Wish Me Luck I'm doing My Smog Test Today

[Pico]

I'm getting my smog test done today at a test only station, My friend knows the guy and he says the guy will look the other way when it comes to my modifications.
Since the engine has been rebuilt and has less than 5000 miles on it everything should go nice and smooth.
Anyway Wish me luck :nervous:

[A18A]

you'll pass, this is the picomobile we're talking about :thumbup:

[2oodoor]

I would never pass, they would send me to detention. I would have to top off the tank with 103 blue so the fumes would get them buzzed while I grab the clipboard. I love the way that stuff smells..

[Cheeseburger]

good luck bro!

[Pico]

I'm on my way

[MessyHonda]

weee....make sure to take some pics.

[Pico]

Just Got Back From Smog Test


















FAILED

She's running a little rich, I'm going to replace my 02 sensors and maybe the cat, and have them retest it again :(

[MessyHonda]

that sucks Roger. i know my car is running rich since my exhuast pops a lil bit. try some seafoam next time....im not sure if it would help but it helped my bucket dx pass.

[Pico]

that sucks Roger. i know my car is running rich since my exhuast pops a lil bit. try some seafoam next time....im not sure if it would help but it helped my bucket dx pass.
I thought about seafoam, but the engine is all rebuilt so I think the problem is going to be cat, or 02's

[russiankid]

that sucks Roger. i know my car is running rich since my exhuast pops a lil bit. try some seafoam next time....im not sure if it would help but it helped my bucket dx pass.
How would sea foam help a brand new engine pass smog? Most likely it is the O2 sensor(s) or the cat. I doubt it has anything to do with the engine itself. I think it is time for a High flow cat:D

[Oldblueaccord]

Did you run it up to tempurature before it was smogged? Maybe it needed a little more warm up time on the highway at about 90 mph to heat that cat up too.


wp

[Pico]

Did you run it up to tempurature before it was smogged? Maybe it needed a little more warm up time on the highway at about 90 mph to heat that cat up too.
wp
I drove for almost an hour before taking her in.
I going to exchange my 02's at work and have another friend run the test on his machine to see if that helped

[russiankid]

I drove for almost an hour before taking her in.
I going to exchange my 02's at work and have another friend run the test on his machine to see if that helped
This time, try driving the car around for 1-2hours doing over 3k rpms.

[MessyHonda]

How would sea foam help a brand new engine pass smog? Most likely it is the O2 sensor(s) or the cat. I doubt it has anything to do with the engine itself. I think it is time for a High flow cat:D



i think it makes the cat run a bit hotter

[A18A]

doh, hope its no more than the 02 sensors :uh:

[russiankid]

i think it makes the cat run a bit hotter
Yea but why put crap through a new engine? Just run it hard....:wave:

[snoopyloopy]

aww, by how much? i usually run seafoam in a tank of premium when i go get mine tested, just for the heck of it.

[MessyHonda]

Yea but why put crap through a new engine? Just run it hard....:wave:


because gas is not cheap? i ran my car for 40min hard...like 80mph and with seafoam and it passed the sniffer but not visual since a hose was a lil busted up. and my dx has oil leaks and the timing is off

[russiankid]

because gas is not cheap? i ran my car for 40min hard...like 80mph and with seafoam and it passed the sniffer but not visual since a hose was a lil busted up. and my dx has oil leaks and the timing is off
I have an oil leak, and i remember mine passed without a problem. I remember we just drove straight from home to the shop, and it passed right away.

