Smog check: California car owners how to pass info

[Stumbo]

I have a car in need of a smog check and came across this:
http://www.chevycamaro.com/board/index.php?topic=273.0

Anyone have more info to share?

[Pilgrim]

That's all good stuff - but the basic advice is: keep your car well maintained! As long as you take care of it and keep it running right, you'll have no problem.

The one time I failed an emissions test it was because the O2 sensor was failing - that's info I needed to know! I went home, changed it and passed the next day. no sweat.

[hdracer]

Cheap easy ways to pass are,
1- change your oil- fresh oil will go a long way to help you pass.
2- PCV Valve- make sure it is clean and free. If it is getting old it is easy to replace & cheap
3-spark plugs, another cheap easy thing.
If all of your factory emission components are there & working properly with these few things you should have no problem passing, and you will get better fuel mileage.

[EBodious]

man, reading that link brought back a lot of baaad memories. i remember the fear of getting dinged a "gross polluter." i was glad to move to a state that doesn't require inspection/tests (tho in fairness, there are some nasty polluters on the road out here).

everything in the link is good stuff, and i worked some of those angles in my smog tests. mostly, it helps to have a newer car. of course that isn't always a choice. my old van had squeaked by its last few tests; i was at the go every year stage when i moved. i think it might have been due to the leaky gas cap issue.

if you have an old car, bite the bullet and pay for the pre-test. it is worth the extra cash. failure sucks big time.

[Stumbo]

Originally Posted by hdracer

Cheap easy ways to pass are,
1- change your oil- fresh oil will go a long way to help you pass.
2- PCV Valve- make sure it is clean and free. If it is getting old it is easy to replace & cheap
3-spark plugs, another cheap easy thing.
If all of your factory emission components are there & working properly with these few things you should have no problem passing, and you will get better fuel mileage.

Air Filter
Plug wires

[Mike N]

#6. Monitors. For those that don't know, a monitor is nothing more than a self test the computer performs. Seems the op in the link had trouble explaining this one. When the computer runs a specific self test, the monitor switches status from "not ready" to "ready". Disconnecting the battery or erasing trouble codes resets monitors to "not ready " status.

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

Originally Posted by Mike N

#6. Monitors. For those that don't know, a monitor is nothing more than a self test the computer performs. Seems the op in the link had trouble explaining this one. When the computer runs a specific self test, the monitor switches status from "not ready" to "ready". Disconnecting the battery or erasing trouble codes resets monitors to "not ready " status.

+1

It usually takes at least a few dozen miles of normal driving (including some time at highway speeds) to get all the readines bits set, assuming all is well with the engine and its systems.

On some cars you can access the ECU through the OBDII port with special service/diagnostic software and initiate the whole sequence of readiness tests. On my car it takes about 20 to 30 minutes. I did that the evening before my last smog check just to make sure everything passed after I had the cat replaced.

I've come to really like OBDII ports and being able to check things out through them.

[ulrich]

After just passing on ruined sparkplugs, cap, rotor, I've decided that my DMV renewal notice, is a reminder to do annual maintenance. From now on - plugs, cap, rotor, air filter, PCV, get the boot before smog check.

"2- PCV Valve- make sure it is clean and free. If it is getting old it is easy to replace & cheap"

Really cheap and easy. Like $1.75, and three minutes of work.

In addition to driving around 'till your car's good and hot, let it idle while you wait.

[Mike N]

Originally Posted by Bob Lee (QSC)

+1

It usually takes at least a few dozen miles of normal driving (including some time at highway speeds) to get all the readines bits set, assuming all is well with the engine and its systems.

On some cars you can access the ECU through the OBDII port with special service/diagnostic software and initiate the whole sequence of readiness tests. On my car it takes about 20 to 30 minutes. I did that the evening before my last smog check just to make sure everything passed after I had the cat replaced.

I've come to really like OBDII ports and being able to check things out through them.

Some cars can take 100 or more miles to run all monitors, Bob. Also, certain conditions must be met before a monitor will ever run. For instance, a GM will not run an evap monitor unless the fuel level is between 1/4 and 3/4 tank of gas. So you could top off your tank every day and the monitor will never run.

I was also surprised when I read #6 in that link when the poster mentioned that in California you can have 2 or 3 monitors not set. I'm calling bs on that. NY law is 1996-2000 vehicles (under 8600 lbs) can have 2 not run, and 2001 & up you're only allowed 1 not run. I've got to believe California is more stringent than NY is.

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

Originally Posted by Mike N

Some cars can take 100 or more miles to run all monitors, Bob. Also, certain conditions must be met before a monitor will ever run. For instance, a GM will not run an evap monitor unless the fuel level is between 1/4 and 3/4 tank of gas. So you could top off your tank every day and the monitor will never run.

I was also surprised when I read #6 in that link when the poster mentioned that in California you can have 2 or 3 monitors not set. I'm calling bs on that. NY law is 1996-2000 vehicles (under 8600 lbs) can have 2 not run, and 2001 & up you're only allowed 1 not run. I've got to believe California is more stringent than NY is.

True, Mike. At least a few dozen miles, and as you said even 100 or more. It depends on the car. You can figure that if you clear DTC faults through a scanner or by disconnecting the battery for a while, it'll take some time and driving to get the monitors to all run their tests unless you can tell the ECU to run them.

I've heard that California allows 1 readiness bit to remain unset, but I haven't paid attention to that because on my car and my wife's I've always made sure that they all passed before having the smog check done. I like to have everything working right.