FYI: Emission Information

[davidricardo86]

Actually its true that the EPA Envirotest people that do the emissions testing WILL NOT BE TESTING pre 1996 or "ODB I" cars as of next year 2007. Only OBDII. What month? They didnt tell me that. But someone on here said Feburary, but wheres the source? Who knows. But its true. Im a student at Morton College an attended an EPA seminar on OBD and failures, fixes, concerns, etc. This is where i got my info from.

Why would they do this you ask? Cost. Really its that simple. It costs them thousands of dollars extra to maintain the dynos and facilities to test all these pre OBDII cars. All cars produce since 1996, some in 95, are OBDII and are tested in a different way using the On Board Diagnostics as we all know and not a physical "sniff test". This saves them money because all they do is plug in a scanner, and let the magic of technology do its job. As long as all the required monitors ran and the Malfunction Indicator Lamp is off, your obd2 car can still pass emissions even with trouble codes set. Illinois will only test for monitors and MIL status. They will still have to keep dynos incase of some communications or odd reason. I do not have all the answers on "what ifs." Since all the cars before OBDII are getting older and older, there is less and less of them on the road. The focus for a few years now and from here on out is how to understand and fix OBDII correctly.

Oh and so people dont think im BS-ing about this i took a few snapshots of the stuff from the EPA. I talked to Al Santini, he and his colleuge was the one who told me this.

[mrzabala]

Oh I wont ask anything until next year. But thanks for the little information David.

[biosehnsucht]

Too good to be true. I pray it is.

Saves me $100/year

[davidricardo86]

Too good to be true. I pray it is.

Saves me $100/year

Dude. That man is a great teacher. Very knowledgeable good speaker, i was impressed with the information they told us. He's taught technicians for 38 yrs, instructor at COD in Illinois. Now he works with the EPA and techs. I asked him because i was curious to see what he would tell me about my ca18det project. All he told me was, "get it to pass the sniff test according to what my VIN code says is in that engine bay for that year." Well anyways im getting off subject but this is most than likely true in my opinion.

[Not_a_sr]

here in ohio they plug obd2 cars in, if you have a engine light they fail you. well the trick is to bring the scanner with you, reset the codes before you pull into the parking lot, they ask you to leave the car running, then they plug in and check the codes, it will give them a system not ready. they then put it on the rollers and it passes the sniffer. they give you a certificate and your good for another year. ive even left the scanner in the front seat when pulling this on them, once i did have a manager throw me out of the place for cheating. i just drove a few miles away and passed it elsewhere. emissions checks here were a joke.

but they just did away with the emissions checks here so noone even cares now.

[mrzabala]

Only reason I would leave Cali is the bs laws with automotives. But its to the point that I dont care and you guys in the other states just makes me in a none caring way.

[FutureDRFTer]

in kankakee, we dont have emissions anyways

[Dattebayo]

Illinois will only test for monitors and MIL status.

What are "monitors" and "MIL status"?

[biosehnsucht]

MIL is malfunction indicator light or something.. i.e., the check engine light.

I assume monitors refers to things OBDII monitors (most of which would throw a MIL/CEL anyways) ?

[davidricardo86]

What are "monitors" and "MIL status"?

Well Monitors are what OBDII uses to check up on certain systems to see if they meet a certain criteria, either to pass or fail. There are Continous and NonContinous monitors. Continous monitors are ones that run all the time, when the car is on. They can run upto a certain number of times a minute, hour, etc. They are usually always running. Misfire, Fuel system, and component are three of which are listed in my booklet. Non continous are ones that run only if the car is driven a certain way or number of miles, minutes, speed, etc. For example, the manufacturer will tell you to "start the car, let idle for 5 minutes, increase speed to 30mph then accelerate to 50mph and hold for 2 minutes, decelerate to 45mph, etc. etc." Its just a way that the manufcacturer has made their car's diagnostic systems to run. Things have to happen a certain way or that monitor wont run. It sounds difficult and confusing but it has to be done the way the manufacturer made it. Some non-continous monitors include Catalyst, Heated Catalyst, Evaporative System, Secondary Air System, A/C system, Oxygen Sensor, Oxygen Sensor Heater, and EGR system. Not all cars have the all or the same number of monitors. But this is what OBDII is looking for.

As of January 1 2004 there are four possiblities for 1996 and newer cars, Pass, Fail, Reject, and Fallback to another test. Something can prevent a monitor from running which can cause a "REJECT," meaning there are insufficient monitors ran. If a monitor has not ran, there cannot be a Diagnostic Trouble Code. What this means is that when you get it to run, DTCs will most than likely appear. What can prevent a monitor from running? A pending code, a conflict with another test (DTC or another monitor is running), Sequencing of monitors, weak sensor, electronics, wiring, temperature, etc. etc.

The Malfunction Indicator Lamp's purpose is to inform the motorist of malfunction in emissions systems and components and cannot be used for any other purpose. By status i mean either "on" or "off."