E39 Large EVAP leak - BMW Forum

Biggaz · 01-16-2010, 08:53 AM

Ive got a large evap leak on my 1997 E39 535i... Any idea where the best place is to start looking for this ?

marti5 · 01-16-2010, 10:20 AM

Is it a little leak or major, is the CE light on? there are two possibilities either the fuel cap or the charcoal canister, please be aware I'm only going from passed experience, do you have any diagnostic codes?

Biggaz · 01-16-2010, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marti5

Is it a little leak or major, is the CE light on? there are two possibilities either the fuel cap or the charcoal canister, please be aware I'm only going from passed experience, do you have any diagnostic codes?

Cheers for the reply Marti.

Well according to Autoenginuity it came up as - FE , EVAP Large Leak Detected

marti5 · 01-16-2010, 11:04 AM

Okay...Its not the cap then, I would go for the charcoal canister, so do you have a light on?

Biggaz · 01-16-2010, 11:20 AM

No light on.. That's something else I need to look at as when I turn ignition on I would of thought it would of done a self check like it does with ASC and airbag light but no check engine light

marti5 · 01-16-2010, 11:26 AM

If there's no light on and the cars running A1 I wouldnt worry about it until the car starts playing up...you can change the canister if you wish.

Biggaz · 01-16-2010, 11:45 AM

Well the car runs fine up to 60mph over that and it runs like a pig.. Hence the reason I plugged it into my laptop and got the fault

Biggaz · 01-18-2010, 07:17 AM

Found out why my CE light doesnt come on, Got a Dead LED

Poolman · 01-23-2010, 10:11 PM

As stated above the charcoal cannister is a good place to start--there is a vacuum pump thats attached to it--when it's called upon it runs a test by putting vacuum into the system--when the vacuum does not hold--then it throws a code. Now the vacuum pump is attached with a rubber gromet that can fail where it all seals up--you could have a leak there--thats a common spot to check. Go to real.com and enter the last 7 digits of your vin number and then check around for what I am referring to for your model--there will be diagrams of the parts and how they go together --along with part numbers --just in case you find what your looking for.

Biggaz · 01-29-2010, 01:21 PM

Purchased a Charcoal canister and will be fitting it this weekend... Will post if this cures my problem.

witeshark · 01-29-2010, 03:27 PM

Wishing you good luck!

Biggaz · 01-29-2010, 03:39 PM

Thanks mate

Biggaz · 01-31-2010, 12:47 PM

Changed the canister and i still have the problem

witeshark · 01-31-2010, 03:17 PM

Sorry to see, best of luck sorting it!

johnnyBgood · 01-31-2010, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biggaz

Changed the canister and i still have the problem

I had this same issue when I first purchased my car, it turned out to be the fuel vapor expansion tank.......one of the nipples cracked off, causing a large evap. leak! My was located under the fuel filler tube, behind the rear passenger wheel well cover.....#1 in link below:

RealOEM.com BMW E39 535i EXP.TANK/ACTIVATED CARBON CONTAINER

jb