P0445: Evaporative Emission System Purge Control Valve A Circuit Shorted
What to do
Usually driveable with no symptom. Will fail an emissions test.
What this code means
The purge valve circuit is shorted, drawing more current than the module's output will supply. Modules protect their drivers, so the output is often disabled after the fault is recorded — the valve then stops working entirely rather than working incorrectly.
Disconnecting the valve and re-testing separates an internally shorted winding from a chafed harness: if the short remains with the valve unplugged, the fault is in the wiring.
Likely causes
Start here
- Open or shorted solenoid winding · easy
- Chafed harness against engine or bracket · moderate
Less common
- Corroded or loose connector · easy
Rare
- Control module driver failure · specialist
Symptoms
Components involved
Information, not instruction
CarGeek is a reference, not a service manual. Its pages are written from public sources and from what other people have found, never from a manufacturer's own service information, so they can be wrong or incomplete for your particular vehicle. Some of what they describe carries real risk: high voltage, fuel under pressure, stored energy, hot and moving parts.
Have anything you intend to act on checked by a trained person against the manufacturer's own procedure for your vehicle. Nothing here replaces that procedure.
Community experience
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