Can anyone turn off my 440 CEL?

[synthetic corners]

My 2.2 na Impreza runs like a champ and gets great gas mileage, blah, blah, blah...

I have the damned pesky 440 CEL code. I chased down a bunch of leaks in my evap system already. Such as I've completely pulled and painted my fuel filler with POR15, it was only surface rust and quite minimal. I've replaced all the hoses going into my fuel filler pipe. I also replaced the whole part that mounts the front of the charcoal canister. It is a bracket that holds one of the valves (forgot which one) and also has metal pipes that vent into the unibody.

So now all of those hoses look great and mostly everything in the back looks good but I can't get my CEL to stay off. I've heard it could be related to items on top of the gas tank but I'm not going to go cutting up my floor to get at them and I'm sure as heck not going to drop my subframe to drop the gas tank.

Is there any possibility of turning this light off with tuning software or some other way to trick the computer into keeping my light off for this code? I want my CEL in case say my knock sensor goes, or something. This code is basically making my CEL inoperable.

Any advice is appreciated!

WB

 

[2point5RS_Dan]

I managed to chase down a bunch of evap codes on my 600 dollar legacy. I replaced my filler neck AND the fuel flapper valve on the back of the neck. There is also a wire for the charcoal box that likes to corrode and rot in the wiring loom above the box that was my culprit. Granted my car was a 2002 Legacy, and you're talking about a pre-2002 impreza.

I'm not sure if your car is subjected to the same flaws as mine was, but it's worth looking into.

As for turning off via software, not really possible. If it were a wrx you probably could, but not much for NA ecus.

 

[Matt]

yea the 2.2/2.5 older crowd is stuck, ive also got the code and ive found that the wire that connects to my charcoal canister is broken off at the connector, just needs to be stripped and reconnected....im just to busy/lazy to do it right now

 

[2point5RS_Dan]

Found my pic of it:

 

[CoupedUpSubie]

There should actually be a couple access panels under the rear seat to get to the fuel pump and stuff. I have two, one for the fuel pump, not sure about the other.

 

[synthetic corners]

Yup, I had all that crap off when I had the charcoal canister off. The vavle above the canister looks fine, although looks can be decieving with elctronics... The wiring is all intact and I actually pulled the connectors and cleaned them as well.

This is stupid I know but will the check engine light go off if I solved the problem when it checks the evap, or do I have to clear it and see if it comes back on?

I never actually pulled the battery after I did the work because someone on NASIOC mentioned that the light will go off by itself if it's fixed...

I really don't want to attack the stuff above the gas tank just to turn off the light. Maybe I'll just start checking my codes once a month... Ha.

Thanks!

WB

 

[Matt]

They don't always go out and need to be cleared.

 

[synthetic corners]

Well there is a place to start eh.

I'll do that and report back.

 

[2point5RS_Dan]

The wiring is all intact and I actually pulled the connectors and cleaned them as well.

Did you actually strip the stock loom to inspect it?

 

[synthetic corners]

No, I didn't. The holes in those metal pipes were so dramatic (entire pieces missing) and the rubber hoses around the area were pretty messed up too. So I figured replacing those was likely to take care of my problem.

I could spend all year (and $$$) proactively replacing parts for the evap.

Next time I have the rear end up in the air I'll take a hard look at the wiring. Is there a way to test it with a lght or multi meter?

WB

 

[Matt]

if you can trace the wiring back to inside the car you could do an ohm test from there to the connector and pin point a broken wire and then figure out where its broken

 

[synthetic corners]

Got it. Sounds simple enough in theory.

WB

 

[2point5RS_Dan]

No, I didn't. The holes in those metal pipes were so dramatic (entire pieces missing) and the rubber hoses around the area were pretty messed up too. So I figured replacing those was likely to take care of my problem.

I could spend all year (and $$$) proactively replacing parts for the evap.

Next time I have the rear end up in the air I'll take a hard look at the wiring. Is there a way to test it with a lght or multi meter?

WB

Yes, I replaced the whole filler neck, fuel flap, all the bolts, and the gasket around the top. Still didn't turn off my codes. Next step was to inspect the wiring to the charcoal box.

What we did was pull the connector off the charcoal box and hit it with a multimeter. It read nothing. So we stripped the loom and found our problem. It's really not hard to do at all. A breeze compared to the 3rd gen leggy filler neck.

 

[synthetic corners]

Dan were you testing for voltage when you did that? Car running?

 

[2point5RS_Dan]

We tried key on and running. Dad manned the multimeter since hes an engineer. I just played with the key. I want to say key on should have power, but I'm not 100%

I dont do wiring testing, just soldering.

 

[inski]

If you key off, plug in the d-check connector, and key on the ECM will cycle everything. You can then test the valve and solenoid back there easily with a test light. It will cycle it off, then on, then off, agaian and again, until you turn the key off and unplug the d-check connector. Generally on the 2.2Ls its one of those two (vent valve or solenoid) or the filler neck or gas cap. Once in awhile the canister purge sol will crap out. They are getting old, once in awhile something on top of the gas tank will crack, like the rollover valve or hose or pump seal.

 

[synthetic corners]

inski that is some good information!

Thanks!

Love the avatar btw...