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Charcoal Canister

Holds activated carbon that adsorbs petrol vapour from the fuel tank while the engine is off, storing it until the engine can draw it in and burn it. Purely a containment device that contributes nothing to how the engine runs, which is why its faults are almost always invisible to a driver and found at an emissions test. Saturates if the tank is habitually overfilled past the first cut-off, and cracks with age or impact damage — either produces leak or purge-flow codes.

Also known as: evap canister, carbon canister, vapour canister, charcoal cannister, evap cannister

Referenced by 33 codes

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Codes involving this component (33)

Other components in Exhaust and Emissions

Information, not instruction

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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.

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