Pamela G.

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
>>I've not heard of it locally, but I understand
>>they are being stolen in some places, rigt
>>from under your parked car. As for copper,
>>a nearby church had copper roof flashing
>>stolen during Good Friday services.

That's really pathetic! And as this economy continues to slide into the
toilet, these incidences are on the rise. If gas goes up too much higher
we all might have to put locking gas caps on our cars!!

Pamela G.

Partner wrote:

>>From the California Department of Consumer
>>Affairs web site :
>>NO (PPM): Oxides of nitrogen (more
>>commonly called NOx) are odorless gases
>>that help form smog, and give smog its
>>characteristic brown color. NO is produced
>>when temperatures in the combustion
>>chambers exceed 2500 degrees Fahrenheit.
>>Excessive engine temperatures could be
>>caused by a lean fuel mixture, by retarded
>>timing, by carbon buildup inside the
>>combustion chamber, or by a malfunctioning
>>engine cooling system. The function of the
>>EGR System is to reduce NO. Unhealthy
>>levels of NO emissions result in a vehicle
>>failing its Smog Check. NO is measured in
>>parts per million (PPM).

Thanks Partner....wow, it doesn't say that a worn out catalytic
converter could be the culprit.......Dang, I just wasted $95

Pamela G.

hyundaitech wrote:

>>Of course, I don't expect that you'll be able to
>>do any of this yourself. Any good emissions
>>diagnostic technician should already know
>>what high NOx readings mean and should
>>know to run the tests I've mentioned above. I
>>also don't advocate just going out and
>>replacing some of the parts. There's no
>>guarantee that will fix anything. If you want to
>>take a cheap shot at passing, try running
>>your tank to empty and refueling with
>>premium. There's a possibility that'll
>>compensate for over-advanced ignition
>>timing, but by the same token, resetting the
>>ignition timing is fairly simple and cheap.

Thank you so much for the info and advise! You've given me a 1,000 times
more information than that nitwit who is supposedly a smog
technician!!!!!!

Again, there is no mention of a bad catalytic converter being the
possible problem. I blame both myself and that nitwit for this. When he
said my car failed, I asked him what I needed to fix it. He said it
needs a new catalytic converter. I drove a block away and had one
installed, drove right back and had it retested and it had a WORSE test
score. After I got home I looked at the inspection report and it said
"Catalytic Converter---PASS"........Why did that nimrod tell me I need a
new one when the report says it Passed!!! I'd like to kick him in the
nuts!!!!!

My first plan is to try that premium gas thing next Monday or
Tuesday....Unfortunately I just filled up my tank with el cheapo gas so
I'll have to burn all of that off first.

Again, thank you so much for educating me on this subject. I really,
really do appreciate it!

I will post my results next week. Got my fingers crossed :-)

Pamela G.

Vic Hyu Garcia wrote:

>>Did your car PASS the test last year, in
>>CALIFORNIA ????
>>Your Excel is 17 years old, if it was not
>>designed and maintained for the CA
>>emission standards .... it will never make it.

Yes, it passed two years ago, and two years before and so on and so
on.....It's a California car, not from some other state. I suppose it's
just old now and going to be more problematic at these smog tests.

It really should be put to sleep :-)

hyundaitech

A faulty catalytic converter can indeed be the cause of NOx pollution.
I've seen it before (once), and it was very difficult to find and fix.
The car's emissions were tested in another state and they had a different
procedure. We eventually called a dealer in the other state, and they
were able to tell us that in their experience, if normal diagnostics
turned up no problems, that the catalytic converter was the likely
culprit.

Again, I'm going to put emphasis on the normal diagnostics. In your case,
there's no reason to go replacing a catalytic converter until it's been
verified that the other things I've mentioned are working properly.
That's effectively just guessing a part to replace and retesting to see if
it fixes the car. The computer in your car will report to a technician
with the proper tooling significant information that will allow him to do
some of the diagnosis in a few minutes just by monitoring the data the
computer will show him.

When the report says that your converter passed, that means nothing more
than it is present and doesn't appear to have been tampered with. It
doesn't indicate that it's functioning normally.

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hyundaitech

I don't know that I agree about putting the car to sleep, but I don't know
the condition of your car, either. As long as the car doesn't have any
serious mechanical issues and is otherwise in reasonable condition,
there's little reason to replace it. If the fuel management system is
operating properly, it should still meet most if not all jursdictions'
emissions requirements.

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Old_Timer

On Fri, 18 Apr 2008 02:27:52 -0700, Peaches_27@webtv.net (Pamela G.)
wrote:

>Vic Hyu Garcia wrote:
>
>>>Did your car PASS the test last year, in
>>>CALIFORNIA ????
>>>Your Excel is 17 years old, if it was not
>>>designed and maintained for the CA
>>>emission standards .... it will never make it.
>
>Yes, it passed two years ago, and two years before and so on and so
>on.....It's a California car, not from some other state. I suppose it's
>just old now and going to be more problematic at these smog tests.
>
>It really should be put to sleep :-)

Since you are in California the state has a couple of programs you may
want to check out.

One will assist you up to $500 to repair the car to where it will pass
smog.

The other may give you as much as $1000 to junk a gross polluter car.

Check out this web site

http://www.smogtips.com/consumer_assistance.cfm

Old_Timer