Check Engine Light

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Well, It came back on in the same spot this morning on the way to work. I have noticed they are doing some paving on the road about a mile before I get to this spot. They only work at night and shut down during the day. Do you think my car could be sniffing hot asphalt in that area and just takes that long to register it for sensors? I do know the smell is real strong when I come through their construction zone.
 
KMixson said:
Well, It came back on in the same spot this morning on the way to work. I have noticed they are doing some paving on the road about a mile before I get to this spot. They only work at night and shut down during the day. Do you think my car could be sniffing hot asphalt in that area and just takes that long to register it for sensors? I do know the smell is real strong when I come through their construction zone.

I am at a loss now. that is really odd. propane or natural gas lines around that area? this is really bizarre. the doesnt come on any other time?
 
That is the only place it comes on. It only comes on when I travel through there at 4:15 AM on Monday mornings. As I had said in an earlier post I went through there Saturday morning going the opposite way and it didn't come on. They have been working on the road about a mile before I get to that point. I do not know what exactly what they are doing but they could be dealing with a gas line. They have been working on it now for about three months. They only work on it at night from about 10PM to 6AM and then reopen all of the lanes for the morning rush. They tear up the asphalt at night and then lay it back down in the morning. When I go through there all I smell is asphalt. I have never seen a check engine light come on like this before.
 
I suggest you have your local Oreilly's read the fault code. This should help narrow down what exactly is throwing the check engine fault. It might also push you/us in the right direction for diagnosis.

Roger
 
The code is P0440 which is "Evaporative Emission Control System Malfunction". I have read the code six times now. It has all that it shows. The most probable causes for this code is faulty/loose gas cap, EVAP canister, leaking vacuum hoses and fuel tank leak. I have replaced the gas cap. The part I don't understand is why is does it where it does it and nowhere else? It happens on the way to work from my girlfriends house at the same location every time. I didn't realize it until about the third time. I have a code reader that will read live data from the OBD II. My next step will be to connect it to the OBD II port before I drive through there again.
 
I am still baffled by this. LOL! my cousin has a forester, he was getting the same code. but it was all the time. his evap canister had crack...... wasnt cheap to replace. but in your case it is weird that it is one spot that triggers this. keep us posted.
 
KMixson said:
The code is P0440 which is "Evaporative Emission Control System Malfunction". I have read the code six times now. It has all that it shows. The most probable causes for this code is faulty/loose gas cap, EVAP canister, leaking vacuum hoses and fuel tank leak. I have replaced the gas cap. The part I don't understand is why is does it where it does it and nowhere else? It happens on the way to work from my girlfriends house at the same location every time. I didn't realize it until about the third time. I have a code reader that will read live data from the OBD II. My next step will be to connect it to the OBD II port before I drive through there again.


You need to brake (ort break) up with her - she might get to your boat next!
 
Is the route before that spot full of quick up & down hills? Big bumps? Or anything out of the ordinary that you don't encounter in your other travels?

Signal notes/synthesizer sequence to Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind ...
 
DaleH said:
Is the route before that spot full of quick up & down hills? Big bumps? Or anything out of the ordinary that you don't encounter in your other travels?

Signal notes/synthesizer sequence to Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind ...

Road construction. The way they have it set up it is like going through a slalom course. You go left and right and back left in quick succession to get through there. Maybe I have a vacuum line loose and when I go through there it leaks a little causing the light to come on? Could be. When I do read the code it is already classified as an inactive code. I have cleared the code within a mile of it coming on and it reads as an inactive code.
 
The light did not come on this morning on my way to work. They were not working on the road this morning I guess due to the holiday. The slolam setup was still at the construction site but there was no one there. I am beginning to wonder what kind of chemicals they are using for the construction?
 
KMixson said:
The light did not come on this morning on my way to work. They were not working on the road this morning I guess due to the holiday. The slolam setup was still at the construction site but there was no one there. I am beginning to wonder what kind of chemicals they are using for the construction?


There maybe chemicals involved #-o
 
next time you drive through that area - roll down your windows
and turn off the A/C and see if you can smell anything like
fresh asphalt or any other "out of the ordinary" smells.

a few weeks ago, Central Florida had some pretty bad forest fires
and on one particular fire, the smoke plume was pretty high and
a passenger jet from the Orlando airport flew through it . . . .
the smoke fumes (maybe carbon monoxide?) was sucked into the
plane and two flight attendants actually passed out, several passengers
started throwing up and the plane quickly turned around and made a
distressed landing back at the airport ..... many went to the hospital
with undetermined symptoms which later was determined to be from the ground fire smoke.

never can tell about these things - on land or in the air.

if you were on Florida's East Coast, I would blame it on the Bermuda Triangle Complex.



.
 
There is a very strong smell of asphalt when I go through there. There is no need to roll the window down to smell it. I think they tear up the asphalt at night and lay it back down before the morning rush. They work from 10PM to 6AM according to their caution signs. They are usually laying the asphalt back down at 4:15AM when I go through there. It is just a small section of road of about 100 feet in distance. They are working at laying a pipe underground across the road in my best guess. It is a four lane road with a center turn lane and right shoulders on both sides. As you approach it if you are in the far right travel lane you will cross the left lane and be in the middle turn lane and then turn back to the right to get into the right lane again all in the distance of about 100 feet.
 
Actually, I am a mechanic. A leaking vacuum hose could trigger the light even without sniffing asphalt fumes. That is why in an earlier post I mentioned the slalom type detour they have thinking that the side g forces may be causing a vacuum line to crack open just enough as I go through there to trigger the light. Now which one? That is the question? This car has some lines in some very hard to get to places. I dread going that deep into it.
 
I had to replace all the vac lines in my '97 Dodge Ram B3500 van
and I got about 10% into it and took it to the auto repair shop.
so yes - trying to find a leak is next to impossible. easier to just start
replacing the ones that are easy to get to and let a professional handle the rest.
in my case, I found a few of the little plastic connectors had cracked or broken.
 

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