So my car just failed inspection and I have a question... It failed because the CAT and the o2 sensors where no ready to give a reading.

Now, I just replaced the Flex section on the Y pipe on Thursday. My question is., would the exhaust shop have reset anything that could cause this to not be ready today for inspection.

I have not driven it much since the Flex Pipe was replaced. Maybe 12 miles on Friday. A trip to the city on Saturday which = about 150 miles and 12 miles today.

If it's the reset, how long before the ECU puts it back to ready state.

 

Thoughts???

 

Was your car completely warmed up when they took the readings? If not, then that could be your problem. Then again, i'm just taking a guess.

Also, is your check engine light on?

 

I agree. Was the car completely warmed up before they hooked it up?

 

it took me less than 5 min to get there so maybe not. and no, no cel..

 

I taked to the guy when I was getting my emissions checked and told him that I just replaced the 02 sensor the day before and that the shop cleared the code. He said that usually it will result in failing the emissions test b/c it now reads if the ECU has been reset in a certain amount of time. This new procedure or test, stops people from resetting their ECU, clearing the code, driving to the emissions, passing, only to have the CEL come on after a few days of driving.

Sorry if that's not a a very good explanation, but if your ECU was reset or if the CEL was cleared, the reader probably saw that. It usually takes about 150 miles or more for that the ECU to show that it has not been reset recently. If you go back to the same place now and test you should be fine.

 

The cat and heated O2s not being warmed up theory seems to make sense to me.

But just as an FYI, if the ECU was reset, there is a self diagnosis that has to be completed before any emissions inspection can be done. There is a certain driving pattern and a number of drive cycles (its not many though, 1-3 IIRC) that have to be fulfilled before the system readiness test (SRT) indicates "complete" and the car ready for inspection. In some instances, your daily driving patterns may not be enough for the self diagnosis to be completed and the SRT will register incomplete (so your 162 mile drive probably wasn't enough, if the ECU was reset).

Typically if the state inspector sees a SRT "incomplete" or a DTC/CEL, you will fail.

 

Just spoke to the guy that did the Flex pipe and he did not touch anything that would have caused a reset.

So., the only other logical explanation is either:
A - not warmed up
B - bad post cat o2 sensor

It has not had the CEL on and I have driven it a good 400 miles since buying it. As far as the warm up, I drove it about 4-5 miles to the place where I did the inspection. Is that enough?

 

It depends on the drive, if its stop and go the car should have sufficient time to warm up. If it was a short drive, probably not. Look at the temperature guage. If the guage is around the middle of the entire guage, then your car is pretty much warmed up. You can also look at the tach to see if the car has warmed up. The car will automatically idle a little higher upon starting the car (when the engine is cold). The idle will be around 1400 rpms or so. This helps warm the engine up more quickly. Once the engine is warm, the tach will read around 650 at idle.

I'd say drive the car around for 10-15 minutes before taking it in for inspection to make sure that your car has definitely warmed up.

 

Just did a Maquest. I drove 2.5 miles from the train to the inspection place and had to stop at 2 lights. I think I did it like in 5 minutes.

Not enough I guess. I'm really hoping this is it. I have had the car for a little over a week and like I said have driven it at least 350-400 miles. If the engine code was reset prior to me buying it, it should have surfaced by now (no?). The only logical explanation is the warmed up thing.

I'll keep you guys posted.

 

yeah, you should complain to the inspection people. they're retards for not letting the car warm up before running the test. catalytic converters don't work until they reach operating temperature.

 

Sorry dude, you will NOT pass the emissions test with a Y-Pipe, no matter how warmed up, you are. Yes while it is true that if you disconnect the battery the car takes some 4-500 miles to do a complete self check, that is not the case here.

I did the same thing, had the cat not ready error, or whatever it was, I reset the night before, just to clear any potential codes. I have an AUTERRA, and cleared the memory with that. Did not pass.

Drove 500 miles, went back, cat not ready failed again. Found I had a bad O2 sensor, replaced, drove 500 miles, tested again, no cat ready yet. Put the stock pipe back in drove 300 miles, cat ready, passed emissions.

Put Y-PIPE back on, all O2 sensors working as per the auterra, and have driven 4K since then, guess what? cat STILL not ready.

