Trouble Code 45 Rich Exhaust

[Kirkus]

Hi everyone,

For the past few years, I've been getting a Rich Exhaust trouble code every now and then. The service engine light came on again last night on the drive home and sure enough, it was Code 45. Here are a few symptoms:

1. Rough Idle
2. 12-15 MPG City
3. Noticeable Exhaust smell
4. Inside of the tailpipe is pretty black
5. Lack of power

I've looked all over the forum for possible solutions but I haven't found anything. Any suggestions would be great! Thanks!!!!

[astroturf]

Vacuum Leaks?

[Kirkus]

I'm thinking I might have a few vacuum leaks. I'm away at school right now so I won't be able to dig into it and see. I'm hoping once I go on thanksgiving break, I'll change some stuff. I actually planned on it. Would anyone know where I could find a vacuum diagram? I think there was a factory add-on vacuum pump. I took it off because it stopped working. I can't recall but I think it started running rough after I took the pump off...

Thanks for the suggestions!

[Phantom]

Years ago when I had a car that I removed the A.I.R pump off of it needed the vacuum lines routed slightly different because the pump was no longer there , after setting the timing it ran great , but it was necessary to adjust the timing , might as well replace all the vacuum lines and get a couple caps to plug off a port or two, when you remove things you have to make adjustments to compensate for it . The pump was an emissions thing that I did not need ,as I do not live in Cali. and it caused a parasitic power loss due to that it needed belt power to drive it .

[Kirkus]

Phantom,

This wasn't the actual AIR pump. Honestly, I don't even think I have an AIR pump on the engine… The pump I'm talking about was completely electrical. The dealership mounted it on the crossmember below the crank pulley and behind the fan shroud. It had two lines coming off I'm guessing input and output.

[Phantom]

Here is a diagram , what was the pump for? I took a air pump off Olds Custom Cruiser wagon and used it as an air compressor , 12 volt , think it had like 100 psi pressure ,good for pumping up tires ,etc. it was for the automatic leveling system

[Kirkus]

Thanks Phantom!

Well, I was going through the old repair records and it looks like the engine had some kind of issue with vacuum pressure in the past. It kept throwing up the SES codes for either 44 or 45 I believe. To solve this issue, the dealership added two vacuum pumps. One is mounted on my firewall w/ in line with the vehicle wiring harness and the other was mounted on that crossmember that I was talking about earlier. Judging from the repair history something might have been faulty from assembly and the dealership just did this to cover their behinds until the warranty ran out... I was lucky that I knew the two previous owners of the van before I purchased it and they were organized enough to keep a folder of every single thing that they did to the van. Receipts and all! When I get home for Thanksgiving, I'm going to look at that service order again to see exactly what was going on when the pump was added. I'm pretty sure with the combination of the pump being added back on, and a vacuum tuneup, Jerome might be running like new again! We shall see though!

Additionally, I know this pump was nothing like an air compressor. I doubt this thing could put out 100 psi! lol

[Zebediah III]

The stealership added two vacuum pumps because the engine wouldn't produce enough vacuum?

Wow!

[rev_les]

Kinda like tossing a rug over the grand canyon........

[Kirkus]

Yeah I did a little research and found that one is for the a/c. The other, I wasn't able to find... The dealership is truly a mess!