Foreign Service

Dan continues his discussion of Toyotas evaporative

emissions system. This installment focuses on the vapor
pressure sensor, a very effective evap diagnostic aid.

Dan
Marinucci

his is the second installment of

a multipart series on Toyota
evaporative emissions. Last
month, I gave you an overview
of Toyotas early or nonintrusive evap setup, which was
used from 1997 through the early 2000s.
Here Ill prep you for diagnosing the system
by getting you acquainted with its pressure
readings and a key sensor.
Be sure youve read the January Foreign
Service because this column builds upon that
one, and so forth. I think youll find that you
can check out most of this system very accurately without a bundle of high-tech gear. If
you use your head, you can eliminate a lot of
possible problems very quickly even if 1. the

monitor hasnt run, 2. confusing trouble

codes have been stored or 3. multiple codes
were set. Yes, I warned you way back in 2002
that just a loose or missing gas cap can trigger
the tricky trio of P0440, P0441 and P0446!
The cornerstone of the simplified checkout
procedure is monitoring system pressure via the
vapor pressure sensor or the appropriate pressure gauge. Properly executed, this approach will
at least flag a bad VSV and/or larger leaks. Since
its already on the vehicle and it rarely fails, lets
exploit that pressure sensor.
At first glance, this pressure sensor may look
like a traditional Toyota MAP sensor and uses
the same three-wire harness connector. Like the
MAP sensor, the pressure sensor signal terminal
is usually the middle one in the connector. Photo
continued on page 18

Photos & screen capture: Dan Marinucci

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1 on page 16 shows this terminal, which
Toyota schematics identify as PTNK,
being probed. Like a MAP sensor, this
pressure sensor also has a 5.00-volt reference terminal (VCC) and a ground
terminal (E2). Whats more, many vapor pressure sensors are located up on
the drivers side of the firewall fairly
close to the MAP sensor.
However, most of the similarities between the two sensors end there. For
example, the vapor pressure sensor on
many Toyota nonintrusive systems is on
the charcoal canister assembly back under the rear of the vehicle. The pressure sensor has a different identification
decal on it and its sensing hose leads to
the vapor pressure (three-way) VSV instead of the intake manifold. As I explained last month, this VSV is normally
off electrically. Mechanically, it connects the vapor pressure sensor to the
canister side of the evap system. Therefore, the vapor pressure sensor normally senses the canister side.
Whenever the ECM decides to
check the tank side of the system for
leaks, it energizes the three-way VSV,
which then mechanically connects the
vapor pressure sensor to the fuel tank
(refer to the illustration on page 18 in
last months column).
The next major difference between
the two sensors is that a MAP sensor
doesnt reference atmospheric pressure
but a vapor pressure sensor does. In fact,
Toyotas vapor pressure sensor is a pressure-differential sensor akin to the GM
vacuum sensor some MOTOR readers
saw almost 20 years ago. This means the
Toyota sensor is permanently vented to
the atmosphere and constantly compares evap system pressure to atmospheric pressure. The firewall-mounted
pressure sensor may have a dimple, or
indentation, in the top of it (photo 2).
The sensors atmospheric vent hole,
which is so small most techs might miss
it, is inside this dimple. Note that the
vent hole on some vapor pressure sensors has a protective cover on it.
Typically, a vapor pressure sensor
thats located under the rear of the
vehicle has a dedicated vent port on
it. A hose connects this port to a
splice in a larger hose called the air
drain hose (photo 3 on page 20). But
regardless of how the pressure sen-

sor is configured, its vent must be

clean. The sensor wont produce an
accurate signal if it cant sense atmospheric pressure correctly.
The operating range of the vapor
pressure sensor is drastically different
from that of a MAP sensor, too. Lets
make sure we understand a few pressure fundamentals first. At sea level, atmospheric pressure is 14.7 psi. This
means the air around us is pushing
against our bodies at a force of 14.7 psi.
Traditionally, weve called pressure
greater than atmospheric positive pres-

sure and measured it in psi. Some techs

call values lower than atmospheric pressure negative pressure, but most guys
call it vacuum. The typical gauge in a
techs toolbox that measures vacuum
does so in increments called inches of
mercury (in./Hg). But you could just as
easily call it negative psi. In fact, how
many of you have a trusty old compound gauge thats scaled 0 to 30
in./Hg as well as 0 to 7 psi? So you can
think of vacuum as being negative psi.
The normal operating range of a
MAP sensor is about 0 to 25 psi (0 to
continued on page 20

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25 in./Hg). But the operating range of
Toyotas vapor pressure sensor is only
about .500 to +.217 psi. Yeah, I just
said about minus one-half to almost
one-quarter psi, which aint a lot!
This is why some technicians measure with millimeters of mercury
(mm/Hg) instead of in./Hg. Basically, 1 in./Hg equals a whopping
25mm/Hg. The exact numbers are
1.018 in./Hg = 25.858mm/Hg.
Therefore, its much, much easier to
read changes in small pressures with
mm/Hg than with in./Hg.
Some techs may have inherited an
old water-calibrated vacuum gauge that
was used for adjusting Ford variableventuri carburetors. (When I say carburetor, am I dating myself?) But 1
in./Hg converts to about 14 in./H2O.
For the record, 1.018 in./Hg equals
13.84 in./H2O. Although thats an improvement over the common vacuum
gauge, its not nearly as robust as the
conversion to mm/Hg. Meanwhile,
Toyotas vapor pressure sensor is normally working within an approximate
range of 25 to +10mm/Hg.
Dont let these readings bug you because there are two easy ways to simplify pressure measurements on this system. First, test the vehicle with a scanner that can read evap pressure as well
as display it in mm/Hg. For instance,
the screen capture shown on page 18
was taken with a Vetronix Mastertech
equipped with OE-style software. As I
reported in this column many years
ago, Vetronix does offer OE-type Toyota software to independents like you.
However, comparable scanners
equipped with Asian vehicle diagnostic
software also can show Toyota evap
pressure in mm/Hg.
Second, simplify your work by thinking in absolute pressure instead of traditional gauge pressure. An absolute
pressure reading doesnt use positive or
negative numbers. Instead, its built on
an atmospheric pressure reading of
762mm/Hg at sea level. Any pressure
above 762mm/Hg is positive pressure;
anything less than 762 is negative pressure, or vacuum. For example, my
scanner capture on page 18 shows a
pressure of 767mm/Hg. Thats positive
pressure because its 5mm/Hg greater
than our reference point of
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February 2006

762mm/Hg. Hopefully, thats easier for

you to work with.
The last item on this months agenda
is the pressure sensors voltage signal,
which is linearnice and flat! Of
course, atmospheric pressure
(762mm/Hg) is the dividing line between positive and negative pressure.
This ones easy to remember because at
atmospheric pressure, the signal is 3.34
volts (photo 4). When Ive forced the

system into an extended purge, Ive

seen the vapor pressure signal drop to
as low as about 1.65 volts. When the
vehicle has been idling for a while, Ive
seen fuel tank pressure send this signal
as high as about 4.55 volts. Naturally,
these numbers vary according to temperature and altitude.
Okay, the boss said I can break now
for a bagel and coffee. Well continue
this discussion next month.