 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Maintenance and Repair / February 2005'96 Ford Probe won't smog due to lack of engine codes...
hi folks, i have a 1996 2.0 liter 4 cylinder Ford Probe that will not pass California smog because the computer is not storing any codes. it passes the actual emissions tests with flying colors, the problem is that the smog tech needs to see that the computer has gone through a complete "drive cycle", otherwise it automatically fails the overall test. about a month ago i had the air density sensor replaced and at that point the computer was reset. the mechanic told me i needed to drive for about 100 miles, at various speeds (around town and freeway) and that should acccomplish the "drive cycle" and allow me to smog it. well over a month later and about 700 miles it still won't smog due to a lack of engine codes. the smog tech said it didn't have one single code on the computer. i have taken it to the Ford dealer repair shop (yeah i am going to get gouged), and they seem to be stumped as well. anybody ever heard of something like this or offer any advice? i really like the car, and it runs superb, but that isn't helping with the smog and registration. should i take it to a Mazda shop instead (the engine and chassis are actually Mazda)? any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. >hi folks, > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] >i have taken it to the Ford dealer repair shop (yeah i am going to get >gouged), and they seem to be stumped as well. I think if you have less 70k miles the emission control system is under warrenty per federal law. Plus, considering it's the People's Republic of California it must be the big bad company's fault, so it might have a longer enforced warrenty period. Check with a consumer protection agency. >anybody ever heard of something like this or offer any advice? i really >like the car, and it runs superb, but that isn't helping with the smog >and registration. > >should i take it to a Mazda shop instead (the engine and chassis are >actually Mazda)? any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. hth, tom @ www.CarFleaMarket.com thanks for the suggestion. 1 week and $260 later my car passed the smog inspection. the folks at the dealer had to call the Ford engineer's to get it figured out. they never really gave me a straight answer about what the problem was...something about an "obscure computer reset failure". hmmmm.... > I think if you have less 70k miles the emission control system is > under warrenty per federal law. Plus, considering it's the People's > Republic of California it must be the big bad company's fault, so it > might have a longer enforced warrenty period. > > Check with a consumer protection agency. >thanks for the suggestion. 1 week and $260 later my car passed the smog $260 is pretty cheap compared to some of the horror stories I heard from failed car owners. In NJ, it seemed like the state was making money from failing cars. >inspection. the folks at the dealer had to call the Ford engineer's to >get it figured out. they never really gave me a straight answer about [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >> >> Check with a consumer protection agency. later, tom @ www.CarFleaMarket.com > >thanks for the suggestion. 1 week and $260 later my car passed the smog > > $260 is pretty cheap compared to some of the horror stories I heard > from failed car owners. In NJ, it seemed like the state was making > money from failing cars. When I was interning as an investigative reporter for the NBC-TV news affiliate in Denver, we ran a story about a lady who was the original owner of her 1981 Cadillac. It passed the tailpipe test with lots of room to spare, but was denied an emission sticker because the "Check Engine" light didn't come on when the ignition was first turned to "on". That was because the car had no such light, and never had. She produced ample documentation from the factory service manual clearly demonstrating there was no such light on the car, and even a letter from GM's regulatory compliance department stating the same. But Envirotest's infallible database claimed the car had such a light, so the state wouldn't budge. In the end, she wound up having to spend several hundred dollars to have a Cadillac dealership disassemble the dashboard and physically prove the nonexistence of any "check engine" light or space for such a light, under the supervision of a Colorado state agent. All in order to get a smog sticker for the low-original-miles, one-owner car that passed the tailpipe test with room to spare. DS I can't believe we don't have emissions testing in my county yet. When I get behind a gross polluter, I wish we had it. There are lots of people around here that will inspect a vehicle without INSPECTING it. Roger >> >thanks for the suggestion. 1 week and $260 later my car passed the smog >> [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > DS >> >thanks for the suggestion. 1 week and $260 later my car passed the smog >> [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > >DS State running laws like this is a conflict of interest. Cars of some of the biggest purchase a person makes, so they are some of the biggest revenue generators for sales tax. Therefore, if you force people to get rid of older cars faster, you have to buy more newer ones faster. Hmmmmmm...... sounds like a problem. Now if a slick set of lawyers were interested in getting some money, this could be a nice lawsuit. Just thinking....... later, tom @ www.MedicalJobList.com Hello putt, It is possible your vehicle has an earlier model of the OBD II Engine Control System. These computer systems were not designed to work with the new California State mandated smog machine systems. There are simply two solutions to this problem. First you may see the vehicle's dealer/manufacturer and explain your problem. They may be able to re-program your engine computer to function with the new smog equipment. Your second option is to have your vehicle inspected by the State Referee's Office. They may bypass the smog equipments OBDII connection system and PASS your vehicle. You may reach the Referee's Office at (800)622-7733. I hope this information is helpful to you. If there is anything I can help with in the future, don't hesitate to e-mail. For more information you may want to locate a reputable smog service center in your area by simply typing in your zip code in the Smog Shop Locator search section at www.smogtips.com Sincerely, Alec - SmogTips Support www.smogtips.com Humor of the Week - Presented by Harry from Glendale,CA A husband and wife find an ostrich and decide to keep her. Their walking her down the street one day when a neighbor notices them and stops to ask what their doing. The husband explain to the neighbor that they found this ostrich and they are taking it on a walk. The neighbor tells them that they should take the ostrich to the zoo. The husband and wife think about it and continue to walk down the street. One week later this same neighbor runs into this husband and wife at the movie theaters, again with the ostrich. Surprised,he runs up to them to ask them what in the world they're thinking and why they haven't taken the ostrich to the zoo yet. The husband answers "we took her to the zoo yesterday. Today we thought we'd take her to the movies." A Ford Probe that still runs? Man call up guiness. Those things are frikin money pits. Had a 92 that went through 5 sets of front axles. The back rear quarter window broke, $1400. Sell it, Burn it, Kill it.... |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.