I have a 2001 chrysler town and country mini van. My engine light came on when I had a 1/2 a tank of gas. I took it to a parts store to have them find out why the engine light came on. They said I had a small gas leak that could be from the gas cap not being tight enough. They turned off my engine light with their hand held machine. I tightened the gas cap and drove till I needed to fill up with gas and then the light came back on when it got to the 1/2 way mark again. What could be causing this problem? I made sure after I filled up again that I tightened the gas cap! This did not seem to help.
2007-11-10 05:16:51 · 10 answers · asked by Kristy J 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
First go back to the auto parts store and buy a new fuel cap and have them turn off the light again.
If it comes on again, then someone who understands the fuel tank emission system needs to inspect the many hoses looking for the leak.
2007-11-10 05:26:08 · answer #1 · answered by Tim C 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't believe the problem is you're cap. If it were, the light would come on all the time even with a full tank. The EVAP (Gas evaporation system) tries to hold all gas fumes in the fuel tank system. It monitors for leaks every time you drive by pressurizing the tank with a small amount of air pressure and seeing if it bleeds down. If it leaks off pressure fast, it gives a code of a large leak. If it takes less time, it's a small leak. A lot of the minivans that year had problems with rubber hoses splitting causing leaks in the system. Look for a leak in a particular hose going back down the right side of the van's inner finder just under the hood. You may have to feel it with you're fingers. It's a plastic hose and where it splices to another hose, the rubber connector is bad about splitting. If this checks OK, you may have to take it to a dealer. They have trained techs. that use a smoke machine to find the leak and to monitor the system to make sure it is fixed after the repair. I can't remember what that year's warranty had on EVAP systems, but I believe it was 10 years or 100,000 mile warranty. Check it out and see.
2007-11-11 08:50:20 · answer #2 · answered by Jackolantern 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just went through this Kristy. The two major leak identification places on a gas tank is either under the tank mounting straps and the seam running around the tank where the two halves are joined together. The leak is extremely easy to find if you have access to a lift.
If a new expensive gas cap did not shut off the check engine or service engine soon light The gas tank is the next place to concentrate on
2007-11-10 05:27:14 · answer #3 · answered by Country Boy 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
What they meant by a gas leak was a gas vapor leak in the fuel evaprative system. Modern cars do not vent the fumes from gas into the air, they collect them and burn them through the engine intake. What is happening is you have a suction (vacuum) leak in that system and the sensor is picking up no or low vacuum. These can sometimes be easy to find such as a loose gas cap or they can be very difficult to find. The good news it won't harm your engine.
2007-11-10 05:27:36 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Best thing to do is take it to a shop that does emissions repair. They will hook up a smoker to the system and wherever the leak is smoke will come out, could be in the vacuum lines, gas tank, seal around the fuel pump etc...
2007-11-10 06:06:57 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
yugi29 is pretty close on this, but if the engine runs better at idle with the EGR valve unhooked, then I would say the the valve is getting vacuum at idle. That should not be happening. I would suggest that someone that has a "scanner" or knows computer diagnostics should take a look at it. I would say that the EVR(exhaust valve regulator) is either defective or being commanded to come on at idle,either way, it is something for an experience diagnostic person to determine. by the way the DPFE is known to be an issue on all ford products,new one should be an upgrade if purchased from the dealer. Hope this helps
2016-04-03 05:50:27 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Vans are bad about this if you can put up with the light being on dont worry about it unless the light begins to blinking on and off only then something is wrong. I have a van and it dose the same thing and I have had it turned off several times at a part store and this is what he told me that aloose cap will make the light come on. and as long as the van is running normal and the light is not blinking drive it.
2007-11-10 05:28:13 · answer #7 · answered by country boy 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
A sound gasket is necessary for your cap to seal and properly pressurize your fuel system.
Maybe it's tight, but the gasket's damaged beyond sealing.
For less than $10 you can fix the problem or eliminate this as its cause.
2007-11-10 05:21:37 · answer #8 · answered by omnisource 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I doubt very much if the filler cap will make any difference - the leak is more likely from the fuel pump.
2007-11-10 05:21:11 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
turn off ur car when u fuel it and dont turn it on till done. Quick temporary fix for gas leak is to use duck tape on a tube thats leaking
2007-11-10 05:38:57 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