XJJeeper79

Hey guys I have a stupid emissions question for ya. I recently had some problems with some of the electrical in my XJ. I had to disconnect the battery, (but only after I zapped my finger pretty good, lol) and of course the following week my inspection was up. So I took it in to get an inspection but when they hooked it up to the computer I had two sensors that had not sent any data to the onboard computer yet. I was surprised because I had put on around 150 miles before taking it in, but they gave me a 10 day temp inspection. I have now put on around 200 more miles and will add another 150 tomorrow before I take it back to have them recheck it. Unfortunately, the garage I go to for things like inspections is in my home town, I use them cause I know and trust them and will sometimes cut me a break or let me slide if they can. Anyway, I am curious if the scan that they do at Autozone would tell me if my sensors have sent the info to the onboard so that I can get my sticker.
If it will help the two that came back are 1) monitor catalyst : not ready
2) monitor EVAP : not ready

I would be making a 300 mile round trip drive tomorrow if they aren't ready and don't want to do that if I don't have to. Any suggestions?

IJM

Yeah, it should tell you your readiness status as well as any codes you might have logged.

XJJeeper79

thanks, I appreciate the quick response. I called and asked Autozone but the person I spoke with seemed like they had no clue what I was talking about. Even though they work there, I trust your answer more. Thanks again.

dukie564

check this out:
http://repairpal.com/Drive-Cycle-Issues
http://www.aa1car.com/library/obd_monitor_not_ready.htm


There are specific criteria that tells the sensors when to cycle the tests. Based on what I have read make sure you do these things:

1) For the EVAP monitor - fuel tank between 1/4 and 3/4 full, gas cap tight and not leaking, let the vehicle sit for 8+ hours to start completely cold

2) For the catalyst monitor - The catalyst monitor will NOT run unless the Check Engine light is off, no fault codes are present, the fuel level is between 15 and 85 percent full, and the coolant temperature is above 70 degrees F. If these conditions have been met, the engine must have run at least 90 seconds, and the engine speed must be between 1,350 and 1,900 rpm. Idle vehicle for five minutes (to reach closed loop operation), the drive at a steady speed between 30 and 45 mph for two minutes. This test MAY NOT RUN until the EVAP monitor is "ready".

extrashaky

FYI if you run the Torque app ($5) with an OBDII Bluetooth Adapter ($10-$25), it has an emissions readiness page for monitoring when the tests have run. You probably don't have time to order an adapter now. But if you're gonna live in a nanny state, it's a good thing to have on hand for the next inspection.

XJJeeper79

Just an update, I took it in to autozone and had them scan it. All sensors came back ready and no codes. I took my 150 mile drive this morning and had my inspection redone, and it failed. Lol just kidding, came back as ok and I got my stupid Nys inspection. So now I'm good for another year. Thanks again to everyone for all the info, I really appreciate it. And I love this forum, I've thought it for a long time that Jeep people are awesome but you guys never fail to impress me with your knowledge and willingness to help. I hope to pay it forward someday. Hope everyone is looking forward to bombin around in the snow!!! I am, and legally at that.

Bobolink

Just one more reason that I'm glad I don't live in the home of the NY SAFE Act.

otpracer

Bobolink. I live in NY and can't wait to get the hell out of here. Tennessee, here we come. Sorry. Rant over.

extrashaky

Registering a car in New York sucks. I bought an old hearse when I lived up there and had to register it as a "Cadillac Suburban." I had to sign an affadavit attesting that I had installed a rear seat in it to avoid having to register it as a commercial vehicle. I ended up at a Russian garage in Coney Island to get it past inspection.

extrashaky

I lived in Tennessee also. You realize TN also has inspections, right?

Fortunately it's relatively easy to register a car in TN, and the inspections are not as much of a scam as they are in NY. The first time I registered my XJ, it literally took me ten minutes to get in and out of the Davidson County tag office. I had put an hour on the meter and still had 50 minutes left. The inspections are done at drive-thru stations run by the state.

As nanny states go, TN is not so bad.

Firehawk068

One of the reasons why I left..................
I grew up in upstate NY, and there were alot of things that sucked about living there.
There are alot of things that I miss, but I'm glad I don't live there anymore.

sycoglitch

Not sure why everyone has issue with ny inspections. Neither myself nor anyone I know ever have issues ever. I've had CEL prior to inspections and once I fixed the issue and drove a lil, problem solved. And with ny, they were only concerned with CELs being present. In the later years, I worked around a shop and became friends with the owners and did a quick legal inspection there. When I moved to Jersey I thought y jeep would have an issue but passed and got a 2 year sticker

salad

Tips for the future for anyone living in a jurisdiction with OBD-II testing:

It is NOT hard unless your vehicle is screwed up in the first place. The key is that CEL must be off and full test data stored by the PCM. This is obviously dumped when the battery is yanked. Aside from certain conditions triggering certain tests, the easiest way to get the I/M Readiness monitors good to go is to drive the **** out of it. Nice long drives as well as a certain number of starts are required. Certain monitors are not ready until the vehicle has been through 20 (yes, twenty) warm-up cycles. This is why simply driving it for a long time doesn't work.

Autel makes very handy very cheap OBD-II scanners that work with our Jeeps. There's a builtin I/M Readiness check that will save you immense amounts of hassle. Nicer units also have live readout of good data... Handy way to test the TPS and temp sensors. Mine was $80 Canadian on sale, I'm sure you should be able to find a cheaper model with I/M Readiness function in the US for like $50

sycoglitch

Yup.

Plus there's alot of places in ny that as long as they can hook you up to the computer and pass the have no-CEL test, then they'll give you a sticker (unless you're really unsafe like bald bald tires)

extrashaky

This is what it looks like in Torque for even less money:



That's in my Subaru with a $17 Bluetooth adapter from Amazon and the $5 Torque app. I later upgraded to a $60 adapter with an auto-off function so that it wouldn't drain the battery if left in there for a few weeks in the garage, but the cheap adapters work fine if you make sure you read the reviews before buying. I have different profiles set up for the Subaru and the XJ. Plus it gives me gauges:



I have since removed the compass and added air/fuel ratio, timing advance and fuel remaining to that dashboard. And yes, that fuel pressure is correct, LOL.