...miserably. So right now I'm at...


Idle: HC: 703 CO: 0.9304
2500rpm HC: 596 CO: 2.1117

HC needs to be below 220ppm and CO needs to be below 1.0

And this is after I replaced: spark plugs, spark plug wires, cap, rotor, oil, O2 sensor, PCV valve, and I put the cat back on. Timing is at 6*, TPS voltage is spot on. Disconnected CSI. I even put a can of denatured alcohol in with a 1/4 tank of gas. Car was above normal operating temperature too. I'm out of ideas. Why would my car be running so incredibly rich?

BTW my tags expired at the end of august so time is of the essence.

 

Well do you have any other mods? Intake, cam, etc?

 

Would the gutted cat have anything to do with it?

 

Nope. All mods listed in sig, in other words, basically stock.

No. I stated in my original post that "I put the cat back on," a functioning cat that has about 3 weeks of total combined use on the car. It only goes on for emissions testing.

I guess I could retard the timing even further to 0* and run strait methanol or E85 and see where that puts me. However, I would like to actually fix my car as well.

 

Hello there are some articles on the internet, try tips for passing smog. I used a gas additive product that is free if you dont pass. >>>Todd

 

try vacuum testing the charcol canister, the solenoid and the check valve on the evap system. and vacuum test the solenoid on the egr system too. theres another checkvalve three way inline with the cruise control by the windsheld wiper motor. If the evap check valve or the solenoid on the charcol canister is stuck open, it could be purging gas fumes into the throttle body. and if theres a vacuum leak, it could cause richness too. IF your engine thinks its cold (coolant sensor) it will rich it out too. what was your gap on the plugs. .035" rite?

 

high hc can also mean running lean too.

 

I'll check my vacuum and see what I have. I did find 4 open sources of vacuum a couple of days ago that I capped off and I also replaced 2 collapsed lines. Plugs are gapped @.035. I know I'm running rich, check my dyno sheet in the sig.

 

I replaced my coolant temperature sensor and fixed numerous vacuum leaks and guess what? Still failed. Although I peered inside the intake by opening the throttle body and there is a thick layer of a gummy substance completely coating the entire intake, smells like fuel and oil. I guess I should seafoam my engine. I'll look into the charcoal canister and vacuum tests next but if it's not the injectors and pickup coil, then I'm truly stumped.

My new results are as follows:

483ppm 1.8252%
515ppm 2.2344%

 

do u have access to a scan tool. if so warm it up like you would when u go for ur sticker. and look at the block lear and integrator and come back and tell us what it is. in fact tell what what all ur readings are.

 

I've already scanned my car and there were no codes and I didn't find any reading out of the ordinary. What exactly is the block lear and integrator?

 

fuel trim it tell u exactly how rich or lean your car is running. 128 is ideal plus or minus 10 that is acceptable. I believe low numbers are rich and high ones are lean.

 

do like i did for one of my cars, i took my 2008 ford focus which had 2000 miles on it, used a hair dryer to peel off the stickers and then put them on the car that failed. and then just got the focus inspected.

 

check to see if your egr solenoid is woking properly if applicable.

 

I picked up a fuel pressure tester today and did the dead head test. It read about 20PSI when the pump primed, never bled off after keying off. When running it read about 36-38PSI. While the engine was running, I started unplugging sensors. When I unplugged the IAC nothing happened. So I picked up a new one. Adjusted it to spec. I started my engine and it idled at 1600RPM. So I then adjusted my Minimum Air to 400RPM while the IAC was disconnected. I plugged it back in, then attempted to adjust my TPS. What had both Derek and I baffled was that the voltage continuously jumped around from say 0.36V to 4.85V and everywhere in between. We adjusted to 0.57V the best we could. It seemed to run fine and idled at around 600RPM once all this was done. I took the car for a test drive and it drove very well for the first half. halfway through the drive I noticed that the car would drive itself. I stuck it in neutral and it would idle at 1600RPM again. Once I got home, I checked all connections and checked the TPS while the engine was running. It never gave a steady reading. I shut off the car then restarted it, and it idled like normal at 600RPM.

I have no clue what was going on. I never changed anything during this whole "episode." Is my TPS bad? When I unplugged it while it was running, nothing happened. Should the voltage be jumping around like this?

 

When pump primed,pressure should be between 40...45psi.Engine running and vacuum line connected,pressure should be ~40 psi.Vacuum line disconnected->45 psi.And after you shut down engine,there should be pressure after several hours(if injectors or pump drain back valve doesn't leak)

 

This isn't cool at all. The TPS needs to be consistant and smooth. IMO, this could easily explain your rich condition.

 

I picked up and installed a new TPS today. I had no problems whatsoever setting it. The voltage didn't jump around like the old one. The car runs smooth and fine as far as I can tell. I'll test my car again on Tuesday.

