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Old 04-21-2018, 04:10 PM   #1
stackman1
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Default Drive Cycle to Retest Smog Check

Hey Everyone -

I moved to New York from Florida. I know I am going the wrong way at my age but nevertheless! I still have my old reliable 2002 Impreza Outback Sport and am second guessing my move now because I must get my car INSPECTED! Ugh....I have a good mechanic (trustworthy) but figured I would try to be proactive and bought a nice Bluetooth OBDII Scanner from Lemur - BlueDriver. At one point I threw the dreaded P0420 Code so he told me to try the "CRC - Gauranteed to Pass Emissions" formula, before we start messing with the Catalytic Converter. He swears by the stuff.
Anyway (and here is my question) - I cleared my codes and put it in and have been driving it for about 200 miles. However, my Evaporation System Monitor and my Catalyst System Monitor still haven't reported a Pass/Fail status. Should I be worried after 200 miles or do sometimes it just take a while for these OBDII systems to reset/retest? Thanks Pete
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Old 04-21-2018, 04:26 PM   #2
Charlie-III
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Sigh...as a NNJ driver dealing with emissions testing.
Temp is one. Temp has come up, may satisfy one parameter, the ECU won't do some tests if it is cold.
Fuel, keep between 1/4 tank and above, another test parameter.
You NEED some highway miles as well as local stop and go.
You local to me? I may help,, vodka money helps get you through.
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Old 04-21-2018, 05:47 PM   #3
stackman1
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Hey Charlie.
I know I have the following Trouble Codes that are triggering the CEL:
- P0304 Cylinder 4 Misfire
- P0113 Intake Air Temperature Sensor 1 Circuit High Bank 1
Those will need to be addressed.
But I have now driven the car ~ 110 miles highway and about ~ 80 miles local since I cleared the codes and put in the Cleaner but the Catalyst Test and the Evaporative System Test still are Not Complete.

I was hoping today after driving a fair distance all the tests would be finished and the P0420 Code would NOT show - meaning the Cleaner worked. Does it sometime take more than 200 miles to run all the diagnostics???
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Old 04-22-2018, 07:30 AM   #4
Charlie-III
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No, typically 200 miles is not needed.
The temp has been low, thus evap won't test and set.
You need a middle amount of fuel, too high or low the evap won't test.
Some pending codes will stop some tests.
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Old 04-22-2018, 08:38 AM   #5
SoapBox
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It will typically look something like this:



The PITA things is the cold start (if you're trying to get it done quickly). The EVAP can be a pain as well.

Do it right and you can have only the o2 not ready. In states where 1 pending is allowed, you can quickly pull it in, and pass with the pending code.

Anyway, point is, it's not mileage, it's how the car is driven. You can put it on the highway for 1000 miles, and you won't clear the tests.
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Old 04-22-2018, 09:44 AM   #6
stackman1
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Thanks Soap and Charlie -
Let me ask you something. Because of where I live it will take me about 15 minutes to get to a highway where I can go 55. Let's say I wanted to start from scratch tomorrow. I now have about an 1/8 of a tank. Would this be what I should do:
  • Fill it about 3/4's today
  • Tomorrow drive it to the road that I can safely do 55 and pull over
  • Clear my codes
  • (Leave vehicle running or turn off??)
  • Execute the accelerate/decelerate action described
  • Pray that all self-checks run

BTW - Thanks for telling me that it isn't the mileage that counts. So, if the Catalyst and Evap Monitors don't register still.....I will just have my guy address the confirmed trouble codes P0113 and P0304. Eliminate them. Try again?

Any thoughts greatly appreciated because I hate the thought of having to buy a used car with unknown problems just to get past the government. Thanks Pete.
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Old 04-22-2018, 01:54 PM   #7
SoapBox
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Clearing codes resets the whole works. If you have a CEL light on now, drive to the gas station, fill up, drive home and clear it. Or (if the car is cold), clear it now, start it and do the cold start portion, and any other portions you can on the way to the gas station and fill up. Bring it home, park it, do the cold start etc. portions again tomorrow on the way to the highway...

It's not the order, you just have to hit those segments with the engine up to temp (or cold at the start) at some point.
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Old 04-22-2018, 02:21 PM   #8
Charlie-III
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OK, I have talked to peeps that do this US programming for various MFR's, never get the same answer twice.....

Fuel should be within 1/4 and 3/4 full.
Temp above 50*F.
Do your drives, some must be above 50MPH for a few miles, some must be stop and go in a local area.

There are some links to a specific cycle, but most don't account for fuel level or temp.
It is possible to trip everything to "good" in under 100miles, but other things have to be met as well.
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Old 04-23-2018, 07:18 AM   #9
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We posted an exemplary drive cycle above. And you can get through it in 10-15 miles if you're lucky/diligent.

The rear o2 can take a couple goes...but again...you might be trying to get passed before it finishes. One can easily finish it in two attempts.

Just make sure your cold start warm-up is indeed a true cold start.
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Old 04-23-2018, 08:31 AM   #10
stackman1
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Soap and Charlie -

I get the picture now about the drive cycle. I think what I should do first is have my mechanic fix the:
  • P0304 Cylinder 4 Misfire
  • P0113 Intake Air Temperature Senor
Then clear the codes and restart the Drive Cycle and OBDII Self-Tests. That way, if my Catalyst and Evap Monitors register a positive result, I can head straight to NYS Inspection station for their blessing.
I will check back in with an update.

