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I'm no expert when it comes to car problems. Luckily I have a smart dad who is. Unfortunately P0497 which is a Low Purge Flow in the Evaporation System has stumped us. I have an '04 LX and everything is stock.

Has anyone had this problem before? Where's the best place to start? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 
Rep Power: 388

From what I find, it has something to do with ecm calibrations aka your fuel mixture. If you take it to the dealer, they should be able to adjust the mixture so your not throwing that code.

EDIT: You cant do this yourself because its on the PROM, programable read only memory.

 
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Thank you for the speedy response. Before I go into the dealership and spend the $99 to have the ecm calibrated, it was suggested by one of Honda's Mechanics that I clean the Vapor Canister Purge Valve. He seemed to think that it may only be opening part way which would be causing the low purge flow. Unfortunately I didn't ask how to clean it. It's in the closed position right now so I am unable to blow through it or anything like that. Should I just shoot some WD40 in it?

In case you're unsure what the purge valve looks like, here's a shot of it. (Sorry about the quality, blasted cell phones.)

 
Rep Power: 388

I dont wanna steer you in the wrong direction- I dunno how you go about cleaning it- I'm not sure WD40 is the answer, it could hurt it. Call your guy back at honda and let me know what he says.

 
Rep Power: 282

You would be wise to just replace the purge valve. cleaning it is not the answer. And by the way, on a stock PCM you cant calibrate the A/F mixture. There might be a Update, but its not going to correct a bad valve. Purge valves do go bad ya kno.

 
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Squirting WD40 into this valve would be a horrible idea, its an air valve and spraying somethign like that into it could very well gunk it up. If you do want to clean it I would use alcohol and shake it around inside the valve, then allow it to air dry, it won't leave any unwanted residue. I checked mine using some batteries and blowing throw it(in the direction of the arrow). It opens and closes when you energize it just like any other solenoid valve. Mine seemed to be working fine, I ended up changing it anyway but it didnt fix my problem, I had and still have the same code as you.

 
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Sir i have a 2006 Honda civic, im trying to figure out where does the purge valve locates at, i cant find it, can u please help me out?