? Don't start a new thread... add on to the old thread, so people don't waste their time duplicating info that others might already have given you?

http://64.65.63.61/forums/showthread.php?t=420980

 

sorry, your right i forgot i had the old thread, but my point in this one is not to get oppinions of what it could be just more should i try fixing it first or jump to a more technical approach. anyways ill try not to do it again, GM has the EVAP purge solenoid for 33 bucks. i should be able toremove it while the car is off without any trouble right? should i blow through the bottom one(line that has the flow detection switch) or the top one that returns to the gas tank?thanks

 

For $80/hour they will hook the computer up to a scanner. Then you'll still have to pay the overinflated price for the parts and for them to install it. Get the parts yourself and replace them. If you still throw a code then maybe it's time to have a shop look at it.

 

Why would you pay a dealer $33 for a solenoid, when you can get the same genuine GM part from Jason Cromer or Dal Slabaugh for $20 including shipping?

The way I see it, the question is "I'm not going to do what people told me to do, so should I start replacing parts at full dealer prices, or dump it on the dealer to figure out at even more outrageous prices". But that's just me.

 

I love when people read all the posts. I told you exactly what you need to do to check the solenoid and the problems I had with mine. Go back and read it then you might even save yourself $20. It will take less than 2 mins to see if the solenoid is stuck open.

 

i didnt ask to get **** on, i apologize if i dont understand everything that is typed, sometimes its hard to understand things just by reading them, and im kinda nervous right now cause i have a lot of crap going on right now and the car is acting up. and i also checked autozone and carquest, neither had the part so i went to the dealer and i found out it was 33 dollars, i had some spare time today so i ran to these places to get an idea. you dont know unless you ask right? and im sorry but i dont know who Jason Cromer or Dal Slabaugh are.

 

well i pulled off the line and it was pulling in vaccum, so i bought a new purge solenoid and installed it, right when i put it on it seemed fine then driving around i tried to see if the light would go off then pulled over to check it and it was pulling vaccum again...?

 

It will pull vacuum if it's doing a purge. If you want to clear the check engine light, pull the fuse to the computer to allow itself to reset. Then you'll need to drive it for a while(couple of days) to see if it comes back.

 

yea i stopped at a friends house and posted this in a hurry so i forgot to say it was running under normal temperatures as opposed to when i first tested the new one and when i tested the old one i started it cold in my garage.i was gonna disconnect the battery but i dont want it to go out and have to wait a few days until it "MIGHT" come back on or might just stay off for good. will it clear itself and turn the light off after drivign it enough or do i HAVE to clear them manually for it to reset?thanks

 

all codes will eventually clear themselves after "X" amount of warm up cycles and the system passing the test. but, that could be 100 or more passed tests. autozone will clear the codes, or any GM dealership will clear it for you if you just drive in there and explain to them you fixed (or think youve fixed the problem).

pulling the line off with the eng. running is not a good test, because the pcm sometimes will demand a small amount of vacuum to the system w/o closing the vent valve so it will clear itself out. the right way to test it is to take the valve off the engine, and put a vacuum pump on the engine side of the valve and make sure it holds vacuum. it should be normally closed, and only open when turned on. so if you take off the connector, and vacuum test the inlet side, it should hold perfect vacuum.
my guess here is the vacuum switch. those tend to stay in one position or another.
and, as for your original question, if I were you, Id buy a vacuum switch and try it, if that doesnt fix it, Id buy the purge valve. those are easily the most common reasons for that code. there are other possibilities, but thats what you see day in, day out.
good luck

 

also, if you search on those two guys names here, you'll find them. so save yourself some more money and do a search for them.