Our Car Failed Inspection - Ideas On This

[Classic Finn]

Heikki...what's the scoop over there for the older trucks like the Chev. you are doing? Does that need to comply or do you get a pass because of the age? Just curious...Doug

Hi Doug and Good Morning..On oldies cars or trucks especially if Museum Registered the controls are less beauracratic. Simply because if its registered as or 1st qualifies as a Museum Vehicle...

You can only drive it 3 months out of the year. How do they control or find out ... thats another thing... thru the Insurance ...Mainly..

The so called Museum Vehicles go thru a Special Dept. or Inspection..versus the normal everyday vehicles.. But the safety standards are still the same meaning all have to work with the equipment
equipped with... emissions are as they were back then when the truck or vehicle was new or used everyday..

Classic Finn

[Lesbest]

Using a 3 or 4 gas analyzer is the same in all countries that use gasoline/spark ignition/and internal combustion engines.

The numbers you show on the scales determine how efficent the engine is.

HC is a measurement of unburned fuel--the lower the better and is measured in ppm
CO is a measurement of burned fuel---the lower the better and is measured in %.

With cat. conv. the numbers will go low if the convertor is working so we look at CO2---that goes thru the conv. unaffected. It is measured in % with 15 being the highest.
The O2 sensor (llamda)is measuring fuel in the exhaust in front of the conv. in OBD I and should be varying between 100mv lean and 900mv rich. If is higher it "sees " more fuel (rich) and the computer uses this info to try to lean out the mixture.

The computer may not listen, or isn't capable, of controling the mixture like it should.
Readings you should see are:
HC under 100ppm
CO under 1.0%
CO2 ovet 10% 12 to 13% ideal.
O2 should be aroud 1.5 to 2% tops.

Good luck.
Les

[Kurt (Indiana)]

INSPECTION!!!!!!!!!! What inspection!!!!!! And yearly. We don't have any of that here.

None here either. Most people don't use things like turn signal anyway.

No pollution inspection so my old mustang is still "legal"

[Classic Finn]

You come over to Europe and you,ll get the taste of Inspections... And more Inspections....

Its great here.

Classic Finn

[Classic Finn]

Using a 3 or 4 gas analyzer is the same in all countries that use gasoline/spark ignition/and internal combustion engines.

The numbers you show on the scales determine how efficent the engine is.

HC is a measurement of unburned fuel--the lower the better and is measured in ppm
CO is a measurement of burned fuel---the lower the better and is measured in %.

With cat. conv. the numbers will go low if the convertor is working so we look at CO2---that goes thru the conv. unaffected. It is measured in % with 15 being the highest.
The O2 sensor (llamda)is measuring fuel in the exhaust in front of the conv. in OBD I and should be varying between 100mv lean and 900mv rich. If is higher it "sees " more fuel (rich) and the computer uses this info to try to lean out the mixture.

The computer may not listen, or isn't capable, of controling the mixture like it should.
Readings you should see are:
HC under 100ppm
CO under 1.0%
CO2 ovet 10% 12 to 13% ideal.
O2 should be aroud 1.5 to 2% tops.

Good luck.
Les

Les I have to admit this is not my subject nor do I understand it..but after what you have stated Ive learned somthing about it,

At least I know about it from my Billfold, Dish out more money and we,ll pass your car the 2nd time..

PS Les Are you coming over to Finland anytime soon?

Classic Finn

[Jst83]

inspections if we had them I'm sure my old 91 ranger would be condemned but it runs great for 205,000 miles
muffler who needs a muffler.

[Classic Finn]

inspections if we had them I'm sure my old 91 ranger would be condemned but it runs great for 205,000 miles
muffler who needs a muffler.

Good Evening Scott

It wont be too much longer and they will tax us to death on cars 10 years and older due to the amount of emissions they release.. One way of getting old cars off the highways..

Germany did this a few years ago..They sold a lot of their older vehicles to other countries. The biggest buyers were the Russians. The cars were in immaculate shape (majority of them).. but they were old..

How do I know this? I worked on the ships that majority of the cargo were the cars purchased from Germany and driven from Finland to Russia and even as far as Kazahkstan...

Germany was smart - they sold all their old cars that Germans wouldnt buy anymore. They got top Dollar for them too from the Russians. Another country that purchased a lot of them was Africa. Especially the vans..

This went on for about 5 years till the Russians put such Import Duties onto them that the business died instantly ... the reason being is that the Russian made cars wouldnt sell..

And again I wouldnt purchase a Russian one if I was paid to buy it..

