Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Aero 8, 2012< Plus 8, SuperSports, Coupe & Aeromax Help with emissions CEL and fuel smell

The car has had a faint odor of gasoline since I purchased it, but I always assumed it was part of the "charm". I get an intermittent CEL, code P0442, evaporative emissions leak. This generally occurs when the tank is below 1/2 and has been sitting for more than 24 hours.

There is no effect on performance, it's just an annoyance and I could do without the gasoline smell.

I took the backboard off to get a look at the tank and don't see any obvious leaks--in fact it's all rather tidy.

Any idea where to start or how to trouble shoot this?
Clamps are all tight and tubes look fresh, clean, and new.

The most suspicious part is the filler tube, I suspect it's a US specific part as it looks a bit "homemade"; some non-factory looking soldering and the thing that says "made in German" on it is merely hanging. (The bottom bolt isn't attached to anything.)

Here it is:


I don't have dealership support here in the US so any advice is much appreciated!

Pics for reference:


Gizmo on the left:


Thingy on the right:

I don't know much about Evap faults, but this site:

http://www.obd-codes.com/p0442

says that P0442 is for ver small leaks. Although the page referenced suggests the fuel cap might be the problem, looking at your pictures I'm wondering if it's the 'Made in Germany' thing (which I suspect is the evap canister)?

If it's not properly secured, I'm wondering if you've got a very slight leak from the connections to the filler tube?

I think the reason you are getting the fault more frequently when the tank is half full and it's been sat for a day is that the evaporation has had more opportunity to build up to be detectable, which suggests it is a very tiny leak.

You can buy leak detectors, but they are thousands of dollars, so probably the best course of action if you can't find anything would be to take the car to a well-set up garage that is used to dealing with exotica.

I get the same fault code on my Roadster every now and again....and only when it rains hard. I've checked everything and can't find out what's causing it.

Does the gasoline odour emanate from the front or rear of the car?

The carbon canister that absorbs gas vapours is mounted on the front bulkhead on my +8 , but I am not sure whether the Roadster uses the same system, and if it is where it is mounted.

The gizmos at the rear look OK , the right hand one (from your label) is the fuel gauge, the left is the fuel pump with output and return line. (but i guess you would have already worked that out)

I would certainly be worth checking the filler cap seal , not likely to have perished but possibly trapped at some point and therefore not sealing correctly?

Does the odour get any better when the car is moving (allowing for air movement past the car) ?

Andy, the later carbon canisters sit alongside the fuel tank on most models. Nearly all the EVAP2 codes are traced to a poor seal of the filler cap as you suggest. Often cured by fitting 2 seals to increase the thickness as its often down to a poor 'nip' when closing the filler cap.

Colin,

the layout has changed significantly on later Aeros: this is from my 2014 model.
The charcoal canister is much larger and is now mounted in a cut out of the tank on the chassis base plate. It is the black thing in the lower right of hte photo.



I wonder, is it possibe that the charcoal canister on the car in question is exhausted and needs replacing? I know on some cars they have a finite life.

This photo shows how the vent pipe attaches to the filler neck.

Yes, emanating from the rear of the car. Odor is a bit more pronounced now that the parcel shelf is removed.

I cannot locate the charcoal canister, but I'll continue the hunt tomorrow.

I will start with the filler cap, should be easy to get a tight seal.....though it "feels" rather secure.

Thanks to all for good lead! I'll post updates when I get it cured.