This thing cost about 130 each. and the keep burning out. anyone know why?

this this is necessary for passing smog.



Part # 19.

Something wrong with my electrical?

 

whats the year, make, model of your vehicle.
I can look it up and get back to you.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by confucius &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Something wrong with my electrical?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes...check for loose connections...no connections, check for the shielding on the wire to be rubbed off somewhere and making an improper ground...

 

1996 Acura Integra LS.

I've checked the wires and i dont see anything that could cause this.

This solenoid only last about 1 hr before it burnts out. maybe it burnts out the first time i turn my car on. and then it takes a while for the ECU to put out a error code.

This is my 2nd time replacing it because i had to get my car smogged.

while i got it smogged, i found out that my timing was off and failed that test.

so a couple minutes later, driving home, i see that my check engine light went back on and i knew that my solenoid burnt out again.

the mechnic said they will charge me 60 bucks an hour to figure out what is wrong, and it might take an entire day.

60 x 8 = $480. just to tell me whats wrong with it.

 

I will check my service manual at work tommorow and get back to you.

 

Thanks!!!

 

When you first got the CEL, did you check to see whether it was the valve vs. the wiring that was actually bad? Do you check the valve itself by using a couple wires to power it directly from the battery?

It seems silly for it to 'burn out', since the valve runs on full battery voltage & you don't really have any higher-voltage supply to cause that. If your voltage regulator were shot, your entire electrical system would run at too-high voltage & you'd have more problems all over the place.

 

yes, i checked it by connecting it directly to a batter. no clicking noise.

a mechanic showed what a good purge solenoid would sound like and when he used 2 wires and tapped it to a batter, the valve made a lot of clicking noise and he told me its open and closes.

the one i had was dead. when he tested it out.

so, i proceeded to acura to purchase a new purge solenoid.

once i installed it, and after resetting my ecu, i went out for a drive, then to the smog station.

after that, a couple hours later, i see that my check engine light is back on, and yes, my purge solenoid is dead.

i have no idea to what is wrong with my car and why it keeps on destroying the purge solenoid valve.

if all else failes, i will take it to a smog repair station and shoot out the hundreds of dollars to fix it.

 

The wiring for that valve should have one wire (yellow/black?) that gets battery voltage from the main relay. Check that by measuring it's voltage to a good ground (not to the other wire).

The other wire goes to the ECU, which connects it to ground when it wants to energize the valve. See whether that's good, but even if it's shorted to ground, that would do the same thing as if the ECU just switched it on.

 

i dont have a voltage meter, i'll pick one up and see if i can get something out of it.

i've taken one of my dead solenoid apart, and from the looks of it, it doesnt have anything that opens or closes.

all i see is a spinner on top of some springs.

maybe the valve is inside the part i cant open.

 

i have a new theory, i think my charcoal canister is clogged up, preventing air flow and therefore throwing some code because the purge solenoid isnt getting enough air flow through it.

so i just purchased a charcoal canister.

maybe that metal spinner up there detects air flow.

but thats just a guess.

 

What happens is the center of that disk moves so it covers & uncovers the port in the middle of the housing.

 

so does it make a clicking noise when it does that?

 

ok so I checked at work and came up with this.
blk/yel will be power with key on. other wire is ground wire which goes to computer. disconect 2 pin connector from solinoid and also disconnect ecu plug (a) from ecu. know when you pick up a multimeter test for continuity to ground. it will beep if there is unspecified voltage present. if there is you have wire shorted to ground between solinoid and ecu. if not plug ecu plug back in and test again. key should be on and engine off. if you get a beep your ecu is suppling ground all the time. you will need to replace the ecu. let me know if you have any questions.

 

whats ecu plug (a)

so i remove the plug from the solenoid. and disconnect plug (a)

how do i test the voltage? with the 2 pin connector?

 

yes you disconnect both plugs. you are not testing for voltage. you are testing for continuity, its a different setting on the multimeter.

 

so the ecu plug is the green one right. and i can find the ecu on the floor panel on the passenger side.

how do i check for continuity? do i check it on both plugs?

and if there is continuity, i need a new ecu?

 

what code are you getting? 92?
I keep getting a code 92 about insufficient purge flow and I'm losing my
mind trying to fix it.

 

yes im getting the same code.

i keep replacing the puge control solenoid, but it keeps dying out on me.

i think maybe the the problem isnt the valve, but the charcoal canister.

 

It probably is the charcoal canister.
I've tried to bypass the canister by looping the vacuum
hose through the evap control valve but I still get the error code
and my car doesn't drive so good.

I get the code when everything's hooked up and I've been
driving the car for like a day or two.

Funny thing is that when I was having problems with my idle
air control valve and bypassed that + the canister,
the code never showed up.

Weird.

Emissions and idle problems seem so very hard to diagnose on a Honda.

My car's a '96 GSR with type R valvetrain and intake manifold.

 

yeah, i was told that a code 91, could be the following.

purge solenoid valve.
gas tank cap
charcoal cannister
and 2 other things. some type of valve or the gas fumes in the engine bay and one near the gas tank under the rear side of the car. above the rear wheel.

 

I've disconnected the purge control solenoid until I can do the continuity
test to check whether the ecu might be bonkers. The check engine
light doesn't come on when I bypass it, so maybe it'll get me through
emissions testing.

 

i replaced my charcoal canister on saturday and its been 2 days. no check engine light.

things are looking good...

the check engine light use to go back on in 2 hours after resetting the ecu.

so i think i fixed it.

 

i am guessing that the new canister fixed the problem? I am glad you found out what is was!

 

actually, the light went back on 2 days later.

seems that i wasted 300 bucks to no avail. i should of taken it to a shop. probably would of cost the same to get it fixed by them.