Classic Finn

[Tallguy3578]

I don't have to get my truck inspected but I do try to keep it within some semblance of legality. Check around to see if you can find someone with a code reader, sometimes these can tell you if there's a problem regardless of the "check engine" light. I had that happen once to me, I plugged my code reader in just for grins and low and behold both of my O2 sensors were on the fritz, and no "check engine" light! I would cast my vote as the O2 sensor being the culprit.

[Classic Finn]

I don't have to get my truck inspected but I do try to keep it within some semblance of legality. Check around to see if you can find someone with a code reader, sometimes these can tell you if there's a problem regardless of the "check engine" light. I had that happen once to me, I plugged my code reader in just for grins and low and behold both of my O2 sensors were on the fritz, and no "check engine" light! I would cast my vote as the O2 sensor being the culprit.

Hi there.. Ive completed all filter changes, air and gas.. plugs and wires..
just checking on the censor prices as they are Expensive here ...Yikes..
But it has to be done..

Classic Finn

[Toolie]

Heikki,
The worse the air quality in your region, the more stringent your vehicle inspections. Very often the most polluted areas, industrial areas or smoggy sink holes (aka valleys), set the standard for the rest of the state. One of the so-called remedies for the air pollution problem is to force older cars off the road by creating standards that they cannot pass. It's all about ambient air quality.

I only know this because my company owns a RFD steam plant and the air quality standards tighten every other year.

I'm not able to give advice on your car problem but I hope this makes the inspection easier to swallow. I do remember the smog alerts which advised the elderly and sick to stay inside.

[WarPony]

I agree with Lesbest, find a shop with a gas analyzer. When I lived in Phoenix, AZ about 19 years ago, I worked for a repair shop that did emission work. The county that Phoenix was/is in (Maricopa) has emissions testing each year and the car has to pass before you get your tags. Well, I was the floor sweeper/parts runner and had to take the vehicles to the testing station. The mechanics always told me to rev the engine up to around 2000-2500 RPM's and hold it there. That would heat the cat up which would make it work better and burn the HC's up. I would start the rev job when I was the next guy in line. Very few cars I drove ever failed.

Now, the techs had to do some fancy tuning to get the emissions down but by using the gas analyzer they knew how to do it. Once it passed emissions, they re-tuned the vehicle so it ran good.

Jeff

[Tallguy3578]

inspections if we had them I'm sure my old 91 ranger would be condemned but it runs great for 205,000 miles
muffler who needs a muffler.

What are these "mufflers" that you speak of?

[Classic Finn]

Heikki,
The worse the air quality in your region, the more stringent your vehicle inspections. Very often the most polluted areas, industrial areas or smoggy sink holes (aka valleys), set the standard for the rest of the state. One of the so-called remedies for the air pollution problem is to force older cars off the road by creating standards that they cannot pass. It's all about ambient air quality.

I only know this because my company owns a RFD steam plant and the air quality standards tighten every other year.

I'm not able to give advice on your car problem but I hope this makes the inspection easier to swallow. I do remember the smog alerts which advised the elderly and sick to stay inside.

The air quality is not bad here in Scandinavia .. but the measures that are taken to prevent the bad air quality are very strict..

If you go across the border to the Land of Putin.. there the air is very bad. Since they dont enforce nothing.

Here they are tightening the use of cars 10 years or older to the point that you cant drive them anymore..

Classic Finn

[bledsoe3]

CF, Do they just plug in a computer or actually read the emissions in the tailpipe? If it is the latter, add some octane booster (alcohol) to your fuel or alcohol racing fuel. Alcohol burns really clean and your emissions will drop.

Run your tank down and add the booster. After the test fill up with whatever you usually use. It's worked for me. One tester who had failed the truck several times had to get down and look under the truck cause he couldn't believe how clean the emissions were.


I don't know how the computer would react (plug in testing) if you did this.

[Classic Finn]

Dear Friends, If you remember We spoke about the different possibilites why the high emissions on our car...

Well finally this morning we got it fixed and I cant remember who it was here on the thread that it could be the censor...

And the censor it was... The Catalytic Converter is fine we were told.. the censor itself had damage on the wiring there ...It was a 60 Euro fix.. but its back to the reinspection early morning...

The readings now are they way they are supposed to be.. the mechanic said the reading are better than what are allowed.. so we are happy to get back to you on this... Whew we thought the bill was going to be in the Hundreds of Euros... and Surprise it was 60 instead.. Ok thats a lot too but it could have been more...

They may not even need to see the car in the morning since I have another emmision sheet that was given ...

Thanks Again for all your replies and advice everyone.

I,ll post again after I get back from the inspection...

Classic Finn