Hi, I’ve got a Ford Contour (4 cyl) w/ 104K mi.
A while ago, I “experimented” w/ E85, adding as much as I could until drivability and/or CEL issues arose.
I found that, after adding approx. 40% by vol E85 (E34?) I tripped the CEL. Recently, I got it read: “engine too lean” (which I expected) and P0446, something about an EVAP circuit malfunction (which I didn’t). The mixture code didn’t return; alas, the EVAP one did.
Any ideas what’s amiss? Is it possible the E85 excursion is a “red herring” here, or are the two related?
I doubt they’re related. Usually the evap code is a loose gas cap or bad valve on the canister, or an open somewhere in the canister system. I don’t know of any reason E85 would be related to an evap code.
Bad experiment. While there may be derivability problems with E85, there also may be damage to some of the fuel system parts in a vehicle that was not designed for ethanol.