What does it mean?
This code means the module watched its driver output for the second evaporative purge control valve and found the voltage sitting high when the load should have pulled it down, or found voltage present when the output was supposed to be off. In practice that points to either a break in the circuit, so no current flows at all, or an external battery voltage source feeding the control wire. Both conditions leave the module without real control of the valve, so it disables the output and stops using that purge path. A high circuit fault often accompanies work done nearby, since a disturbed connector or a pinched wire is the usual root cause. The engine runs normally in most cases, but the evaporative monitor cannot pass and vapour management is compromised.
Symptoms
- MIL (check engine lamp) on with the evaporative readiness monitor incomplete
- No click or movement from the valve when it is actuated with a scan tool
- Fuel odour after the vehicle stands in the sun as the canister saturates
- Occasional hard starting straight after refuelling
- Emissions test failure caused by the unfinished evaporative monitor
- Live data showing the commanded purge duty cycle with no corresponding system response
Likely causes
- Open control wire or a terminal that has backed out of the purge valve connector
- Open solenoid winding inside the valve, so no current path exists
- Corroded or heat damaged terminals producing a resistance so high the module reads it as an open
- Control wire shorted to a switched or constant battery feed running in the same loom
- Connector left unplugged or only partly clipped after previous service work
- Faulty module driver that no longer switches the output to ground
How to fix it
- Confirm the fault is current, then attempt to actuate the valve while listening for the solenoid
- Unplug the connector and measure winding resistance at the valve; an infinite value confirms an open valve
- With the ignition on and the valve unplugged, check for unexpected battery voltage on the control wire, which would indicate a short to a power feed
- Perform a continuity test on the control wire from the module connector to the valve connector
- Inspect both connectors for pushed out terminals, corrosion, melted plastic and broken locks
- Check the supply side fuse and any relay, since a missing feed produces the same reading
- Repair the open or the short, reconnect everything, then clear the code and verify normal valve operation and a completed monitor