GeoMedic,
It is pretty simple to test the
Capristo system, simply start the car and get out with your keyfob that comes with the system, your valves should be closed. Press the A button, your valves shoudl open, if you look under the car you can see this and you can also hear it as the idle tone changes. (watch my youtube video). PRess the B button, the valves should close. If the valves aren't closing it means you don't have vacuum going to the black
Capristo control box. Check your vacuum line going to the box, pull it off and put your finger on it, is there vacuum? If not, did it come disconnected at the engine? If there is, then put it back on the black box and check the other two lines as you press the A and B buttons, do the outgoing hoses change in vacuum? If so, then the valves would be bad, if not then the black box would be bad.
I suspect the simplest solution, that you aren't getting vacuum for some reason because vacuum is required to close the valves, otherwise they would always stay open as that is their natural/default state when vacuum is not applied. If you apply vacuum to the black box and the black box doesn't open the valves then I would look at teh black box as being the culprit.
Anyway, this is pretty easy to test...