Mazda 3…..is back ;)

Since seem to have been having a couple weeks of hell lately, I decided to shut things down early Friday afternoon and head for home to relax a little. Oh how things change 🙂

Got home and hung the microwave in the kitchen (we installed a new backsplash), sanded some drywall, mudded some drywall, then got a call about a CEL in the gray Mazda 3. No big deal, drop it off at the house. Pulled down the codes and got a 1278 or something like that, which was an evap code and lean at idle. These cars have issues with the canister purge valves going bad, so I pulled it out and check the function. It was stuck open (I could blow through both ends), so I knew we had a problem.

Purge valve sits on the driver side of the motor on the 2.3L

And has a long line that comes off with it.

And there she is.

Since the valve is a hundred bucks or so and a week out, I decided to attempt a quick fix. I shot some brake clean inside the valve and swished it around, which freed the valve up. I could no longer blow/suck through either end. Then inside one end, there is an adjustment screw, which I adjusted in (not able to blow through) and out (able to blow through), until I found a decent compromise and the valve was closed. Reinstalled it, and a few test drives, and the pending CEL light was gone. Yipee. Since the driver was out of alignment as well, I realigned her spine and sent her and the car on their way. Wrapped up the night watching Zombieland…..one of my favorites!

Canister Purge ValveFuel Purge ValveMazdaMazda 3p1278