The purge valve, also known as a canister purge valve, is a critical part of the Evaporative Emission Control system (EVAP system) inside your car. This system limits the amount of fuel vapors that occur in your fuel tank, preventing them from entering the atmosphere and instead, trapping them inside the charcoal canister.
EVAP systems span from the car’s front to the fuel reservoir in the back of the car. Common parts of the EVAP system include the purge valve, vent valve, charcoal canister, the fuel tank, and all the fuel vapor lines that connect all these parts to one another in addition to your car’s engine.
When the engine starts running at a constant speed, the EVAP system will gingerly allow these vapors to enter your engine, which burn the way regular fuel does. The current of these vapors is regulated by the automobile’s purge valve, which determines when and how often vapors get into the engine.
The purge valve runs electronically and is classified as a solenoid. The most common of purge valve problems is when the valve has difficulty opening or closing or doesn’t open at the right time. Here are three symptoms that can help you tell when your purge valve is not working properly. Extra purge valve costs is not as expensive either.
Check Engine Light Is Lit
The check engine light is the first and most obvious warning sign of a faulty purge valve. The purge valve is connected to the computer in your car, which will allow you to supervise its performance. If the computer detects low or high levels of purging coming from the purge value, it will turn on the check engine light. Error codes that you can expect to see include P0441 as well as P0446. If the check engine light is turned on, your best option is to have the car worked on by a certified professional where you are expected to pay for a purge valve cost.
Lower Mileage of Gas
If your purge valve is not opening when it is supposed to, it can create some unusual effects for your car’s gas mileage. Why this occurs is because your car’s vapors that are normally involved in combustion will find the EVAP charcoal canister and eventually become filtered to the environment. What this means is that you will lost part of the fuel that would typically be used in burning. Be sure to get your purge valve replaced so that you will retain as much fuel as possible.
Engine Trouble
If your purge valve cannot be shut, however, it will make a vacuum leak that can do some serious harm to your engine. In other words, air will be wrongly permitted into your engine that your car’s computer would not be able to comprehend. This will alter the car’s fuel to air ratio and can cause the automobile to roughly idle. The car will be harder to start, and it will shake stubbornly when it is running. If both of these problems are present, this can be a sign of a failing purge valve, otherwise another part of the EVAP system that is malfunctioning.
Replacing the purge valve on your car is not as expensive as people may first think. You are typically expected to pay around 100 to 150 dollars for a new purge valve in addition to its installation. If you experience engine problems, an on-check engine light, or an unexpected loss of gas mileage, be sure to contact a certified mechanic as soon as possible.
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