Failed 3rd CA Test Only

[Julie]

Hello everyone,

Today my TTA failed it's third Test Only (in California). The first time it failed for high HC in May, I took it in yesterday and it passed the machine (HC were 111 and max is 114) but they failed it on visual because of the arrangment of the vacuum hoses and the solonoid wasn't hooked up (it had a manual boost hookup).

Today it failed because the NOx scored 884 at 25 whereas the max is 724...yesterday it was 124! Today the HC at 15 did fine, 67 where max is 114 and yesterday it was 111. Does this have any relation to eachother? The guy at the Smog shop suggested taking a close look at the EGR. I called up my car guy and he said he'd tested it a couple of months ago before the first test but maybe the peice broke or something?

Anyway, here's how it scored:

Test - Max 15 - Measured 15 - Max 25 - Measured 25

Today:
HC - 114 - 67 - 88 - 32
CO - .73 - .02 - .61 - .03
NO - 785 - 166 - 724 - 884

Yesterday:
HC - 114 - 111 - 88 - 41
CO - .73 - .07 - .61 - .01
NO - 785 - 217 - 724 - 124

Yesterday I drove easy and ran the AC on max but didn't note the temp when I shut it off or when I started it up again. Today I drove it a little harder to keep the engine hot (200*) hoping that would help the HC go down. Anyway.. Any one else's experiences or suggestion would be appreciated. Tomorrow I'm dropping it off to have the EGR measured to see if it needs to be replaced.

Thanks.

[The Swede]

Julie,

Sorry to hear about your problems passing the test.
Do you have new oil in the engine? That helps you alot.

Do you know what chip and injectors you have? Stock?
If they are stock there is a chip out there on the market called emission chip that helpes you to pass the test.
Can be ordered from Scott231 on this forum.

[Lee_Burough]

gofastbuick is a CA smog expert.

He'll be watching the posts on our new "Emissions" forum.

You might do well to post your information on the "Emissions" forum too, in hopes he'll have the answer in time

Its prolly something simple.

[mark b]

The cat converter is a big player in NOX readings along with the EGR. It's difficult to pass NOX without a well-functioning one. If the EGR valve is physically working, it's usually the solenoid that controls it.

[Julie]

The Cat on the car is a new one...The solenoid was unhooked when they failed me on visual, so I replaced it with a newer one. They should be testing the EGR anytime now so HOPEFULLY it will narrow the problem down a little bit. I'll post what's the results are...

[2quiktocare]

Julie, what part of Cali are you in? We have the Sacramento area referee as one of our customers. He is great and knows how to get things together to pass smog. Let me know if we can be of any help. Mark

[gofstbuick]

thanks for the kudos lburou. I looked and posted a possible solution for her to get subsidized repairs, courtesy of the state of CA (up to $500 in emission related repairs). Julie, If you're still looking at this post, and your car is still failing, please email or PM if you need additional information.

[Lee_Burough]

Joe, You Da Man!