[russiankid]

because gas is not cheap? i ran my car for 40min hard...like 80mph and with seafoam and it passed the sniffer but not visual since a hose was a lil busted up. and my dx has oil leaks and the timing is off
Well IMO, i would rather spend some extra gas than put crap into a new engine. Plus gas is $2.50 over here:wave:

[snoopyloopy]

because gas is not cheap? i ran my car for 40min hard...like 80mph and with seafoam and it passed the sniffer but not visual since a hose was a lil busted up. and my dx has oil leaks and the timing is off
now that's bs. i still think the point of a smog test is lost when you can pass the sniffer but fail a visual. the air quality will suck whether or not the hoses are connected, but as long as it blows clean, it shouldn't matter. i think the carb needs to get off their high horses and realize that. </rant>

[Pico]

aww, by how much? i usually run seafoam in a tank of premium when i go get mine tested, just for the heck of it.
failed on CO level

Readings were
15 mph Max .078 / Avg .010 / Meas 1.53
25 mph Max .066 / Avg .009 / Meas 1.64
Can someone tell me what the hell it means

Luckily the test only station was a friend of a friend and all he did was run it to see if it would pass or not. I should of mention that earlier that the results did not get sent to DMV

[2oodoor]

failed on CO level

Readings were
15 mph Max .078 / Avg .010 / Meas 1.53
25 mph Max .066 / Avg .009 / Meas 1.64
Can someone tell me what the hell it means

Luckily the test only station was a friend of a friend and all he did was run it to see if it would pass or not. I should of mention that earlier that the results did not get sent to DMV
try cleaning TB good with toothbrush n rinse good, use 02 safe spray...bump ign timing up much as it can stand W/o ping...retry
not positive but it looks like a just off idle rich then it goes cleaner/yes slow 02 would do the same thjng too

[Pico]

try cleaning TB good with toothbrush n rinse good, use 02 safe spray...bump ign timing up much as it can stand W/o ping...retry
not positive but it looks like a just off idle rich then it goes cleaner/yes slow 02 would do the same thjng too
I'm hoping thats the problem, every single engine part that didnt go to the machine shop to be rebuilt was disassembled and cleaned of all carbon deposits.
I'm happy at least the tech. passed the visual part of the test.
There should be no problem if I install a hi flow cat. (not a test pipe) is there?

[russiankid]

I'm hoping thats the problem, every single engine part that didnt go to the machine shop to be rebuilt was disassembled and cleaned of all carbon deposits.
I'm happy at least the tech. passed the visual part of the test.
There should be no problem if I install a hi flow cat. (not a test pipe) is there?
I don't see why it would cause any problems, a good cat will do what is suppose to do. I have a fairly new cat, so i am happy:wave:

[88Accord-DX]

How is the EGR, replace it or just clean it out? Replacing the O2 sensor(s) might cure the rich A/F issue. Make sure your manifold vacuum is at 20 inches. MAP sensor voltages are less than 1.0 volt when the engine is idling at sea level. If the MAP sensor voltage is higher than 1.0 volt, the engine has low manifold that will result in a rich mixture.
Fuel injectors- Connect a fuel pressure gauge, start the engine. Turn off the engine, slowly & carefully pinch the return hose, & check the fuel pressure leak down rate. If the fuel pressure decreases more than 10 psi in 30 minutes, an injector is leaking causing a rich mixture.
Catalytic Converter- Since your in California, you'll need good catalyst. You'll need a monolithic one, which is coated with catalyst agent on a ceramic honeycomb material. If your talking about a high flow cat you get off ebay, that is basically a glorified test pipe.

[Pico]

How is the EGR, replace it or just clean it out? Replacing the O2 sensor(s) might cure the rich A/F issue. Make sure your manifold vacuum is at 20 inches. MAP sensor voltages are less than 1.0 volt when the engine is idling at sea level. If the MAP sensor voltage is higher than 1.0 volt, the engine has low manifold that will result in a rich mixture.
Fuel injectors- Connect a fuel pressure gauge, start the engine. Turn off the engine, slowly & carefully pinch the return hose, & check the fuel pressure leak down rate. If the fuel pressure decreases more than 10 psi in 30 minutes, an injector is leaking causing a rich mixture.
Catalytic Converter- Since your in California, you'll need good catalyst. You'll need a monolithic one, which is coated with catalyst agent on a ceramic honeycomb material. If your talking about a high flow cat you get off ebay, that is basically a glorified test pipe.
EGR and injectors are new.
I'll still check on the injectors I may of gotten a bad one or more.
I'll be sure to check everything you mentioned and as far as the cat. I plan on getting either a stock replacement or high flow Magnaflow.
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction on where to start

