QuestionQUESTION: Bill, You seem to be quite an expert on Cadillacs, and I have a few questions for you regarding the evaporative emissions system for my '86 Eldorado. The original 4.1 engine has been swapped-out in favor of a 4.5 from an ’88; not sure if that matters for the EES.
Anyhow, on the canister I have, there are 3 fittings: 1) fuel tank; 2) vacuum; and 3) PCV. I have the fuel tank connected as you would expect, and the vacuum connection goes thru some sort of valve or solenoid near the canister, then snakes it way thru multiple check valves and vacuum hoses to what I think is the MAP sensor, and then thru a Rochester part mounted on the intake which I assume sucks the vapors into the engine. Does this sound right?
There is an additional line that runs from the bottom of the throttle body around to near the evaporative canister, but was not plugged-in to anything. I thought that since there was an extra port (PCV) on the canister that by connecting the line there, vapors that needed to be bled at the TB could enter into the canister, and then back thru the system?
Lastly, the toughest question, and also what led me to inspect the system in the first place: when parked in an enclosed garage, the car seems to smell like gas. There are no leaks. The odor is stronger if there is more fuel in the tank. The evaporative canister itself in the kind with the open (filtered) bottom, and that seems to be the general area where the fuel smell is coming from, but it’s tough to tell since the odor isn’t overpowering. Any recommendations based on your experience with other Cadillacs?
Thanks much, in advance!
Matthew
ANSWER: You do NOT have the hoses installed correctly. The MAP sensor should be attached directly to the base of the throttle body. This explains why you are smelling gas.
If you are mechanicaly inclined or know of someone who is, You will need simple electrical schematics, Test procedures and picture locations of the components within the system that is causing you problems of which can't be done on this website which only allows one picture. I do not have a website so you will have to e-mail: onlineautohelp@msn.com in order to obtain the information.
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QUESTION: Thanks for the info. I tried e-mailing you last week but I think you were on vacation. The gizmo that I called the MAP is evidently something else (it sits right below the MAP). This line goes to the vacuum connection on the canister, and my research leads me to believe that the line at the bottom of the TB actually does go to the PVC fitting on the canister. (Note: There *is* another line that goes directly from the TB base to the MAP.)
So after hooking this line up, if I still get the gas smell, is the issue likely a bad purge valve or the canister itself? Thanks.
Matthew
AnswerIf you are mechanicaly inclined or know of someone who is, You will need simple electrical schematics, Test procedures and picture locations of the components within the system that is causing you problems of which can't be done on this website which only allows one picture. I do not have a website so you will have to e-mail: onlineautohelp@msn.com in order to obtain the information.
