Does the o2 simulator just mask the SES light, or does it actually control airflow? I live in PA and just got the 0430 light. If the cat is bad, and I put on an O2 sim, I would still expect to fail emisions. Am I wrong? I would much rather spend the $30 bucks on an O2 sim if I can get by the emissions test.
Should I just spend the bucks on the other O2's that I havent replaced yet (see below)? Any help would be appreciate as I am up for inspection/emmisions next week.


00' SE
149K
Cali spec
replaced two other sensors (black and blue(P0139, P0139)) 6 months ago.

 

i guess you could say it masks the SES...cuz all it's doing is fooling the ECU to think the o2 is "still there" even if it's dead...and it doesn't control air flow...

i would say get the simulator and call it a day....but it also depends on your local smog laws...here in california, they do visual scan, ECU scan and tail sniffer testing...if you have a bad cat but no SES, you might not pass the test....

 

thanks for the input. In PA, they actually measure the CO coming out of the tailpipe. So I guess I am looking for a used Cat. Any ideas on how to get the old one out?

 

Some general info on O2 sims here: www.o2sim.com.

Your code is for a pre-cat (front bank, IIRC, its been a while). If your main cat is working fine, you will pass as long as the main cat is fully warmed up and functional by the time you get to the insepction station. The pre-cats are there mainly for when the car (and the main cat) is cold and not warmed up. Of course, you don't want to be driving around with a clogged pre-cat, so replace it with a working pre-cat, do a FED spec conversion, or just get aftermarket headers.

I also know someone in PA who passed emissions with no cats at all, of course, he found the most shady place possible. Post in your regional forums to see if people have thoughts on this.

 

SES light went out today. Not sure if it is the cat, or the sensor. Goiung to try to go through inspection/emmisions and see what happens.

 

Here in nc they just scan the computer... so that would work for me..hmm