Guys, please help me! I am attempting to troubleshoot my daughter’s Saturn Ion 3 in order to get through NJ inspection. She has spent almost $300 in testing to no avail at two different mechanics that have no clue as to what the problem is. These are the codes…
Po411, po449, p2101, p1516, p2430, p2431, p2432, p2433, and p2444.
I am no genius when it comes to cars…I have only done shocks, struts, brakes and rotors, alternators, starter, and replaced fuel injectors on other cars.
On this Saturn, I have checked the fuses and gas cap, made sure all connections and air hoses are attached, and tested the air vent solenoid and secondary air both at the plugs with a test light and got no light at all? The car was on accessory when I tested both of these items. What does this mean?
Hopefully there is a single problem for all the codes, but it sounds like it may be a couple. I looked the codes up, and maybe a throttle body cleaning would be a start.
P0411 indicates an issue with the secondary injection system. This system forces air into the exhaust stream to help the catalyst work more efficient when cold. There is an air pressure sensor that monitors the air flow and I wager to say this might be one of your problems.
This sensor is easy to replace on your car. P0411 can be the initiator for some of the other codes you have.
I also agree with @Barkydog that it wouldn’t hurt to clean the throttle body.
Everything points to the secondary air flow. You have a electric powered air pump under the hood that comes on only for two minutes right after the engine is started from cold.
When you start a cold engine, the computer commands extra fuel to be injected to keep the engine running until it warms up enough to run at the normal fuel/air ratio. This extra fuel results in unburned hydrocarbons (raw fuel) dumped into the exhaust. The cat can’t burn this extra fuel because of the lack of oxygen so the secondary air pump comes on to dump air into the exhaust manifold so the cat will have enough O2 to burn off the extra fuel. This has a secondary benefit to getting the cat up to operating temperature sooner.
The PO 411 only notices that the cat isn’t working under cold ECT (engine coolant temp)
What it could be. The secondary air pump is bad. That can happen and is the first choice on the list of things to replace, but hold on. Between the pump and the exhaust manifold is a hose, a reed valve to prevent exhaust gasses from being sent back to the pump and a steel line from the reed valve to the manifold.
If this was winter and you lived in a very cold climate, I would suggest that water got into the reed valve and froze. Other than that, they are pretty rock solid. Before replacing the air pump, I would pull the steel line out of the manifold and spray a carburetor cleaner down into the hole. If you get sprayback, it is clogged. Stick a still wire or something down the hole until you clear the clog. That will fix it. If it is clear, then you probably need a new pump.
The P0449 could be from overfilling the gas tank everytime she gets gas. Stop that and it should clear up. Otherwise you need a new purge valve. The throttle problem should clear up after everything else is fixed.
I think your error code P2430 is the main clue to the trouble. That code says that there is a “Secondary Air Injection System Pressure Sensor Circuit Problem” . You need to check the wiring between the ECU and that sensor for a problem. The circuit connection is most likely ‘open’ somewhere in the wiring between the two points.