Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Branches California Failed Smog high HC's

I guess high HC's is the same as unburned fuel.

Ok i have gutted precats on mu 2.5. since the smog test failure, i've replaced

plugs and wires
both upper O2 sensors
fuel filter
did the UIM/LIM cleaning (it was reasonably clean though the seals didnt loo so good)
fuel additive

I found my PCV just floating so i pushed in and put a worm clamp on it.

I am gonna replace my main CAT.

the funny thing is that my plugs lookg good
the o2 sensors were kind of white.

does anyone have any ideas or suggestions of what else i could do?

and how many times can i fail before i go to the state referee?

waht happens if they were to see the MIL eliminators?

Crystian

Does the car have a check engine light as well?

The MIL eliminators will help with the light.

I believe you can only fail twice, then you're off to the referee station.

The main cat will help, your stock main cat isn't gutted, right?

Make sure the car gets nice and hot before taking it to the smog station, and rev it up before the strap it down, clear it out one last time before they test.

Don't forget about an air filter while you're at it.

yea dion is right u need the mil eliminators with out those sensors, youll get a check engine light and u wont pass smog. was the readyness test on the computer ok? was there less then 3 bad codes on the readiness test?i know this cause i went trough this after i gutted my cats and installed the mil elminators. i got a code scanner. oh and run your car for about 25 to 30 miles before you test it. and keep it running while you are waiting to be tested. hey dion hows kevin? tell him i say was up.

Yeah i still need a filter. while i was doing the UIM/LIM cleaning, i found the PCV floating, it wasnt pushed in to the lower elbow. i think this was the reason i failed i was getting umetered air, the o2 sensors picked up the extra oxygen and told the computer to pump more Fuel in because of the extra air. thus causing the HIGH HC's (unburned fuel)

but yeah i made MIL eliminators when i gutted the precats. also i did replace my main cat with a bigger one yesterday, just so that it can make up for the loss of the other cats being missing.

ohh and i never had a CEL so no worries there.

Also I dont know exactly how it works out here but I worked for an emission testing station in IL for 5 years and I know they have a law out here that if you spend some amount of $$$, I think its like $400, you can get a waiver which is just as good as a pass. Im saying it because it wasnt a process we exactly advertised back in IL. Definitley something I would look into though.

have any of the guys running gutted precats had any issues? passing enahanced smog? heres a link my post in troubleshooting

http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=trouble&Number=1032623&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=7&fpart=1

I know there have by people who have passed with gutted pre-cats and the stock cat. Maybe the cat you replaced is not up to par as your HC level increased.

Can you post the rest of the readings?

Was the cat hot when you had it tested? It really helps to drive it hard for 10 or 15 minutes just before taking it in for the test.

Ask the shop to do a pre-test. If it fails the pre-test you can take it home to finish sorting things out without having an "official" test that may trigger the referee.

Post the readings if you can so we can have a better look.

i had this on the trouble shooting section. unless you mean some other readings.

That is what I needed.

Your HC readings are only slightly high for an uncontrolled engine (no cat).

High HC (unburned fuel) can be from running too rich, but your CO readings are in line so that isn't likely.

It can also be from running too lean. This isn't likely since your oxygen readings are not high.

It can also be from too much ignition timing advance. This test doesn't have timing readings so I cannot tell. If you have done any tuning that has advanced the timing, this should be looked into.

What I most suspect though, is either that the cat wasn't hot enough or that the oxydizing elements of the cat are weak. Especially since the pre cats are gone, I suspect that you need either a new main cat or a more effecient main cat.

Several people have passed the tail pipe reading of the smog check with the pre cats not working, but not by much. When all the cats are working, the tailpipe is exceptionally clean, almost zero.

So I would say to confirm that you have not added ignition timing and then concentrate on getting the cat to be more effecient.