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Nj emissions failure due to OBC not ready or reset

38K views 90 replies 14 participants last post by  jfoj 
#1 ·
Hello all please help me with this very annoying problem. I recently replaced the secondary emmisions pump and relay (for good measure) which was faulty on my e46 03 325i....I reset codes about two weeks ago and CES light has not come back on since...I went for inspection today and the guy at dmv failed me for computer not ready for diagnostics or failed reset.....is there a certain amount of mileage or run time that needs to be reached or is there a way to ready the computer manually so I can pass inspection?
 
#2 ·
The car has to be run through a series of differing drive cycles to set readiness monitors (there's a pdf around here somewhere outlining it exactly). That said, any OBDII software can read the monitors for you and tell you what isn't ready yet (and when it is). Obviously don't reset the OBDII during this time, or you have to start over.

Luke
 
#3 ·
Yeah sometimes those monitors can be a pain. I had that problem with my 328i a few years ago. The check engine light either burnt out or the previous owner found a way to turn it off. It never came on the whole time I had the car. Any way the guy where I had my car inspected would reset the monitors and I would drive around for a few hours at different speeds. Sometimes it would work after
driving around for 2 hours and other times I would come back the next day. This is/was in NY. I didn't have the OBDII at that time.
 
#4 ·
You made repairs and reset the codes, now you must complete a succession of qualified drive cycles, which is not the same as trips. You can complete a tyrip that is not a qualified drive cycle, and therefore the monitors will not come to ready.

When the computer is reset, there are 10 or 11 systems that the emissions control monitors, some reset easily -- quickly -- others take longer. You should be able to have 1 or 2 monitors that are not completed, and still be allowed to test for smog -- this is different by state, but California allows 2 monitors to be running.

The idea is that the monitors check various components within each of the sub-systems they are responsible for, and the smog police do not want you to clear the light in the parking lot and then walk inside and make an appointment to have the emissions tested.

Do a Google search on OBDII DRIVE CYCLE to learn more.
 
#6 · (Edited)
As I recall I think there are about 8 Emission Readiness Monitors for these E46 that have to cleared.

These are the ones I recall for the E46, I may have left one/some out?? They vary slight from car to car and DME/ECU platform.

Misfire
Fuel System
Components
SAP
O2 Sensor
O2 Sensor Heater
Catalytic Converter
EVAP

Believe what you want about drive cycle info and so forth, but I will tell you from experience a "good" car should be able to clear all the Readiness Monitors usually after 2 cold start drive cycles that would include about 10-15 miles of steady highway driving with the fuel level between 1/2 and 3/4 tank. Do not worry about trying to follow some specific drive cycle pattern. The monitors should ready/clear in a few days that include about 10-20 miles of highway driving.

If you cannot get all the Readiness Monitors ready/cleared in a short period of time, there is likely a problem.

What we need to see is EXACTLY what readiness monitors have not cleared.

SAP will almost always clear on the first cold start as long as it is not too cold outside.

EVAP seems to be one of the hardest/finicky monitors to turn to ready/clear.

O2 sensors are important for any of the Readiness Monitors to ready/clear.

If you have lazy O2 sensors it will delay the entire Readiness Monitor ability to ready/clear.

See this as one example, but do not rush out to buy O2 sensors at this point, we need to see your data - http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?p=16203241
 
#7 · (Edited)
Of the monitors that jfoj listed, the CAT and the EVAP take the longest to clear.

You do not need to do a specific drive cycle, you have to do a drive cycle that is a minimum of several events. It can be longer, but it cannot be shorter. If you start the car and go two blocks for gas, then you have to restart the cycle because the cycle begins on Cold Engine Start. When you stop for gas, you do not complete the cycle, and the next engine start is not from cold so that cycle does not count.
 
#8 ·
thank you all for your suggestions and feedback. After i cleared the check engine light the car sat for a few days without much driving for more than a few miles at a time. It is very likely that i just need to start it cold and just drive down the highway for a while until everything gets going. I had new 02 sensors put in a few years ago and i have not had any codes for them since my last check engine light. I did have misfire codes prior to my tuneup which was about 2 months ago. since then the only code that came back was the secondary air system.
 
#9 ·
You need to get an OBDII scan tool that supports Emission Readiness Monitors and find out which monitor(s) are not clearing as this is important to understand what is going on.

If you had recent code for SAP, this tells me there is something wrong with the SAP system, most likely a vacuum line or a hose is bad.

But the car needs to be driven for 2-4 days and include 10-20 miles of steady highway cruising. Keep the engine RPM under 3500.
 
#10 ·
All vacum lines look good, valve is functioning properly, i replaced relay and pump which seems to have the SAP system functioning properly. the other pumped smelled like burnt toast so it may have been running constantly and was the reason for failing. The car has 134k miles and is a SULEV. My goal is to get it to pass inspection and trade it for another one before the SULEV tank/pump go on me.....
 
