The vacuum your car, truck, or utility vehicle’s engine produces serves a purpose. Accessories and components are powered by this engine vacuum. The vacuum is transported through vacuum hoses that can go bad eventually. Consequently, when they do, you will end up with an engine vacuum leak. One of the first signs of the leak could be some of your accessories and components failing to work. J&S Auto Repair lists the other four signs of a vacuum leak below.
1. The Check Engine Light Has Turned On
One of the first things that will happen when your engine springs a vacuum leak is the check engine light will turn on. This is because some of the sensors are detecting more air in the engine. When the vacuum pressure leaks out of the hose, it adds air to the engine and this throws off the balance of air and fuel. Once this balance is thrown off, the check engine light will come on.
2. You Hear Suction or Squealing Noises
You may also hear your engine’s vacuum leak. The vacuum leak usually sounds like suction, such as the suction noise that comes out of your household vacuum’s accessory hose. If the leak is small, you may hear squealing or hissing instead of suction. It’s common for this noise to be accompanied by one or more of the other symptoms of a vacuum leak listed in this blog.
3. Your Acceleration/Engine Is Lagging
Because the engine is getting excess air, the mixture of air and fuel in the combustion chamber becomes lean. This means there isn’t enough fuel in the mixture and, as a consequence, you will notice engine performance issues. Until you get the vacuum leak fixed, your acceleration will lag when you press down on the accelerator and your engine will lag and sputter. This is because the engine is struggling to produce power due to the lean fuel mixture in the combustion chamber.
4. Your RPM Needle Is Going Crazy
Finally, you can see the results of your engine’s vacuum leak on your tachometer. You will notice that your RPM needle is either registering too high or moving up and down sporadically. This is because the leaking vacuum hose is releasing the excess vacuum into the engine in spurts. As a result, the tachometer will reflect those spurts.
J&S Auto Repair in Warwick, RI, is your one-stop shop for all of your automotive service and repair needs. Call us today if you believe your engine has a vacuum leak.