So I hooked up the fuel pressure tester again today just to double check the reading with a completely cold engine. After rereading everything I've posted in here I seem to have left out a huge detail. I've been having a cold start issue for the past couple months. My car will not start on the first try in the morning, or the 3rd or 4th for that matter. It always seems to try and catch but will just sputter and the car won't start without giving it gas. I redid the dead head test and with a quick "on-off" of the key it only reads 20 PSI. when I leave it in the on position it slowly rises to 40 PSI by the time it's done priming. Does this sound like the Fuel Pump is going out? I've been noticing that it sound very weak lately. without resetting the tester I noticed that the pressure bled off to 24PSI in about a 5 minute span. Is this normal or does it sound like I have a leaky injector? With the engine running, the pressure read 38-40PSI so that eliminates a bad FPR to cause my rich condition.

 

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but I have one word for you to pass your emission test: methanol

When your car is almost empty of fuel, fill it up with 5L (a bit more then a gallon) of 91+ Octane, then add half a gallon or more of methanol, but not so much that it will have trouble running. Then go straight to the emission place, and after you pass, just fill it up with fuel.

I've passed my emission test with this mixture in the past, even when my normal numbers were much higher then yours.

Since then I have done some major cleanup, but nothing I do will make it pass with regular numbers, its ridiculous. So cheating is not only a successful option, it is the moral way to go.

Meanwhile my 1990 Cougar XR-7 Supercharged with 390,000km on it passes with numbers so low you can breathe the exhaust, lol. I don't get it.

 

Someone has mentioned that to me and I will use it as a last resort. However, there is something wrong with my car and I'd like to fix it rather than work around it. I can't do any tuning with the way that it's running right now.

 

Ah, you didn't mention your car is actually running badly. You see, my car ran beautifully, and even got above average fuel economy, when it was failing. Come to think of it, its been 2 years since my last emissions test, so who knows, I may have to use the methanol trick again, but meanwhile the car is still purring like a kitten.

 

If you look at my dyno sheet in the link in my sig, you can see exactly how extremely rich the engine is/was running. To me, that's not running well. Which is why I can't tune my car yet. You should never tune around a problem.

I tested again:

352ppm 0.1831%
368ppm 1.7063%

The best so far but this is getting extremely frustrating. I scanned the car today after I failed. There's a few things that have got me scratching my head. First off, my car has never shown any kind of trouble code, ever. Another thing I noticed is that the scanner was saying that 4th gear was "engaged"....while in PARK. Also, just about every time I connect a scanner to my car it starts running like crap, unplug the scanner, runs smooth, plug it back it, rough again. Any chance that my ECU might be taking a dive?

BTW my Block Learn was between 125-128
Idle Air Control was at 136

Would a leaky injector cause a rich condition when running and warmed up or would it just affect start up?

 

IAC steps seems high.Are you set your minimium air,and is IAC working correctly?

 

Can you smell gas by the chacol cannister?

 

I don't smell any fuel from the charcoal canister but I did replace the filter. Sometime this week I'll get a vacuum tester and test the whole evap system.

I adjusted the IAC to 1 1/8" before installing it then set the minimum air according to the steps in the Haynes manual, then set the TPS. I'll recheck them though. Now the engine returns to idle after a rev real fast then nearly dies and surges two or three times before leveling off. A couple times now, when I rev the engine it wouldn't return to the normal idle either. It would return to 1600 RPM and would stay their until I restarted the engine.

 

i hope you figure it out dude

 

what testing station did you go to i went several times to the cornelius pass rd. location in one of my other cars and didn't pass untill i drove clear over to portland you need to drive across town to get the cat hot enough to burn off the pollutants
also i passed because you no longer need things like egr or air because oregon does not dyno test any more but i would leave them on in case they decide to inspect
just disconnect them or plug them off this according to a mechanic

 

Well I finished replacing to injectors a couple days ago. I replaced them due to the poor fuel pressure readings that I had done. One I had them out I noticed that they were actually physically damaged. Two of them had cracked tips and one actually had a chunk of the tip missing. I replaced them with 24lb injectors off of my LT1. It took about 10 minutes of cranking before I decided to spray some starter fluid into the intake and it fired right up. So unfortunately I still have the same cold start problem. Now I've been noticing for quite awhile now that my fuel pump is sounding very weak, like a dying R/C car instead the strong hum that it once had. Is there any chance that a dying or weak fuel pump can cause this problem yet still be able to function once the engine is running? I'm starting to feel like I'm just chasing my tail here.

 

 

I always run the car for 20 minutes on the highway b4 test. they turn off your car b4 the test. STOP them from doing that. thats a guarantee way to get more money for failed tests. the hot starts screws up the formula mixture. they got this crap you pour in the gas, supposed to be guarantee smog pass your money back idk. i failed once, bad cat only on a truck. my car gots that new cat made after jan 2009. it meets the new epa code.

