Thought I had it nailed down but the SES lamp came on again today (2001 lw300). Same code - P0455 so the vent solenoid must be sticking open again. Will order a new one since cleaning the old one didn't seem to be a long term solution. At least this time, I won't spend 3 hours looking for the location of the fool thing. Oppie
Picking up the new solenoid tomorrow. Will try CarQuest first. Most of the independent shops in the area get their parts through them. I get the dealer price so it is a good deal most of the time.
In the mean time, I started pulling fuses, one at a time, from the under-hood fuse block. Found the one that resets the SES lamp and doesn't affect anything else. Key off and pull the 'Control +' 10amp fuse for 30 seconds.
Last time I pulled the battery cable and wound up reprogramming the radio. At least the anti-theft code wasn't set which would result in a lock-out. (there is a way around that too if anybody is interested)
I really miss on my old Plymouth that you could just flip the key 3 times without starting the engine, leave it in the on position and watch the check engine lamp flash the codes. On the later ones with the electronic instrument cluster, just hold down the odometer reset on key on to read the codes in the odometer display. I haven't found a simple way yet on the Saturn to read out the codes without a tool.
Don't you just LOVE OBDII? It's such an 'open' standard that you need a speshul tool to read trouble codes, and it's hard to find info on the system's internals, also....
Pre '96 saturns, you can read the codes with a paperclip. Very useful.
Just trying to find now if a basic tool that reads only the generic codes will be enough or spend the extra money and get one that supports the extended codes. I borrowed an OTC unit worth $2500 from a friendly repair shop to run my diagnostics. He knows that I'm an engineer and joked that I'm the only one he'll lend it to since I can fix it if anything happens to it.
Went to CarQuest today looking for the Canister Vent solenoid. "Not available yet" I was told (for a '01 Lw300). Saturn parts ordered it for about 20 bucks.
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.