[snoopyloopy]

failed on CO level

Readings were
15 mph Max .078 / Avg .010 / Meas 1.53
25 mph Max .066 / Avg .009 / Meas 1.64
Can someone tell me what the hell it means

Luckily the test only station was a friend of a friend and all he did was run it to see if it would pass or not. I should of mention that earlier that the results did not get sent to DMV
hmm...high carbon monoxide levels. if i'm not mistaken, i think that means low combustion temperature = running rich.

[frantik]

are you using the 4th gen map sensor pico?

[MessyHonda]

now that's bs. i still think the point of a smog test is lost when you can pass the sniffer but fail a visual. the air quality will suck whether or not the hoses are connected, but as long as it blows clean, it shouldn't matter. i think the carb needs to get off their high horses and realize that. </rant>



yeah the Motherfucker just raped me out of 40 extra bucks to retest my car. I hate lame mechanics thats why i never let anyone work on my car besides fam and friends.

[MessyHonda]

are you using the 4th gen map sensor pico?


yeah he is....pico change it to the stock one.

[2oodoor]

15 and 25 mph High CO readings , means too much unburned fuel at very little throttle opening just off idle. Problably not a whole lot of rpms involved ... then going by the lower CO reading it appears to clear out some. I assume it was with in specs at other speeds and such? As long as your MAF if at the correct idle reading (at or better less than 1) and you do not have a hesitation problem under any conditions, you should be alright with the curent 4gen. Just dont do too many things to it at once, it could make it worse, and you wont never know which one fixed it. I would try the free or little expense items first and borrow you buddys sniffer CO meter.
No idle problems right??


or just do the parakeet test. get you a couple parakeets put the cage behind the car, if sings you are ok, if it sleeps you got work to do.. Just kidding

[frantik]

lol roodoo for a sec i thought u were serious bout the birds i was like :jaw:

[2oodoor]

of course I am kidding:naughty:
I have heard of that sort of thing happening if you have Carbon Monoxide or Gas leaks in homes.

[Pico]

are you using the 4th gen map sensor pico?
I put the stock one back in for the test


15 and 25 mph High CO readings , means too much unburned fuel at very little throttle opening just off idle. Problably not a whole lot of rpms involved ... then going by the lower CO reading it appears to clear out some. I assume it was with in specs at other speeds and such? As long as your MAF if at the correct idle reading (at or better less than 1) and you do not have a hesitation problem under any conditions, you should be alright with the curent 4gen. Just dont do too many things to it at once, it could make it worse, and you wont never know which one fixed it. I would try the free or little expense items first and borrow you buddys sniffer CO meter.
No idle problems right??
or just do the parakeet test. get you a couple parakeets put the cage behind the car, if sings you are ok, if it sleeps you got work to do.. Just kidding
yes, all other speeds were within specs, as fas as my idle thats fine also

[ChaseR]

california sucks

[4ws90siky]

im glad i live in ky we dont have to worry bout that shit here. i guess thats about the only good thing about livn here lol..

[hanginbyaccord]

we dont have it here either , thank god.

[frantik]

california sucks

for smog, yes.. for everthing else, no :D

[cubert]

california sucks



:kekeke:

[89T]

where is you'r cam gear set at?
hopfully -0- and you'r timming is set at factory spec right.
high CO usaly means that timming is off. that would be a good place to start.

[Pico]

where is you'r cam gear set at?
hopfully -0- and you'r timming is set at factory spec right.
high CO usaly means that timming is off. that would be a good place to start.
timing is at zero, a friend of mine suggested retarding the timing

[89T]

timing is at zero, a friend of mine suggested retarding the timing
cam gear timing is at zero right...
if you are running rich, retarding the timing will lean it out but dont retard it too much.

