Originally posted by GeoPappas:
Originally posted by hetfield:
Might it be possible that NY is different from WI? Or is emissions more federal?



I believe so. I have heard that PA doesn't even do emissions inspections yet.




The metro areas of Philadelphia and Pittsburg do chassis dyno emissions tests (at 10 MPH). I'm due in April (and passed on the 3L last April with flying colors). The Duratec is a VERY clean running engine and can pass in a less-than-perfect state of tune (and even missing cat(s)).

Cars are built to conform to federal emissions standards, both OBD-II monitoring and actual tailpipe emissions as measured on pre-production cars submitted to the federal government before production is started and through statistical tailpipe monitoring of production vehicles.

Now, monitoring cars after they get into consumers' hands is the job of the states. The EPA either can require or strongly recommend (not really sure which, but both are essentially the same) that specific areas/states perform emissions testing.

Each state can determine what type of testing to do to satisfy the EPA (and this gets to the heart of the topic starter's problem), with many opting to do so-called OBD-II Emissions testing. Basically, they scan your computer to see if there are any Pending Trouble Codes, Diagnostic Trouble Codes (CELs), and if all of the on-board monitors have run and passed.

The way it's going to work (eventually) in PA is that any 1996+ car gets the scan. If any of the following three occur, you go on the chassis dyno (i.e. you failed the OBD-II part): a PTC, a DTC, or any of the monitors do not indicate completion and passing. The reason for the monitor check is to prevent people (like us) from unplugging the battery just before going to the test center. Do that, and the monitors will be incomplete.

However, each state does it differently and certifies their inspectors differently. So it is posible that yokels in WI can get certified but knuckleheads in NY can't.

OK, so here's my advice for the topic starter: DO NOT CLEAR YOUR PCM BY PULLING THE BATTERY CABLE. Doing that will prevent you from ever knowing if your leg was pulled. Take the car to Autozone and get the codes scanned. Make sure the monkey with the scanner knows how to look for PENDING CODES. If nothing shows up (and DTC P0430 does set a CEL, but PTC P0430 does not), you were rooked. If something does, and your state has no fallback for failing the OBD-II test (like running some sort of sniffer test), then clear the battery and go back in a few weeks. The monitor that sets P0430 is the last to run and could take quite a while. If you still fail for P0430, and you are still under the Federal Emissions warranty (8/80 IIRC), make a trip to the Ford dealer.