NCT Fail: Emissions

stevenmu

Hi All,

I've just failed the NCT with an emmisions problem (97 Seat Ibiza 1l). The CO reading was 0.52%, max allowed 0.3% so it's a decent bit over. HCL emissions were well within allowance. I'm thinking this may be a catalytic converter problem and am wondering am I better off getting a dealer to have a look or are general neighbourhood mechanics usually ok for something like this ? Any advice ?

Interceptor

You should try and find an engine tuner - I use GTB in Galway, but if McNamaras are still in Fairview they will be able to help. A main dealer will go for the expensive option and neighborhood mechanics don't always have the right diagnostic equipment to be able to tell.

'c

alias no.9

First of all, what if anything did you do to prepare the car for the nct? If nothing, what kind of journeys has it been on recently, if there's a lot of short, stop-start type journeys where you hardly ever get above 3000rpm then it's probably just coked up injectors there's an easy fix. You have two options, a good old italian tune-up (once the engine is up to temperature, take it for a good thrashing i.e. floor it in third and see how fast a 1.0 Ibiza can go in third), or chuck a bottle of injector cleaner into about 1/4 of a tank of petrol and let that sort it out.

dcGT

I agree with interceptor. 'Birminghams' on the Richmond Road in Fairview also tune and adjust engine emissions. They have the proper equipment that's used in the NCT and they might be able to help you out if it's not a serious problem with the cat. Failing that, try some STP injector cleaner and petrol treatment to help clean up emissions (you can get this in any motor factors).

DC.

stevenmu

alias no.9 wrote:

(once the engine is up to temperature, take it for a good thrashing i.e. floor it in third and see how fast a 1.0 Ibiza can go in third),

lol, not very, anything over 35 is really pushing it. I'd actually just got a full service done on it by a local mechanic, he actually says he'd checked the emissions and they were ok, so I'm a little sceptical about going back to him. I'd also just filled it up with shell vpower which is supposed to have lower emmisions and taken it for a stretch along the M4. Birminghams sounds good (Galways a bit far for something like this, live in kildare) I'll try and get on to them later.

Thanks guys
Steve

Silvera

Funny thing emissions.

I have a '97 Civic with 40k on the clock.
It passed it's second NCT in October and it's emissions were LOWER than when it had it's last test 2 YEARS ago !

The reason ?
Before it went in for it's test this time it was WELL warmed up, and hence, it's emissions were drastically lower !

stevenmu

Just posting this in case it helps anyone else. I passed it last weekend by running injector cleaner through it for a couple of weeks and taking it for a good long drive the day before. CO emissions were halved, 0.52% to 0.26%

dcGT

stevenmu wrote:

Just posting this in case it helps anyone else. I passed it last weekend by running injector cleaner through it for a couple of weeks and taking it for a good long drive the day before. CO emissions were halved, 0.52% to 0.26%

Is that STP stuff? I find that great, even when I don't have the NCT I still use it. Along with the petrol treatment.

DC.

stevenmu

I think it was called Redex (will check later on), I'd been looking for the STP, I've heard it's good, but this was all halfords had and didn't really have the time to go driving around. It makes a noticeable difference alright, I think I'll keep using it (or see if I can get the STP stuff somewhere).

mike65

Redex is a well known adiditive and perfectly good, though others things mentioned are important - warm engine is a must for testing and a good blast
on the way to the test centre is a good idea.



Mike.

stevenmu

That's the stuff, I guess I'll stick with it so, it certainly seems to do the job, the engine runs noticeably smoother with it in

lomb

thats mad isnt it?carbon monoxide should be converted to co2 by the cat, i thought the engine temperatures are synched before they do emission tests. in anycase dont think u can go wrong running a tank of v power thru it, and gunning it before the test and keeping the engine running while u are waiting for them to test it. want to get that cat RED hot

stevenmu

I'd been using vpower for a while up to the first test, used tescos coming up to the second, I guess others have probably had better experiences with it though.