#13 ·
so i have been reading around and thought today i would go out and give the car a good drive. So i started the car and let it warm up. the fuel was about 3/4 tank when i left. drove 18 miles at about 55-60 mph without going over 3500rpm at any point. i got off the highway and refueled the car to full and let the car idle for another five minutes. then i drove another 18 miles back home. while on the highway i ran the AC for 10 minutes straight on high (not fun its cold out here lately lol) and shut off then ran heat on high for another 10 minutes. i decelerated slowly both trips and when i got home i idled in the driveway for 5 minutes before shutting off. checked again and still same 2 unready are present :-(.......so i opened the head and check all SAP lines and and valve lines. checked all fuses. even checked charcoal canister for any visible abnormailites and nothing jumps out at me......I'm perplexed!
 
#14 ·
FOR THE RECORD
You can set the heat to 80 and still have the AC on. Just so you know.

You should have the evap and the cat as not ready. These take the longest to reset. You should be able to test with these two still running. It is not alarming that you have two monitors that have not come to ready. Without one or both of these systems setting a code, there's really (that's R-E-A-L-L-Y) nothing you can do except obsess.
 
#15 ·
It's odd that the components monitor is not complete, are you sure this is one of the running monitors? You should have the CAT and the EVAP monitors running, the others should be complete.

But, as I said earlier, without a code or two to work with you really don't know what to do and anything you do do is a guess.
 
#16 ·
lol now i know for next time lol i am awaiting an OBD diagnostic tool so i can see deeper into the cause all i have now is a OBD 2 pocket scanner that gives me bare minimum. The car runs great to be honest with you just hope these are ready soon cause NJ is a pain in the arse with inspection. one thing i noticed that was weird was the guy who conducted the test was really reving the engine during the test which i have never seen before.
 
#17 ·
Go online -- eBay is an option, Amazon is another -- and search for an ELM 327 module. This is a device that can be found in wifi or bluetooth versions that plugs into your OBD II data port and sends vehicle information to your android or apple device. You can get one for about $20, maybe $30. Then go to the app store and get an app that turns the OBD II data into a graphical display. One choice is Torque Lite for free, and another is Torque Pro for $4.95. You are in for less than $40 for a scan tool that is so much more than a scan tool.

Do not waste brain juice on what the smog technicians do, they do it all of the time. They are not your burger flipper at McD's, they must take classes and tests to be certified to piss you off by racing the engine when you see no reason to do so.

NJ cannot possibly be worse to deal with for your smog equipment than the Peoples Republic of Kalifornia. We have the worst smog nazis in the known universe, and the Rule Makers realize that a monitor or two might be running when a car shows up for the inspection. I suggest you call the local smog station and ask them if you can test with two monitors running. Don't tell them that you reset the computer two hours ago, or two weeks. Just tell them that you made a repair and reset the computer, and now there are still two monitors that are running. You are allowed to make repairs, which is why they want the monitors to be completed before you get there. They don't want people to show up with a scan tool and click the reset button, then walk inside and make an appointment to be tested.
 
#19 ·
That makes a difference. I'm not sure how much, but the SULEV has a longer emissions system warranty than the rest of us enjoy. I don't think (but do not know) that the scan tool is any different, so you can still get the module on eBay and the app from the Play Store.

Sophisticated might be a stretch, but it is certainly more complicated. I believe that the evaporative emissions -- fumes -- control system is more robust, and more costly to service. You would do well to look into the emissions warranty, I think you can get stuff fixed for free under the warranty.
 
#21 ·
The first thing to do is make a phone call to the smog test station and ask them how many monitors can still be running. They should allow 1, and maybe 2, to be running because it can take many trips to clear the last monitor or two.

The first time you went in and the car failed, it could easily have been because you had more than two monitors that were still running. It would be nice if the guy said, you cannot test today because you have too many monitors that are not ready, come back when there are two or less. But these guys live in a world where they know this stuff and they assume either that everybody knows it or everybody knows nothing and there is no point in telling you these details. So, they say that you cannot test and leave it at that.

So, before you sweat the small stuff, call and ask about readiness monitors, and how many can be not ready and still submit the car for testing.

For a monitor to reach ready, a drive cycle -- not just a trip -- must be completed AND the respective sensors in the system being monitored have to respond correctly. If you have a soft sensor, then it will not always respond as expected, and the monitor will restart. This means that it can take a long time for the car to throw a code that explains why the monitor is not coming to ready. Without a code, you do not know what to fix in any of the several systems that is not coming to ready
 
#22 ·
I said, "a drive cycle." It can take multiple drive cycles for some monitors. For a drive cycle to take place, there has to be a cold engine start followed by several different kinds of driving events. If the events do not take place before the engine is turned off, then no other trip will be a drive cycle until you get back to a cold engine start. If you start your car and drive three blocks to Starbucks and park, then your drive cycle is interrupted and none of the trips will be a drive cycle because you do not have a cold engine start again that day, unless you wait several hours for the engine to be cold again.