Appreciate your time
Pete
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Old 04-23-2018, 09:08 AM   #11
Charlie-III
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OK, yes, get the CEL's (even if only pending) dealt with, above 50*F and a middle amount of fuel.
It should go quick then.

I'm dreading getting my Legacy through again. I have a phantom P0304. I have to clear the code, get some readiness set, then drive a specific way to state inspection. It all gets set about 2 miles from the station (20 miles trip) and trips the misfire leaving the place.
Never feel the misfire, have done all sorts of things to fix it.
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Old 09-15-2018, 09:18 PM   #12
GoodoleLibby
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As a point of reference, my wife's 2002 outback failed emissions for catalyst monitor not ready. I spent 40 minutes trying to drive that profile with no success (looking at scan tool, still saying not ready). The car had 120k miles and I don't think I had ever replaced either O2 sensor. (Never had CEL for O2 sensor, btw)
Since car was high mileage, replaced both O2 sensors.
Drove profile above, first time decelerating without braking the catalyst monitor was ready and passed test.
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Old 09-15-2018, 09:46 PM   #13
Jack
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Does NY allow one monitor to be not ready? I ask because Massachusetts does. Our 04 had a P0420 for a while and I'd reset and watch the monitors become ready as I drove. I got to one not ready and it was the cat. I believe there was also a stored P0420 already seen but had not set the CEL. I passed.
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Old 09-15-2018, 11:30 PM   #14
bdubblu
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie-III View Post
OK, yes, get the CEL's (even if only pending) dealt with, above 50*F and a middle amount of fuel.
It should go quick then.

I'm dreading getting my Legacy through again. I have a phantom P0304. I have to clear the code, get some readiness set, then drive a specific way to state inspection. It all gets set about 2 miles from the station (20 miles trip) and trips the misfire leaving the place.
Never feel the misfire, have done all sorts of things to fix it.
I had the phantoms & I chased them diligently doing all kinds of stuff. ... ended up being the valve (lash) tolerances. I was high mileage at that point, something around 150K. While it was frustrating to go through and troubleshoot and try fix after fix, in retrospect I learned a lot during that time.
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Old 09-16-2018, 12:15 AM   #15
Charlie-III
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack View Post
Does NY allow one monitor to be not ready? I ask because Massachusetts does. Our 04 had a P0420 for a while and I'd reset and watch the monitors become ready as I drove. I got to one not ready and it was the cat. I believe there was also a stored P0420 already seen but had not set the CEL. I passed.
I "believe" NY allows 1 readiness to not be set.
In NJ, you're SOL.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bdubblu View Post
I had the phantoms & I chased them diligently doing all kinds of stuff. ... ended up being the valve (lash) tolerances. I was high mileage at that point, something around 150K. While it was frustrating to go through and troubleshoot and try fix after fix, in retrospect I learned a lot during that time.
Eh, been over that and other things, still same crap. I was psyched a couple years ago when NJ said anything from 96 or older was exempt from testing. I crossed fingers it was a rolling time span........nope........only pre OBDII.......
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Old 09-16-2018, 09:03 PM   #16
bdubblu
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie-III View Post
I "believe" NY allows 1 readiness to not be set.
In NJ, you're SOL.


Eh, been over that and other things, still same crap. I was psyched a couple years ago when NJ said anything from 96 or older was exempt from testing. I crossed fingers it was a rolling time span........nope........only pre OBDII.......
Dang man... sounds like you're into the hook up the oscilloscope territory. What a pain... I feel ya.

In MD, we have the same "readiness" thing going on with our vehicle emissions testing. I know they won't let you just roll in after a reset. They turned me away back in the day... told me something like there had to be xxx miles on the car after reset.
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Old 11-22-2020, 10:04 PM   #17
CHESTYC
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SoapBox View Post
It will typically look something like this:



The PITA things is the cold start (if you're trying to get it done quickly). The EVAP can be a pain as well.

Do it right and you can have only the o2 not ready. In states where 1 pending is allowed, you can quickly pull it in, and pass with the pending code.

Anyway, point is, it's not mileage, it's how the car is driven. You can put it on the highway for 1000 miles, and you won't clear the tests.
Necro'ing this post, but doing so since smog check is due in two weeks (!!!) and i've been trying to get my last monitor ready for the past 4 weeks. The CATALYST monitor was not getting ready since my last flash to stock (and i also get the random P0442 code). Drove over 100 miles, and still could not get the CATALYST monitor to show as ready.

Thought i needed to do the 5 Drive Cycles following the 3K rpm for 5 minutes, but my car decided to flip me the bird and throw a Check Engine light at me with my good buddy P0442 last night.

I reset the monitor after parking last night with ScanTool, then when i had time today, i followed the above process as closely as I could, and WOO HOO in ONE GO, one trip, after checking the status the ScanTool reported all monitors were READY!!!

Perhaps the only thing different besides this was I took streets (e.g. my version of a City cycle) after finishing my 5 minutes of steady driving...but just affirming this process pretty much works to get your OBD2 monitors ready after a reset.
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Old 11-23-2020, 07:42 AM   #18
Jack
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I had this issue with one of my cars a few years ago. The cat really was working below spec, so a CEL was always in the cards. I drove around normally with my OBD reader plugged in all the time. When the final monitor went ready (catalyst), I immediately drove into the inspection station. The test in Mass doesn't include any driving....just plugging into the OBD port. So it passed and within 4 miles, threw a CEL. I dumped the car in less than a year, so didn't have to play the circus games again.
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