Saturnine

Get a bottle of 147+ and pour it into a half full tank the morning of your nct and thrash your engine to get it well hot dont turn off your engine when your waiting to be tested.Ive put this stuff in 8 cars and they all passed the emissions test.

AMurphy

Generally a tune-up before the emmissions test is a good idea, these guys do not make any adjustments, right?.
So you need to insure your compustion is as good as it can be, plus the timing is correct.
A dose of cleaner works well also, (after the tune up).

make sure the car (and CAT) is good and hot, neither the O2 sensor or the CAT work very well when warm or cold. So get it good and hot.

Plus, if they cannot get to the car immediately they should run it fast for 3~5 minutes to get it hot, then test it.

How many attempts are you allowed. 3 here, with a fast (3000rpm) run for about 3minutes between test attempts.

lostinsuperfunk

You should have no problem if you follow the tune up/injector cleaner/ warm engine advice before the re-test.
If it fails again, it could well be the fault of the test instrumentation. I've heard that some of the emissions testing in NCTS can be sloppy. Instruments not reading zero when clean, that kind of thing. In that case, it might be worth getting stroppy with them and demanding to see calibration certificates, a detailed printout of the emissions results etc.

lomb

lostinsuperfunk wrote:

You should have no problem if you follow the tune up/injector cleaner/ warm engine advice before the re-test.
If it fails again, it could well be the fault of the test instrumentation. I've heard that some of the emissions testing in NCTS can be sloppy. Instruments not reading zero when clean, that kind of thing. In that case, it might be worth getting stroppy with them and demanding to see calibration certificates, a detailed printout of the emissions results etc.

lol, dont u think there could b something wrong with the engine if it fails? thats the whole point of an emmisions test surely! its not a test of who can gun the engine and the car hardest 30 minutes before the test!or it shouldnt be anyway. and AMurphy we get as many tests here as we want but have to pay each time

Alun

AFAIK catalytic converters work at their optimum performance when they're at full operating temperature which means that all you need to do is make sure the car is nice and warmed up. No need for "gunning it" or revving the bollix off it, just make sure it's nicely up to temperature.

Gerry

lomb, you are dead right. Obviously there are a lot of people here who don't give a **** if their car is throwing out loads of emissions, as long as it scrapes through the test.
I've brought 2 cars through emissions tests, one in the US and one here.
The californian smoke test seemed fairly lenient, my 89 saab was under the average, and the upper limit seemed to be really generous. It seemed like a bit of a joke, only a car that was obviously smokey would fail.

But it looks like its the same over here. My 12 year old nissan sunny got 0.01% on the CO test, so if something is at 2-3%, thats a lot of smoke. It seems like there is a lot of leeway, and if you are anywhere near the limit, the engine really isn't working properly.

Joeface

Sorry to hear ur car failed on emmision, I think that part of the test really has to do with guy testing the car at the time , mine ( a 94 honda integra) only just passed with 0.26 , i must point out that my engine temp was 110deg when it did pass , the guy spent 40min revin the crap out of my car, he said to me afterwards , it was 0.32 when he started and didnt feel right failing me so stayed with it till it passed

Dades

Another thumbs up for the engine cleaner stuff....
Had lower emissions two years later also after usnig it.

AMurphy

Joeface wrote:

..... the guy spent 40min revin the crap out of my car, he said to me afterwards , it was 0.32 when he started and didnt feel right failing me so stayed with it till it passed

This is what I meant, working with it until the results make sense.
Not simply failing it, make another appointment, bye.

horsebox4u

what is 147+ ??? i have a gsr lancer failed on emissions got new cat from mcnamaras and still cant get it down !!! lamda is reading 12.4 ! max is 0.672. if anyone can help id be delighted cheers

unkel

Ah FFS, don't waste our time reviving old threads :mad:

horsebox4u

only new to this can you help out with emissions ?

Eoin

Hi horsebox4u - welcome to boards.ie.

Rather than bumping an old thread, please start a new one.