1997 pontiac grand am gt evap code p0442

i have a 1997 pontiac grand am gt (4 cylinder 2.4 liter)
"yes its a 4 cylinder GT"... thats what im always telling auto part stores

the engine light is on, and a scanner tells me the code is "evap p0442"


what it could be...
- gas cap
- canister purge valve solenoid
- canister vent valve solenoid
- change fuse #47 (10-amp mini fuse) in the engine bay, even if its NOT BLOWN
- vapor canister
- fuel filler neck
- upper 02 sensor (was told this does not throw an evap light, it throws a bank light)
- lower 02 sensor (was told this does not throw an evap light, it throws a bank light)

what i tried so far... in this order...


----------- day one -----------

new gas cap ($10)
(( light did not go off by itself, issue not fixed ))


----------- a few days later -----------

replaced the canister purge valve solenoid ($30)
(( light did not go off by itself, issue not fixed ))


----------- a few days later -----------

replaced the canister vent valve solenoid ($48)
(( light did not go off by itself, issue not fixed ))


----------- a few days later -----------

light still on,,  scanner says "evap p0442"

i unplugged the lower o2 sensor and reset the engine light...

i left the lower o2 sensor unplugged for a few days, i plug it back in later, just keep reading...

as of right now i have no engine light on (happy)
and
i have the lower o2 sensor unplugged (still very confused)

----------- 3 days later -----------


engine light came on, scanner now says "bank 1 sensor 2 p0141 o2 heater circuit"

(lower o2 sensor still unplugged)

the scanner also says a few things are "not tested" because i did not drive long enough to let the car run the tests

i did not reset the light after the "bank 1 sensor 2 p0141 o2 heater circuit" , i drove for 4 more days for the other stuff to "test"

----------- 4 days later -----------

i still only have the one light "bank 1 sensor 2 p0141 o2 heater circuit" and now the only thing NOT tested is the "catalyst"

im going to assume the "catalyst" not testing is because i still have the lower o2 sensor unplugged

i plugged the lower o2 sensor back in, i did not reset the light... going to see what happens... 

----------- side note, worth a try -----------

i read on the internet...
"change fuse #47 (10-amp mini fuse) in the engine bay, even if its NOT BLOWN"

now i dont know if this is fuse #47 (see pic) , but i changed it since it was the only 10-amp fuse i found under the hood

(( light did not go off by itself, issue not fixed ))

----------- 10 days later -----------

i only have the one light "bank 1 sensor 2 p0141 o2 heater circuit"

((( i reset the light to see what happens )))

----------- a few days later -----------

light came on...

just changed the upper 02 sensor ($19) (located under the hood) , lets see if the light goes off...

(( light did not go off by itself, issue not fixed ))



----------- 3 days later -----------


light still on,,, i changed the lower 02 sensor ($93) (right after the catalytic converter)

(( light did not go off by itself, issue not fixed ))


----------- 10 days later -----------

light still did not go off by itself,

i broke down and took it to a shop, they "fogged" the system for $80

fogging (or smoking) is where they pump fog/smoke into the air system and see where it leaks from (google it)

their fogging determined that the "canister purge valve solenoid" i bought a month earlier was defective, they replaced it and the light has been off for a week now

emissions passed :)


AS of right now i consider everything fixed and i am done with this article

----------------------------------------
what i would of tried next...
vapor canister ($109)


----------- my conclusion -----------

if the store would not have sold me a faulty "canister purge valve solenoid" my issue would of been fixed along time ago.

AND if i would of fogged the system for $80 on day one, i wouldnt of spent all this $$ on unnecessary parts

What your about to read now is completely unrelated to all the testing & trouble shooting i have done.


----------- 18 days later -----------


light came on,,, turns out there was 2 things tripping the evap code the entire time.. this time it was the FUEL FILLER NECK (the tube you put the gas nozzle into)

when my tank was full it didnt have an evap code, but as i ran my tank low it triggered the code.

the way i tested to see if the FUEL FILLER NECK was the issue was to fill my tank up and see if the light went off (it did)

if the light is off while you have a full tank of gas then its safe to say its your NECK.

i paid the shop $200 for a new FUEL FILLER NECK (parts and labor) the issue that came up was that it was hard for the shop to locate the part. it took them 2 weeks