? for OBD2 smog experts

[grouch]

Is there an owner affordable tool or tester which can tell us when all codes are ready?

The reason I ask is because I have several of my vehicles in NV and they have NV plates and need to be smog tested there. Sometimes, I only have a couple of days to get it done and I need to know exactly when it's ready for testing.

Murphy's law last week. I got a check engine light the very morning that I was driving the car down for a smog test. I cleared the code, fixed the problem and drove 20 miles, but that wasn't enough. I had to go back the next day.

Was a simple problem, code P0125 caused by a leaky radiator cap. Coolant was low. The P0125 means "insufficient coolant temperature for closed loop operation", which means the car is taking longer to warm up than expected.

-Don-

My code reader ran me about $250. It's about as deluxe as you can get without going to a dealer tool. Ask over at a parts store that sells them and see if they offer one that can run monitor testing. I got mine at Advance but I see the same one at AutoZone.

When I got out of auto repair in '84, only late model, high end European cars had computers. We don't have emission testing anywhere near me so I've never bothered with learning the ins and outs of it.

[DonTom]

I just found some good info on not ready here.

-Don-

[DonTom]

Look what I just found here!

I just ordered one, but from Amazon.


-Don-

[grouch]

I just found some good info on not ready here.

-Don-

Where is the legislation on this one? Nevada? California? A lot of the road laws refered to are quite different in Indiana, where I'm located. Here, if the plates aren't up to date, the car can't be driven. There is an exception for current plates onto another car you just bought if the one the plates are off of is no longer owned.

[DonTom]

Where is the legislation on this one? Nevada? California?

The link was for Wisconsin, but it sounds exactly like Washoe county, NV, where I keep several of my many vehicles (I one a home in Reno, NV and here in SSF, CA).

A lot of the road laws refered to are quite different in Indiana, where I'm located. Here, if the plates aren't up to date, the car can't be driven. There is an exception for current plates onto another car you just bought if the one the plates are off of is no longer owned.

Yes, many laws are different between CA & NV too. Especially smog tests. Here in CA, the smog testing is done live with the car under full load, using a treadmill. They check EVERYHING, OBD connector, tailpipe emissions, no modifications, etc on every vehicle. NV only checks the OBD2 tester, but on large vehicles, such as my RV, they check the emissions on the tailpipe too.

-Don- SSF, CA

[DonTom]

I received my Ready or Not unit. It does quite a bit more than I expected, as the unit is programmable to match whatever state's requirements. For an example, I can program it to sound a beep every 30 seconds when there are zero sensors "not ready" or up to four. IOW, you can drive with it connected after a MIL (Malfunction Indicator Lamp, or "check engine light" occurs and code is erased ) and then it will give a beep every 30 seconds when it's ready for a smog test. It can also be set to beep when a MIL to let you know right away when there is a problem.

I put it on several of my cars which were all ready. Just turn the ignition on with it connected to the OBD2 connector. I got a green "ready" as well as all six sensors showing green and a beep every 30 seconds.

So then I connected it to my RV, which got a MIL the last time it was driven. I put on about a 100 miles on it since then (same day), but it is NOT yet ready but that is only because it has not had a cold start since the MIL. Two sensors are not ready. The O2 sensor heater (which makes sense as the car has not been cold started since the MIL) and I also got a EVAP not ready. Can somebody here explain what might get the EVAP ready? IOW, would that need a cold start or a gas tank fill up or what, in order to self-test?

My RON unit shows my RV as the CAT, O2 sensor and EGR being ready and the "sec air" being N/A (light not lit at all, instead of green or red).

I assume the next time I start the RV and drive it to a full warm-up, all sensors will be ready. It does need to have a NV smog test within a few weeks.

The RV is here in SSF right now, so I will have to drive it to my Reno home soon. That should be more than enough to get all sensors ready, as there will be another cold start the next day.

My biggest fear is that I will get another MIL on the way to be tested.

Today, I checked the fuel pressure and got a reading of 46 psi. I also cleaned out the MAF sensor and checked for vacuum leaks and such. It had a code P0171 (bank 1 too lean). This code cannot be caused by a bad O2 sensor. This code gets set when the computer is at the end of its range trying to make it richer. A dirty MAF sensor, low fuel presure and vacuum leaks are common causes of such too lean codes.

Some place on the web I found where it mentioned the normal fuel pressure is 55-62 psi for the year 2000 Express Van 7.4L (which my Class C RV is made from ). Tomorrow, I will change the fuel filter.

-Don- SSF, CA