You will not pass emissions test with a Y-Pipe. So put your stock pipe back on, drive 400 miles, you should do fine. and yes it sucks.

 

I don't have an aftermarket y-pipe... The only thing I replaced was the Flex part. They Y pipe was fine. Would that still be an issue?

 

Hey, just re-read your post, sounds like you bought the car with a Y-Pipe on, or did you put one on? If you bought it from a dealer and they sold it to you without emissions controls, they may be liable for the cost of the stock y-pipe. I believe it is illegal for a dealer to sell a car with "tampared" emissions, which is what you y-pipe technically is, after all it is for off-road use only. Not 100% sure, but you may want to check.

 

It's a stock y-pipe with a changed flex part. So all stock, except for the FLEX. I did not buy from a dealer, bought from a private party.

 

If you have access to an auterra scanner you can see what your status is. Search the net for Auterra, if you have a PDA you get the software and cable. At any rate, give it some 500 miles and try again. They had to take off the y-pipe to replace the flex section I assume. It is possible they ruined a sensor in doing so. It is tricky to get them unscrewed sometimes without damaging them, or if you drop one it could be toast as well. If the car is not throwing a SES light, you may just have to drive it a bit. I think it also has to do with the number of times you turn the engine on, with mileage.

 

thats what happend to me with an old toyota that i had one time . what i did was i diconected a hose that was goin to the intake manifold and when the guy ran it to the machine it passed with flying colors.

 

Tried again today... No light, No CEL, no nothing ... Just CAT and o2 not ready. I have officially given up though. I'm sure it will pass the next time I go.... GURANTEED...

 

Quit talking out your a$$, a lot of people here have passed emissions tests with an aftermarket y-pipe.

 

+1...just passed emissions a month ago with my aftermarket y-pipe.

 

Well., i have read about many people over at nycmaximas.org that have passed inspection with the Y pipe... I have no idea why mines is saying not ready., and since its not tripping my CEL... Then I will stop worrying about it and move forward... Thanks for everyones help.

 

make that 2....i just passed fine. It has nothing to do with the y-pipe, and everything to with whether or not your throwing a code.

 

AFAIK, you seem to be the only one with this problem.

 

What does NYC do for emissions test, are they a dyno test or OBDII hook up? Here in Illinois, they hook up to your OBD Port. If catalyst is not ready, you do not get to take the test, and you fail. Cat hot or stone cold, if the CPU does not say ready you fail.

I had no codes, and none pending, and all 02's working to spec as per FSM.
So I still stand by my assessment-take out y-pipe and precat = fail test. Put it back in = Pass test. Take out cat, not ready, =fail test. If it walks like a duck, sounds like a duck. must be a duck.

Also this is from an org memeber who was aiding me in diagnosing the problem, and a Nissan tech:

"I got the picture and it looks like the o2 sensor is in the spot it needs to be. Most likely you will need to wire up a SIM in order to get rid of your problem. As far as the CAT needing to be warmed up to pass- thats BS, it applies to PRE-96 cars only where they do a dyno test. The cat needs to be FULLY warmed up in order to pass the test. OBDII is diff, and they just scan the car to see if everything is cool, if everything is kosher, they pass you. Funny thing is I never had a P0420 code in my car- untill I got rid of my cats, and my coils where good- seems like I got one reliable Maxie."

 

It seems some do and some dont. I have a Cattman Y-Pipe along with a fast cat and complete cattback exhaust, along with an o2 sim. what are my chances of passing in California? Too much confusion here with the varied responses.

 

Thats not what I read on the .org! What I read was that if you have your car all warmed up, an AM y-pipe won't affect emitions even though it deletes one of the precats on the 00-01. Sorry!

 

Well., I think it's all relative. I have a Stock Y Pipe and cannot pass. NO CEL or anything. The only thing I have done is changed the Flex part of the Y pipe.

Computer says CAT Not Ready... I would take it to the dealer since it only has 50k miles and its well within the warranty period. But forget them. Just gonna have to get the inspection the old fashioned way.

 

INSPECTION PASSED...

It turned out to be one of the rear o2 sensors that was bad BUT not throwing a light. Oh well, it's done. Sensor replaced, inspection passed.