[tuxdreamerx]

damn im glad they took away our emissions tests because I have no cat lol. I can do wahtever I want to my car without worrying about emissions.

[shepherd79]

how old is your distributor?
You may have to rebuild it with new springs.
How long has it been since you did your tune up?
How big is your spark plug gap?
What kind coil do you have?
What kind wires do you have?

[Pico]

how old is your distributor?
You may have to rebuild it with new springs.
How long has it been since you did your tune up?
How big is your spark plug gap?
What kind coil do you have?
What kind wires do you have?

1) Dist. is original to the car
2) Tune-Up done when I rebuilt the engine March 07
3) Plug Gap .032
4) Coil= MSD Blaster II
5) wires = NGK

I just replaced the 02 sensors and had a friends shop run a check on it for me and the C0 levels went down a bit but not much.
I'm going to replace my MAP sensor with one that I had in the A/T vac.box and see if that helps and going to swap the ecu back to the A/T one that I had before when the car was auto and see if that does anything.
One thing I have that is not stock to the car is the injectors, they are off a 90 accord, how much of a difference would that be?
Oh well if the other stuff I mentioned above doesnt help any I'l go for the cat. which I suspect is the reason for the high C0. I took it off the donor car, it looked alright but I had my doubts before installing it but I had no choice and funds to replace it with a new one.

[Pico]

Dp

[88Accord-DX]

Probably the only difference in 90 Accord injectors would be the flow rate. (if there is a difference) I'm pretty sure a new cat would bright it back down to a passing level. One other trick that might help is to clean the IAT sensor. If you got some BrakeKleen, put the red stick on the end of the can & spray it for a second. Let it air dry & put it back on.

[Pico]

I'll give it a try

[SZfiftyfour]

When i lived in texas i had a fiero gt with a s**t engine. i knew it wouldn't pass a sniff test so i put a bottle of "smog pass" in the tank. when they did the test it came out 0.001 or something like that (really low). Then again, the dual exhaust was rusted through on both sides between the muffler and tips. maybe thats what did it.
I'm a little sceptical as to if that stuff really works, but maybe you can have someone send you some if its illegal in cali.

[Pico]

When i lived in texas i had a fiero gt with a s**t engine. i knew it wouldn't pass a sniff test so i put a bottle of "smog pass" in the tank. when they did the test it came out 0.001 or something like that (really low). Then again, the dual exhaust was rusted through on both sides between the muffler and tips. maybe thats what did it.
I'm a little sceptical as to if that stuff really works, but maybe you can have someone send you some if its illegal in cali.

I saw that stuff at one of the local parts store the other day , I figure it will be my last shot if all else fails

[ChaseR]

I saw that stuff at one of the local parts store the other day , I figure it will be my last shot if all else fails


Yeah from what I know that stuff will make your car run like pure butt with that shit in the tank. So you will want to burn it off quickly when you are done.

[2oodoor]

how old is your distributor?
You may have to rebuild it with new springs.
How long has it been since you did your tune up?
How big is your spark plug gap?
What kind coil do you have?
What kind wires do you have?

Very Good ... things to double check before you go swapping computer controls. Your car is reading good at road speed and seem reading Hi CO just off idle and before good air flow..So ignition and timing curve check would right on the money in that range.
O2 sensors generally , if they are sho nuff bad will make it run rich all the time, but if is just tired and starting to go bad it may take a fraction of a second more to read to the computer in time to make mix adjustments.
That is one of the reasons I suggested bumping the timing (ign) up even if you dont leave it that way, just for the test.

