anybody got some advice on what to check and/or replace, fix to get rid of the code 31 cel. I fn sick of it already, I don't know how some of you can just put up with it. well maybe somebody can help me locate where the problem might be, the code says for evap it could be the
EVAP solenoid circuit/ evaporative purge solenoid/ clogged purge line/ vacuum hose/ evaporative emission canister clogged

I've been told that if the gas tank cap isn't closed right or won't seal it will bring up a cel but I checked that too already. That little green cap that says evap on the left side of the engine bay, what is that for? tia

Ok here is my story about my evap cel code 31 that I got with my 97 gs nt....


When I bought the car in April of 2001 I drove the car for about a month before it came on. Well I took it back to the Ford dealer that I bought it from. They said that it was either a cracked vacuum line or a clogged charcoal canister. But they said that they didnt see anything wrong with the car hoses looked brand new and the canister was not cracked or anything. So they told me to take it to the Mitsubishi dealer down the street and see what they say about it. That guy told me about the gas cap being loose could set it off (I was thinking "ya right" blah blah blah) and he said that just to make sure and keep it tight from now on and wanted to charge me $30 to reset the cel (this was before I knew that I could just disconnect my neg battery cable for about 10 min to reset the cel) Well I didnt pay him cause he said that it was free this time but they would like to take a closer look at it in the morning. I didnt take it back to them cause for some reason I didnt trust him. The cel would come back at random times but it was usually when I had less then a 4th a tank of gas. I drove the car for about a year with the cel on and off (using the reset technique above).


Well about a month ago I had my timing belt changed and due to my ignorance I had a friend of a friend change it and they had done it wrong (one tooth was off on the intake cam gear) he swore up and down that he had done it correctly and that he would not fix it. Well I ended up taking it to the Mitsubishi dealer for a diagnostic to find out why my car was running badly (cause of the tooth thing) and why the cel error 31 was coming on. I get the car back and they said that they couldnt tell me why until they took the timing belt off and checked it which would cost me another $248 for them to fix it but most likely that was why the car was running badly. They also could not figure out the cel thing either but that it was most likely the nipple on top of the gas tank was cracked and that they have neven dropped a gas tank out of a 2g without it being cracked and that should be the leak in the evap system. They said that the procedure was $650 so I said I will just deal with the cel for that price heh.


Well about a couple of weeks ago I was driving down a gravel road (just about every day) going to work and I noticed that it went off without having to reset it. I thought that was strange and was glad it was off. A few days later it came back but then the same day (gravel road again) it went off and so far has stayed off since (crossing fingers).


So officially you might have to pay the dealer $650 for them to fix that cracked nipple or just drive down a gravel road several times a day and see if that fixes it. I know it sounds strange but it worked for me (its still off). I hope this helps cause I havent found too much more info on this problem in forums and I have been looking for around a year now for a solid solution but no one seems to know what the problem could be even though I have read that several of us 2g owners are having this very same problem. I hope this helps and if you find a true solution please let me know.



Thanks Matt


swgold81@yahoo.com

i can bouch for that drive down a gravel road thing, once when I had the cel on I actually had to drive down a gravel road and even bounced my car off some pretty bad bumps and the cel went off. this cel has not gone off for at least a month now. does anyone know what I can look for to try and get rid of it properly, even though that way does work.

...because on older cars that is sometimes the 1st thing you do in diagnostics, anyway I tend to think ours suck. It is made to trap vapors and resupply fuel line with it before pulling from the the gas tank. I have a new one and will only replace it at my next smog otherwise the car runs perfect. Also the Gas cap not be tightened enough will also throw a code (how stupid is that) so just make sure that the cap is tightened with 2 clicks. I think this happened to Eclipse804.

yeah everyone has this code, where did you get a new evap system and how much? where are these solenoids located and what can I do to check out what might be wrong