Hey guys, I took my car in yesterday and failed emissions. I think I was high on Carbons. I will have to check and make sure and get back to you tonight. Anyways, once I got in my car to take it home it felt way different, got on the road and found out it was different, it started to backfire and miss and ran like crap. I took it back to them and they wouldn't own up to it. So, I took the liberty to look under the hood myself and noticed that the,I believe number five spark plug wire was pulled. The car was great before I went there. My question is, would a pulled spark plug wire make me fail emissions? I wonder if they pulled it on purpose. Let me know what all you guys think, or what all I could check that could be wrong. Last time I did emissions I replaced the cat, egr, hoses and whatnot and it passed with flying colors. Let me know. Thanks.

 

It certainly would cause a failure.

Are they a repair station as well? Pretty sleazy operation. I'd report them.

 

Exactly what five7kid said...
A plug not firing would cause raw fuel being dumped into the exhaust.
Raw fuel is the same as unburned hydrocarbons to the sniffer.

I'd definitely try to take it somewhere else and try again, especially if you've passed before.

 

In that case, I have 14 days to get it right and its free from this place and then after that I have to repay. I will go there tomarrow and try again, and I will watch them and make sure they don't touch it beneath the hood, if it fails again I wll take it elsewhere. Also, That stuff that is proven to make you pass or your money back....its an addtive, would that help at all? Thanks guys.


And yes, I took it to Chevron, they are also a service station as well.

 

"Guaranteed to Pass" - basically a detergent. I've only used it once - I didn't pass because the cat had self-destructed over time (that vehicle had an engine go bad that spewed oil into the exhaust - that lit up and burnt in the cat, burning out all the guts of the cat). The GTP stuff smelled just like the AMSOIL gas additive that I always use, anyway, so I'm sure it didn't do me any good regardless. I never did try to get my money back.

 

I went to buy the GTP and once up to the counter the salesperson right away said it doesnt work. I questioned him, and he was actually and inspector for the government. We were talking and I brought in my failure slip and he looked it over and another guy came in and saw us and joined in becuase he was a inspector as well. They told me what all could be wrong for the dif categories and they ended up saying I was real rich. We were talking and what came up was.....I posted a thread in here not to long ago about my car not starting and I changed a fuel pump, timing chain, injectors, injector pod, and so on. Well, when I replaced the injectors I went from 60 down to a 55. They were saying that my computer was still going by the 60lb. and say it wasnt getting enough gas so its just dumping fuel in and its not getting burned fast enough and going right out the exhaust and making me run real rich. They said to put my previous injectors back on and run some sea foam and open the car up on the interstate and get it real hot and then take it in and they said it should pass. So, those are my plans for tomarrow.


Also, since I took it to chevron, my car wont start all the time. It wont crank a couple key turns and they it will turn over on like the 3rd key turn. What could that be, could it be somthing dealing with the timing?

 

check the battery and go somewhere else! Maybe a Napa AAA-rated shop?

 

That shop IS actually a NAPA shop.

I just woke up and went out and took the TB injector pod off with the 55 lb. injectors and swapped it back to my original pod with the 60 lb. injectors. I think I will go today and get some Sea Foam or sumthing and fill her up and run her hard and then fill up again and take it down the interstate hard and then take it in.

Anyone know of somthing better than Sea Foam?

 

I think you're over thinking this a tad.. it was missing on a cylinder and you failed for hc's.. just put the wire back on and take it back. Watch them the whole time.

 

Well, I also heard that the tester might actually take it off to hook up their machine or sumthing, does anyone know about it? But ya, I will take her in after I run my tank out.

And, here is the data I never posted, my actual test.

15 MPH 25 MPH
HC ppm/ limit-48, reading-55 FAIL limit-53, reading-1076 FAIL
CO%/ limit-0.19, reading-0.01 PASS limit-0.28, reading-1.88 FAIL
NO ppm limit-632, reading-1182 FAIL limit-614, reading-89 PASS

 

they have to pull a spark plug wire to do an emissions test? that just doesn't make any sense.. all pulling a plug wire off can do is cause a misfire and make it fail..

 

i don't know about their machine, but none of the machines here in Texas require a plug wire to be removed.
they use a clamp-on connector for RPM reference. its possible the wire was loose & when they pulled the clamp off the plug wire came off.
seeing your readings, i believe you do have some problems, but with a loose wire on the side the O2 sensor is on, there is no way of knowing until you have it retested.
check it for codes & if you can, look at the data readings for any problems.

 

If you are still looking fuel /system cleaner other than Seafoam -- a can of B-12 Berryman followed by a fresh tank of fuel has worked great for me -

 

Ya, I figured the spark plug deal can't be right either. What is really pissing me off is that my car wont start the first time anymore. Like I said before, when I turn her over the first time it will just clunk, and then will turn over the second time. What could that be?

How would I go about checking for the codes. Do I just use the Jumper trick in our dignostic port? And will it show codes without having any lights come on?

 

if i remember correctly when you do the paperclip trick the SES light blinks right? its like 12 then the code then 12 to end the code? i dont know i just run a scan tool lol, as far as your emissions goes that spark plug thing seems kinda fishy, doesnt seem like they would pull a plug to make you fail, and from what i read you failed on carbon dioxide and oxides of nitrogen right? As far as the carbon i couldnt tell you but the OxN i failed misserably on mine, i tried everything from GTP to seafoam and couldnt get it, the problem was my intake was clogged up and after it was cleaned it passed with flying colors. Before you jump to the injector theory and waste your time id suggest following the easier routes until that becomes your only choice, the worst you can do is eliminate any future problems

 

Now that I think about it, they sometimes pulled a plug wire to hook up their tester to get the engine RPM. Really old machines only.

Last time I had a non-dyno inspection done here, they put a magnetic pick-up on the hood.

 

Suck a pint of seafoam through your PCV valve by "sipping" it out of a basin. Like a rubbermade dish I use. When the seafoam is almost gone drown the pcv valve to kill the engine. Wait 15 minutes. Start the car and drive it until it stops smoking. This should work. I've heard of it working a hundred times. Here in ohio we dont' have to worry about it. Even if it doesn't work, I guarantee your car will run better. You can also try a little red bottle of stuff called RXP - I use it in every tank, it's great stuff.

 

Hey guys, thanks for all the input, but we got a problem.

It passed today.

My starter isn't 100% in working order, I have to get under the car sumtimes to make the teeth go becuase I don't have it shimmed rite...so I went today to get it tested because it is the last day of my free 14 days and the guy wouldn't do it because my starter wasnt working. So I took it to the place that passed and fixed my car when I first bought it and they knew what they did last time pass it so they had an idea of it failed, but it passed. They just had to pump up the EGR and unclog it. They also retarted it a little like last time and she passed.

The guy there is a buddy of mine so he is also going to shim the starter right for me, and that fixes that starter problem....."the engine clunk" as in another thread of mine.