[88Accord-DX]

Lots of good points mentioned, got to have timing & spark of coarse. That IAT sensor plays a good part in ECU input & injector pulse. I googled this link up why I mentioned it. Check it out. Click on the blue link in the sentence too. (yeah, that is diesel engine, but it works the same principal in NA engines)

http://www.dodgeram.org/tech/dsl/sensors/IAT/clean.htm

[shepherd79]

1) Dist. is original to the car
2) Tune-Up done when I rebuilt the engine March 07
3) Plug Gap .032
4) Coil= MSD Blaster II
5) wires = NGK

I just replaced the 02 sensors and had a friends shop run a check on it for me and the C0 levels went down a bit but not much.
I'm going to replace my MAP sensor with one that I had in the A/T vac.box and see if that helps and going to swap the ecu back to the A/T one that I had before when the car was auto and see if that does anything.
One thing I have that is not stock to the car is the injectors, they are off a 90 accord, how much of a difference would that be?
Oh well if the other stuff I mentioned above doesnt help any I'l go for the cat. which I suspect is the reason for the high C0. I took it off the donor car, it looked alright but I had my doubts before installing it but I had no choice and funds to replace it with a new one.


Since you have MSD blaster 2 coil you can make spark plug gap a little bigger. .04 or .045 that will increase amount of spark and time it will stay on. try that.
as far as injectors, 4G accord has same injectors are we do. it is the same flow rate. so you shouldn't have any problems with it.
Cat, well high flow cat may be your problem at this point. I don't know why people buy into the idea that cats are very restrictive. Stock honda one is very restrictive but aftermarket ones are not that bad.
this is what I had to get to pass MD emissions. http://www.car-sound.com/02product/displaydirectfit01.asp?catalogid=10191&directfit=22623
I got it on ebay for $70 shipped to my door.
so search the ebay for that part number. It worked great, all my numbers were very low.

[Pico]

does anyone know if I should leave the timing alone at the stock setting or adjust it before I take it in today for retesting

[soullessknight]

umm yea well u shouldnt mess with the timing bc its part of hte test also...but have u check ur fuel pressure regulator...bc it is vacuum controled on a FI car. if the car is running at a low RPM it will have less fuel pressure and if the RPM is high it will allow more fuel. so if tat is leaking or the diaphram is ruin. then it will always have a rich mixture. which is like 30 to 40 psi of fuel in ur rail. jsut letting you kno. besides tat causes of high CO can be stuff like CAT, O2 sensor, leaky injector...etc... its a rich problem for sure.or u can have a leak right b4 the o2 sensor which will give it a reading tat ur car needs more fuel... tats all i can think of for now...GL man

[Pico]

Ok here's what is going on so far :(
Most of you know that the engine has been fully rebuilt on the car and she is still running rich and wont pass smog.
So far aside from the rebuild I have replaced the following:
engine was block was bored out to .020
stock camshaft with GE Cam gear set at zero
4th gen Injectors (new Bosch units)
New oxygen sensors
New Magnaflow Cat.
MSD Coil
fuel pressure regulator was replaced 2years ago when I bought the car, I'm thinking thats the problem.
soullessknight suggested the pressure regulator,
HELP!!!
I'm at the end of my rope and I need valid suggestions on getting this fixed or I'm going to SELL THE CAR :(

[frantik]

... or I'm going to SELL THE CAR

:jaw: :nervous:

[Pico]

:jaw: :nervous:

I'm frustrated :rant:

[Hoy_LDT]

i believe its isopropyl alcohol that you add into your tank so that you can run engine hotter, with lower emisions...its not good for a daily thing since it will OVER heat your engine quite fast and maybe even blow something....but i THINK this is what could help you...im not sure ill ask my friends at school tmrw so dont jump to anything....

also i know that hydrogen peroxide works as well...but you would have to put it threw a distillation process *if you where to get it over the counter* and at that u can only get 2-4% max from each bottle you buy, and a big warning of explosion(s)....

but again ill ask my buds at school

[Pico]

i believe its isopropyl alcohol that you add into your tank so that you can run engine hotter, with lower emisions...its not good for a daily thing since it will OVER heat your engine quite fast and maybe even blow something....but i believe this is what could help you...im not sure ill ask my friends at school tmrw so dont jump to anything....