So, depending on what you do and which monitor is not ready, you can be interrupting the drive cycle and/or you can have a soft sensor that is operating slowly. There is no way to know from here. You can do a search for OBD II DRIVE CYCLE and read about what it takes.

I have an F150, and the CAT monitor takes forever to complete, and then I get a code, P0420 & P0430. I did a smog test with the monitor running, and on the HC part of the test, the max allowed is 47, and that's what I got. So, what I know is that my CATs are not working well because the readiness monitor takes forever to complete, and when it does it reports a code that means the CATs are not working and when I tested at the smog station the exhaust analyzer put me at the maximum allowable level.

The point is, as I do the qualified drive cycles, I also do several unqualified ones so I have to start over, and I also have sensors reporting marginal correct readings, which means that they are also reporting incorrect readings and this delays the monitor coming to ready. It can take me several weeks after clearing codes for the CAT monitor to come to ready because it takes more than one drive cycle and I keep interrupting them and I have a borderline fault condition that crosses back and forth over the border. All of this adds up to make it take several weeks for the monitor to come to ready. I did a smog test with 1 or 2 monitors running.
 
#23 ·
ok so when I start my drive cycles should I wait for the car to go into closed loop mode? Should I let the car heat up? Also, the gentleman at the smog station whom barely looked me in the eye proclaimed that I failed due to having more than one unready monitor. He then stated that my car needed repairs which was weird because there was no check engine light. I am going on about 3 weeks and roughly 500 miles now with no check engine light which I wish would happen because then I would have a direction to go in. I think I may take it a private facility and see what they say. They are usually more lenient and will give you more answers. I do notice irregular RPM's when accelerating. The RPM gauge kinda jumps around between 30-45 mphs until it reaches the next gear then stays constant. maybe this is a root of cause.
 
#24 ·
Stop obsessing on this. There is nothing you can do but wait for the monitors to complete, at which time the check engine light will come on if there is a fault, or not come on if there is no fault. Read what a drive cycle is, and do it. If you are one that takes short trips, then you will go for a very long time before you do a full drive cycle, and if there are multiple drive cycles needed then just wait. This is why they allow a monitor or two to still be running.

I told you of my F150, it takes 6 or 8 weeks for the CAT monitor to finish. It takes so long that I forget how long. Just let the system run its course. Just because its been 500 miles doesn't matter, and it also does not mean that you are in for bad news.

Your Check Engine light is required to come on before Engine Start, if it does not come on, this is reason to fail the test. It also might explain why you have gone 500 miles and no light on.

Play with your Torque Pro app.
 
#26 ·
What 2 monitors are not Passed/Cleared/Ready??

Does the car have any "Pending" codes.

I looked briefly at the NJ Inspection site and I could not find anything solid about the number of Readiness Monitors that are not Passed/Cleared/Ready.

Many states allow for up to 2 depending on the model year of the car.

If you still have 2 Readiness Monitors not Passed/Cleared/Ready after 500 miles and a week, something is not working properly on the car. Maybe not to the level that something has failed and will trigger a code, but something is not working properly.

Evap not Passed/Cleared/Ready could be due to lazy O2 sensors or a problem with fuel tank getting pressurized. Depends on how the car monitors the Evap system. Could have a cracked hose or even a questionable gas cap as well??

As mentioned, find out from someone that knows what they are talking about how many Readiness Monitors can not be Passed/Cleared/Ready for your model year car. Also you usually cannot have any Pending codes either for the final Emission Test.
 
#28 ·
All E46 could benefit from fresh O2 sensors at this point. O2 sensors are consumable parts that operate in a very harsh environment. Pre-cat O2 sensors are much more important.

If you have an early 2003, you could graph the O2 sensors from a cold start and figure out how active they are.

Forget the SeaFoam for the O2 sensors, not likely to help.

Being able to monitor the Fuel Trims at this point may be more useful before you do anything else.
 
#29 ·
so i played with the toque app for a bit and looked at o2 sensor function and the screenshots below is what came up. Can you make any sense of this? I would think there is a bad sensor cause i havent changed any recently and the last time i have one changed was 6 years ago and i dont remember which one it was.
 

Attachments

#30 ·
I am a NYS safety/emission inspector. I have the m56 and had components & evap not ready.
I completed the drive cycles many time but didnt get ready. Then i just did the regular spirited driving and it got ready. So my suggestion is to drive the way you usually drive(no highway) and it should get ready. To get the evap monitor ready, it is very hard to get it ready in winter.

Sent from BimmerApp mobile app
 
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