CA Smog Question

[jackoholic]

Hello All,

CA smog question...

I recently fixed some problems on my truck and had wipe the codes. Now I need to pass smog in order to renew my registration. According to my OBD scanner the condition check flags have not been set yet. I know that all you need to do to set them is driving around normally for about a week but I can't since the truck isn't registered. Is idling in the driveway enough to pass the checks? Or does the vehicle need to physically move/move through different engine speeds?

- Jack

 

[adsm08]

you gotta get it moving. Some of those monitors won't set until you drive it and it sees certain conditions.

I'd just drive it and if you get pulled over explain to the officer what happened and that you were trying to get the monitors to set so it would pass the test.

If you are really concerned about it and have the money you can take it down to your emissions shop and ask them to drive cycle and then test it.

Usually pays about .8 to drive cycle, so take your shop's labor rate and multiply that by .8 to figure out what it will cost you.

 

[HankG]

Can't you get a temp sticker so you can just drive it?

 

[kimcrwbr1]

In WA we can get a temp registration for emissions as far as I know if your engine is up to operating temp you can run the KOER test and about 15 minutes is all it takes to set the values the memory saves the faults if you have no faults the values are already set and will adapt as the normal wear on the sensors change so just take it for a beat at medium to high speeds then check for faults If you pass the test you should be good to go. Disconnecting the battery resets the hard faults and values and is required every time you change a sensor or it will run on old values and the memory will erase itself over time but is also a good idea to erase the memory at the same time so you are not getting invalid codes. older computers saved up to 20 warm up cycles but newer computers save up to 200 warm up cycles. Here in washington you get two days pass and the second test is free at emissions. If it runs real good and your getting good mileage smell the exhaust after it is good and warm I put my hand over the tailpipe and sniff my hand does it smell like catalist. GL

 

[jackoholic]

Thanks for the replies guys, good advice. The only temporary registration for CA that I'm aware of is one day passes which are meant to take the vehicle directly to the Smog station. I'm combing the DMV website for anything that might be longer than that but otherwise I'm gonna find a quiet back road and drive up and down it a few times.

 

[HankG]

You can definitely get longer temporary stickers. I don't know exactly what the rules are for getting one, but it's never been a hassle getting them. I'm not sure what the current duration is. My last vehicle I think it was a month, for the Ranger it was only two weeks. I don't think it cost anything, or at least nothing serious.

I just read through the DMV info on permits. It doesn't provide much precise information that would relate to your situation, but it does say they issue 30 day temporary permits based on the department's discretion. AFAIK, you just go into the DMV, ask for a temporary permit, and if all your fees are paid, they'll give you one.