Evaporative Emissions

EVAPORATIVE EMISSIONS

The evaporative emission system:
- prevents hydrocarbon emissions from reaching the atmosphere.
- stores fuel vapors in the evaporative emissions (EVAP) canister that are generated during vehicle operation or hot soak, or vehicle refueling, until they can be consumed by the engine during normal engine operation.
- routes the stored fuel vapors to the engine during engine operation.
- is controlled by the powertrain control module (PCM) which uses various sensor inputs to calculate the desired amount of EVAP purge flow.The PCM regulates the purge flow, induced by the application of intake manifold vacuum, by varying the duty cycle applied to the canister purge valve.
- has an evaporative emission test port for test purposes.

The fuel vapors are routed:
- from the fuel tank through the fill limit valve and fuel vapor vent valve.
- to the EVAP canister(s) through a vapor line.
- to the engine when the EVAP canister purge valve is opened by the PCM.

The fuel tank pressure (FTP) sensor:
- monitors the pressure levels in the fuel tank.
- communicates the pressure reading to the PCM during the OBD II leak test.

The EVAP canister:
- is located under the rear of the vehicle, just behind the fuel tank.
- contains activated carbon.
- stores fuel vapors.

The fuel tank filler cap:
- relieves system vacuum below 3.8 kPa (15.26 inches H2O).

The canister vent solenoid:
- is normally open.
- seals the evaporative emissions system for the inspection and maintenance (I/M 240) test and OBD II leak and pressure tests.
- is mounted to the evaporative emissions canister.
- is repaired as a separate item.

The EVAP canister purge valve:
- is normally closed.
- regulates the purging of the EVAP canister.
- is controlled by the PCM.

The EVAP system monitor:
- is a self-test strategy within the PCM, which tests the integrity of the EVAP system.
- monitors the EVAP system for leaks.
- monitors electronic EVAP components for irrationally high or low voltages.
- monitors for correct EVAP system operation.
- uses negative and positive leak test methods to test and activate the EVAP system.

The EVAP system test port:
- is located on the EVAP canister purge outlet tube near the canister purge valve.
- is used to connect the Evaporative Emissions System Tester to the EVAP system.

The EVAP Running Loss System leak test:
- utilizes intake manifold vacuum to test the system and involves several stages.