Also dude check the gasket on the throttle body, make sure it isnt upside down blocking the hole for the port to the vacuum to the egr solenoid, etc canister. youll see if you unbolt it.

un do the hose to from the smog pump to the air diverter, run the engine, and feel for air. i wouldn't run the engine longer than a minute when disconnected. did you check your vacuum rez, got a vacuum tester? check valves on the lines all holding?

to set the minimum idle: disconnect the tan wire and set the timing to base 6* BTDC. turn off engine, reconnect the tan wire, jump the a+b terminals on the diagnostic link and turn the key to on-Not start- and wait 30 seconds then unplug the iac connector and adjust the tps to .54volts and test the lever to be sure of no binding .-0, then turn the key to off, uplug the jumper on the a+b terminals. Start the car and have a trusty partner shift into drive while holding the brake.=- and set the minimum air idle to 400rpm in drive. after wards turn off the car and reconnect the iac connector. .

the 24lb injectors are for 350, do you still got a LB9? and also check the knock sensor. and check to see if the Manifold air temp sensor is connected as well. the metal air tube to the cat maybe. try spraying some brake cleaner around the intake ports, i think the engine will surge if theres a leak and it burns the alcohol i think .

I did a fuel pump flow test, i took a piece of garden hose and attached it the inlet hardline to fuel filter, it fitt snug. i test the flow by jumping the relay by attaching 12volt power from the batt with 5 foot like 14/16 gauge wire, attached the "G" terminal on the diagnostic link under the dash. I watched for flow.. If youre having fuel pump problems, test the relay, oil pressure switch.

You can have a hard time starting because a bad "pickup coil"(not to be confused with the heavy ignition coil). it would be randomly firing injectors, and sparks without the proper crankshaft/cylinder reference to the ECM. test the resistance 500-1500ohms, and should not test continuity meaning zero resistance. My pickup coil was bad having no start problems. i tested the coil in my long line of trouble shooting it tested good, however no luck for months, finally when minor rebuilding the dizzy and shimming the shaft to 0.008" i noticed the permanent magnet in the pickup coil was physically shattered in 6 pieces therefore creating a tiny universe of magnets repelling in a tight crowded area, a confused ecm..

If try blow through the pcv valve and shake it to hear the check valve inside working properly
-If you have a had problem starting you car after driving, it could be a ignition coil failing, when they start to go bad they will usually fail at a stop 8 minutes after driving, Or not allow the engine to start when normal hot after a trip in the store.

Im watching this dyno run on tv, they swapped in E3 plugs and got a 43% reduce NoX emmision at 3000 rpms. I dont know if thats right though.

 

Hey bro did you pass? I failed with mine the other day, 4.85 out of 2.5 almost twice the NoX emissions, 1.47 Hc needed to be under 1. I had tuned it up the day before, show no codes, running like a champ, im also at a loss...

 

check the egr. its supposed to help cool the cylinders from getting hot and producing nox. bad cat is second

 

Yeah im thinking those 2 myself, going to pull the egr off and do a visual, also running sea foam through the cat via the vaccum system...hoping that does it. Ill do the cat lastly...the most expensive part. Car has 150k on it, mostly highway miles, and runs great...but from time to time i can smell the raw fuel in the exhaust. I was under the impression that the computer controlled the fuel mixture, or is that adjustable?

 

you can do a tune up, fresh oil helps a lot. and set the timing, TB minuim air, adjust the tps, and the air/fuel mixture has to do with the tps and o2 sensor. a vacuum leak would do it, and the cat is only 30 bucks.

 

Remember the simple methanol trick. 1 litre methanol (indycar racing fuel) to 4 litres premium, on an empty tank, and you'll pass.

 

Where on earth can you find a cat for 30 bucks...every place ive called, its 90-120...

Ive already done a complete tune up BEFORE the failed test, bought an O2 sensor today, oil is fresh. Also replaced the smog pump a few weeks back, was making alot of noise. So in my opinion, its either the cat or the egr at this point...unless the O2 sensor does it..im gonna test again after just that and the sea foam, unless the EGR looks visibly bad. Thanks for the advice....

 

try testing your diverter. it switches the airflow to the exhaust manifolds, then the cat after the 02 sensor hits 600*f and signals the ecm to closed loop mode. if theres a broken wire, it wont open the diverter to mix air with the car.

 

http://www.rockauto.com/RSS/vehiclef...l=en&html=true

scroll down, check it outs it walker brand. and o2 sensor for 10 bucks, but i get bosch

*update, walker cats sold out

 

Try retarding the distributor and making the car run bad. I did this with my father in laws truck that smoked like a house on fire. I made it run barely. It stalled out twice getting it in. The workers there said no way it was going to pass. It passed. I went to a parking lot next to the station and reset distr. Drove away and was happy.

Maybe running good or too good is a bad thing.

I just bought a third gen that supposedly didn't pass. That is what I'm going to do. If I could get that truck to pass this car should be easy or easier.

 

Actually the problem wound up being the converter...i cut it off, and the guts were pretty much dust...replaced it and passed with flying colors the next day!! Now i have a new problem, which i believe to be the map sensor, so i wont get into it all.

Thanks for all the help guys!!