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car failed smog,anyone else have this problem?

bossbird ta

bossbird ta

Well-Known Member
took my bone stock,low mile TTA for smog and to my surprise it failed!
for some reason the HC (PPM) count was way off the chart. in years past it would rate in the low 20's but this time around it was 113!!! the "new" maximum is 88 but last time it was 114. the tech said to check the plugs and wires or for a vacuum leak.
it had new plugs 50 miles ago and the original wires were in pretty nice shape too but i did swap them for NOS after i got home.
checked all visable vacuum lines and all look to be nice with no apparent cracks.
fwiw, i did notice the car runs and idols a bit rough when bringing home from storage the other nite. thought it might be loaded up a bit so i put my foot in it up to about 75 or so and it kinda spit and sputtred when in O.D.
my main question is why the big jump in the HC output? anybody else ever have this type of deal with their smog test????.... is it a bad sensor, bad gas, fuel filter???

thanks!
 
When you say bone stock I'm assuming it has the stock chip as well. In the 10 years I had my car I never had a problem passing the stringent tests in IL, including the dyno. Stock chip and cat on the car and all was good.
 
I would consider trying turbo tweak's emissions chip also.

I hate emissions testing, my cars are licensed in a hick town that doesn't know what emissions are.
 
I've been using a Turbo Tweak emission chip and it works great. I believe it only cost around $20. I highly recommend it. Made a big difference in all the numbers. The station owner who does my inspections thinks it's magic.
 
SouthBaySurfer said:
I've been using a Turbo Tweak emission chip and it works great. I believe it only cost around $20. I highly recommend it. Made a big difference in all the numbers. The station owner who does my inspections thinks it's magic.
Click to expand...

Do you have to turn down fuel pressure when you have a check done? And do you still have a cat? I assume you have a cat or atleast something in place that looks like a cat.
 
The links above are right, high HC's is basically unburned fuel. What octane fuel are you using & how old is it? Are the the spark plugs stock AC Delco's or other? Just curious what were you other readings on CO's & Nox, did they pass?

Here in Arizona, emissions are very harsh also, but a few years ago they passed a new law for older vehicles, that stated if the vehicle is 25 years old or older & you have collector car insurance, emissions testing is not required.
When I went to the DMV to register my TTA, even though its not 25 yet, I showed them that I have collector car insurance on it, and they waved the emissions testing.

I'm not sure how different California would be from Arizona, but it might be something worth looking into, if its offered.
 
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TURBO1 said:
The links above are right, high HC's is basically unburned fuel. What octane fuel are you using & how old is it? Are the the spark plugs stock AC Delco's or other? Just curious what were you other readings on CO's & Nox, did they pass?

Here in Arizona, emissions are very harsh also, but a few years ago they passed a new law for older vehicles, that stated if the vehicle is 25 years old or older & you have collector car insurance, emissions testing is not required.
When I went the the DMV to register my TTA, even though its not 25 yet, I showed them that I have collector car insurance on it, and they waved the emissions testing.

I'm not sure how different California would be from Arizona, but it might be something worth looking into, if its offered.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that's cool to know. I may look into Nashville TN emmision laws more carefully. If I get it licensed here I have 1 additional letter on the license plate to mess with.
 
TURBO1,
fuel here is 91 octane and i filled it up the day before the test.
all the other readings passed. the CO. was 0.33 with a max of 0.52 and the NOX was 320 with a max of 549.
plugs are delco R42LTS.
here is a copy of my test. the thing that ticks me off more then anything is this car is a very pampered unmolested survivor. it should have no issues or troubles passing save for the fact that since the last test in 08 the state has made the smog laws even tighter then years previous.
 
What were your numbers in 2008?
I'm glad I only have to do the idle test and not under load.

When I do my next test, I'll post and we can see how much tighter the limits are.

Mine from October 2008.

TTASmogOct2008.jpg


Smog Check from August 5, 2010
No change in the limits for the Idle Test.

TTASmogCheckAugust.jpg
 
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After looking at your emissions test, the car passed on the 25mph test on all the readings, but failed only HC's on the 15mph test. If it were running lean or having a ignition issue you would think it wouldn't pass either test. It kinda sounds like the catalytic converter may being getting loaded up more at idle/low speeds & not burning everything through like it should, until a higher speed is reached.

Do you drive the car often or start it regularly? I'm guilty of this on mine, I start it every other week & let it warm up, in my garage, but don't drive it as much as I should. (I'm sure I'm not the only one who does this) I guess what I'm saying is, if the converter doesn't get to proper operating temp every time the car is ran, over time it can break down the cat & greatly reduce its effectiveness to burn everything through it. Hence, your car did pass on the higher speed portion of the test. Its possible the converter may be the cause.
 
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heres my test from 08.

i do run the car regulary but only drive about 50/100 miles a year. it lives a semi retirement life....
 
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