Help: W210 Code P2013-Purge System Gross Leak Detected
 

Car: 2001 E430 Sport

I was sitting at a stop light, the yellow low fuel light started flashing and the CEL light lit.

After I shut the engine off, and later restarted, the low fuel light was no longer flashing.

I pulled two codes:
P2013 - Purge System Gross Leak Detected
P2001 - EGR System Malfunction

Can somebody give me a hint on where to start? How is the Purge System diagnosed? Where is it? I have no idea what the purge system is.

The car seems to be running fine, both before and after I was warned with the flashing light and CEL.

That relates to fuel system leaks. A gross leak is a bad one, usually a missing or loose fuel cap.
Or did you by chance refuel the car with it running??
Gilly

No, never fill it running. The car was filled almost 300 miles ago. The gas cap is on and tight.

Any other ideas? I don't smell gas around the car anywhere, and the flashing low fuel light has not relit.

The fuel mileage seems normal as well.

there is a purge cannister buried behind the right rear wheel.it is usually the culprit for that set of symptoms.

Can you tell me what to do with the canister? Replace the entire thing?

Can somebody give me a primer on what the purge system actually does? Thanks.

http://continentalimports.com/ser_index.html

Click on "magazine articles', select the second option on the menu and go down about halfway through the article on engine diagnostics.

Great explanations, Steve should be a teacher.

Jeez, what a great site. It looks like I'll be reading for weeks. I even sorta now understand adaptation values! Thanks for the link!!!