[Chewy]

The Fuel Cut Off Control Valve recently went on my 1998 Nissan Altima. It made the gas pump shut off even at the slowest filling speed (a huge pain) and it also caused the "Service Engine Soon" light to come on. Replacing the valve was easy, cheap ($40) and it solved the fuel refill problem, but I can't figure out how to reset the "Service Engine Soon" light. Can I do this myself or is special tooling required??

[Chewy]

Just an FYI for anyone with a similar problem. After I replaced the valve, the tank filled normally again but the "Service Engine Soon" light didn't go off, at least not right away. Thanks to extreme procrastination in taking it in to have the light reset, it went off by itself a few days ago. The car is fine and I saved $20 for the reset. I don't know why it reset itself, I guess it just healed, but the problem is solved for $40 instead of the $140 the dealer wanted. ;)

[sreed]

I am also having trouble filling tank and service engine light came on right before I started having fillup problem. How difficult is it to change that control valve

[Chewy]

sreed -

The official name for the valve is the "evaporative control valve" (Nissan part #14935-54U04) and it's very easy to replace. It cost me $37 and took about 15 minutes to replace on my 1998 Altima. Under the car, behind the gas tank there's a plastic box held on to the underbody by 3 small 12mm bolts. Take out the bolts, slide off the 3 hoses (one hose has a squeeze clamp, the others do not) and the 1 electrical connector in the front of the box and take the box down. Take off the valve that's held on to the box by 2 phillips head screws, put on the new one, and bolt it back up under the car again and you're back in business. When you take the box down there is a little pin that goes through a front hanger and another in the back that rests on a bracket. Just make sure you put the box back in the same way. I bought the part at a Nissan dealer and they even printed out a diagram for me telling me exactly where the box and the valve was on the car. It's really easy to do and the dealer will ding you for $140+ if you have them do it. The only problem was that I didn't know how to reset the engine light, but after driving it a few weeks the light went out on it's own.

[dferwerda]

Have the problem filling tank. Have purcahsed part# 14935-54U04. Can't seem to locate the plastic box you refer to. Where is this thing? All I see are several valves that are not in boxes and which don't look anything like the valve I purchased. The label on the valve box has the description "DRAIN CUT VALVE" and the part number. Can anybody help? My Nissan dealer was absolutely of no help.

??

[labman]

I don't know about Nissans, but on GM products you can clear any codes and the check engine light by removing power from the ECM. Best done at its fuse. If you pull the battery cable off, the radio and other things lose all their settings.

The GM products will eventually clear things after so many starts after the fault went away. Sounds like the Nissans are the same.

[Chewy]

dferwerda - I'll assume you have a 1998 Altima since I can't say for sure the valve is in the same place on every year, but if you look under the rear of the driver's side, almost right under/in back of the fuel door you should see the box. It has three hoses going to it and an electrical connection. It's held on with three short bolts. Once you find it, you should have no trouble replacing it. When you get the old one off, look inside and I'll bet you'll see a spider web kind of blockage. I don't know if it's really from a spider, but that's what I was told it was - a spider nest of sorts. Let me know how you make out. If you still can't find it I'll get under mine and see if I can tell you if there atre other things to look for. Too bad the dealer was worthless. The dealer I went to in Cherry Hill, NJ actually printed out a schematic drawing of the car for me and showed me exactly where it to find it. If we get stuck still looking for your valve, maybe we can call them. They were actually very helpful. ;)

[dferwerda]

Chewy-Thanks for your help. I was able to locate the box where you said it was. Since the valve is located on the outside of the box, I took a short-cut and removed
The valve from the box without removing the box. It is held on to the box by two cap screws. It has one electrical connection, one hose that slips on and one o-ring male connection that fits into a hole in the side of the box. It was only necessary to slip off the one hose and remove the electrical connector. The biggest problem was the electrical connector--I hate ones that you have to release by pushing something--they never work easily.
Bottom line, just went to gas station and filled up--IT WOKKS PERFECTLY!! So far the light has not reset but a small piece of electrical tape takes care of that. Again, thanks for your help. :) :) :)

[bdvance1]

Just a fyi.. I just had my service engine light diagnosed. Guess I need an "engine control module," which they had to order ($25) and it looks very easy to replace. Parts guy says the light will "reset" itself after the car (1998 altima) is started/stopped about 20 times or so.

[sahba75]

I got the same problem with my altima's Evaporative control valve. But my local Nissan dealer asked me about $95 for the part. Would you please tell me how can I find this part as cheap as you found ($37). Thanks for your helpful information.

[thebriggsdude]

Buying a off brand part yourself at a auto parts store. :D

[yudd]

1998 Altima, have the same problem , purchased Drain Cut Valve for $79 (20% dealer disc.) , live in Woodbridge, NJ and tried Autozone but they can't find the drain cut valve in system. THe only problem I have is the check engine light and I failed the harsh inspections due to emission. THe copmuter shows that I need to replace this but I don't have any prblems other people had at the gas pump regarding pumping gas in the tank, but the mechanic says that's the problem and wants to charge $120 LABOR to fix it. Please advise exactly where you get it for $37 and I plan to fix this myself.

Thanks
Ozair
[email protected]
NJ, USA :confused:

[Smitty]

You might try Rock Auto -- an online Auto Parts source. URL is:

www.rockauto.com

Smitty

[ragchi]

I had the same warning sign shown. Showed to the dealer. They took $80 to analyze it. The problem was with the gas tank cap which was causing leak. The fix required another $20.