Last year, my 1999 Toyota Corolla failed inspection. It needed a new purge canister. I fixed it and passed inspection. Now, 1 year later, I failed inspection again because my purge canister valve is sticking open. Is this due to a poor job done last year installing the part? Or just a coincidence that I keep having problems with the purge canister?
It may be coincidental, or it may be due to the way that the tank is filled. Are you in the habit of continuing to put more gas into the tank after the pump “clicks off”?
Does your CEL (check engine light) come on? Why pay for a test with that light on? You KNOW you are going to fail… It could as simple as a loose gas cap or a leak anywhere in the system. Never trust computer codes to tell you exactly what is wrong…Many problems will mimic a valve stuck open.
what is a purge caniter? do you mean charcoal canister?
Nope. Not at all. My husband may, on occasion, when he uses the car. But I use it primarily and I never top off. Could that make this big of a difference?
The light did not come on because the bulb was burnt out. I had no idea and brought the car in for inspection. Turns out the light should have come on but didn’t.
The mechanic tested it out and found it to be a stuck valve. He also replaced the CEL bulb and the light remains off so I am confident he fixed the right thing.
Methinks that is exactly what the OP was referring to. Me also thinks that the valve referred to in the follow up post was the canister purge valve.
Your gas tank breaths through a bed of activated charcoal (“activated” only means treated with acid to make the charcoal porous, providing far more surface area per volume) that traps the hydrocarbon molecules, preventing them from escaping into the air (carbon sticks to carbon really well). When you start your engine, a “purge valve” opens via a solenoid and allows those gas fumes to be ingested into the engine and burned with the fuel. My guess is that the mechanic found the purge valve stuck.