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Engine Overheating and p0442 error
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danjump
New User
Aug 8, 2013, 1:15 PM
Post #1 of 4
(2510 views)
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Engine Overheating and p0442 error
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I'm having some issues with my 2001 Mitsubishi Galant and I hope someone can help me figure out what to do! I believe it's a 6 cylinder 3.0L and it has ~165000 miles.
I was out of the country for about 3 weeks during which the car was sitting there unused. When I got back I started driving it again and ran in to the following problems:
1) The check engine light was on. I did nothing about this immediately, but after the next issue I was able to check the fault code and found I was getting OBD-II fault code p0442 - Evaporative Emission Control System Leak Detected (small leak)
2)I noticed strange engine heating issues. I just drive a 5 mile commute to/from work every day, and for 3 days now the engine temperature (I assuming this is the radiator cooling liquid temperature?) has been fluctuating a lot and going much higher than it normally does. Where the temperature gauge will normally sit steadily at ~40% while driving, it now creep up to 80%, then back down to 50%, then up to 70%, sit there for a while, drop to 50%, go up to 90% and so on. All in just the 15-20 minute drive. I tried to pay attention to if the temperature change was correlated with rpm, or speed, or incline of the road, and I can't quite find any consistent pattern. So as far as I can tell the temperature semi randomly fluctuates and gets close to the upper limit of the gauge (overheating) but not quite there in my 5 mile drive.
I tried some really basic troubleshooting. I checked/topped off the oil and topped off the cooling liquid (although it was well within the proper range already). I read up online about the p0442 fault code and was not able to find anything related to engine overheating (of course I'm not sure if the two problems are related or not). I'm not at all an expert but i figured overheating may have something to do with a radiator problem and I looked around under the hood while the car was on. I noticed the fans behind the radiator were not on at all, but I don't know if they should be on right when i turn on the car or if they only activate a little later after the engine heats up. I thought this might be significant, because the engine doesn't JUST heat up and over heat, it gets high, but then it cools down some before going up again. In my inexperienced mind i thought this might mean just fans were broken on the radiator or something so it was only cooling when the car was moving or something.
I would greatly appreciate anyone that can share some wisdom and help me diagnose this issue, or even suggest tests I could do, or ask a shop to do to troubleshoot the problem.
Thanks in advance!
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Aug 8, 2013, 1:42 PM
Post #2 of 4
(2491 views)
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Re: Engine Overheating and p0442 error
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Does this car have a pressure cap on the radiator or just the recovery tank? You need to know cooling system is full in radiator and engine - can be tough to know if no cap. If air in system you could get more erratic temp swings than what was normal to you before.
Fans may have problems? Just for starters with a stick make sure they turn freely, engine off please.
Not convinced any evap emission code is part of overheating but start with knowing for sure system is full and go from there. If not you need to know why.
IMO a 3 week vacation shouldn't be the cause of anything,
T
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danjump
New User
Aug 12, 2013, 7:46 AM
Post #3 of 4
(2443 views)
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Re: Engine Overheating and p0442 error
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Thanks for the response!
I went to check on things after your reply, and it turns out my issues were very simple and easily solved.
I felt silly bothering you after I realized how simple it was, but the radiator ended up not being filled all the way. I had previously checked only the overflow reservoir, but after your comment, I looked at the level of the radiator itself and it was not full. It took about 2 quarts of coolant to fill it to the cap. After I did this, I figured this would fix the problem so I didn't do the sandwich wrap test but just drove and the engine temperature was very steady at a normal temperature. It seems clear that the coolant being 2 quarts low in the radiator was the problem.
For the separate issue of the Evaporative Emissions fault code, I read online this can be a number of things, but sometimes as simple as a bad or broken gas tank cap. So I checked the cap and it was actually not screwed in tight all the way. So I reset the fault code and so far it has not come back yet, though I haven't driven that much yet (I have a bluetooth OBD reader and an app that can read/reset codes on my phone).
So it seems all my problems are solved. Thanks again for your help!
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Aug 12, 2013, 7:50 AM
Post #4 of 4
(2440 views)
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Re: Engine Overheating and p0442 error
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You're Welcome
Question closed as solved to keep spammers out.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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