also i know that hydrogen peroxide works as well...but you would have to put it threw a distillation process *if you where to get it over the counter* and at that u can only get 2-4% max from each bottle you buy, and a big warning of explosion(s)....

but again ill ask my buds at school
Cool keep me posted

[Hauntd ca3]

Best not run iso or hydrogen peroxide in your car.
How the plastic fuel lines will handle it is abit on the iffy side.
the american market might not have them but my jdm si duz , and i'm not to keen on a petrol fire in the passenger compartment.

[Cheeseburger]

dam bro that sucks that you cant get it to pass :( dont give up tho!

[russiankid]

Pico don't give up, it running rich isn't the end of the world.

[Civic Accord Honda]

Ok here's what is going on so far :(
Most of you know that the engine has been fully rebuilt on the car and she is still running rich and wont pass smog.
So far aside from the rebuild I have replaced the following:
engine was block was bored out to .020
stock camshaft with GE Cam gear set at zero
4th gen Injectors (new Bosch units)
New oxygen sensors
New Magnaflow Cat.
MSD Coil
fuel pressure regulator was replaced 2years ago when I bought the car, I'm thinking thats the problem.
soullessknight suggested the pressure regulator,
HELP!!!
I'm at the end of my rope and I need valid suggestions on getting this fixed or I'm going to SELL THE CAR :(
cant u pay someone to pass it?
what ever you do dont give up on the 3gee

[Blkblurr]

What did it fail on?

[Blkblurr]

I saw that stuff at one of the local parts store the other day , I figure it will be my last shot if all else fails
It worked on my SE-i. I failed on excess hydrocarbon so I bought the CRC stuff and ran an entire tank of gas through it. Just before I went to the test I put a full tank of gas in without this additive in it. It passed with low numbers. I later changed my cat and it has passed ever since.

[Pico]

What did it fail on?

failed on CO level

Readings were
15 mph Max .078 / Avg .010 / Meas 1.53
25 mph Max .066 / Avg .009 / Meas 1.64

[Hoy_LDT]

my friend that knows about this wasnt there at school today...so your gonna have to wait till i talk to him on monday sorry...

[Pico]

my friend that knows about this wasnt there at school today...so your gonna have to wait till i talk to him on monday sorry...

no problem

[Blkblurr]

High CO levels is most likely your cat. Is your engine running cool? Thermostat temp lower than OEM?

[Pico]

High CO levels is most likely your cat. Is your engine running cool? Thermostat temp lower than OEM?

OE temp on the thermostat and I got it from the dealer, I replaced the cat 2 weeks ago.
Engine temp is right below the half way point

[AccordB20A]

yeah i have herd of the thermostat making the car run rich. aparently getting a higher temp one makes your car run better. my mate has the same problem in his civic, it runs rich and sometimes misses and pisses round when its cold. he even swapped engines and the other one does the same thing its like its the cars fault its running rich haha. i have no idea why cars do it. even mine runs a bit on the rich side

[2oodoor]

i believe its isopropyl alcohol that you add into your tank so that you can run engine hotter, with lower emisions...its not good for a daily thing since it will OVER heat your engine quite fast and maybe even blow something....but i THINK this is what could help you...im not sure ill ask my friends at school tmrw so dont jump to anything....

also i know that hydrogen peroxide works as well...but you would have to put it threw a distillation process *if you where to get it over the counter* and at that u can only get 2-4% max from each bottle you buy, and a big warning of explosion(s)....

but again ill ask my buds at school

better put those old injectors in before you put that in your tank, Iso alchohol reaks havoc on your electronic injectors and injector circuit to the ECM

Do they check your timing at teh smog station? if not see my first couple of posts on this thread
I thought you maybe knew somebody that had an old CO meter and tailpipe sniffer to see what is up so you can check it good before the test ??? this equipment has been around for years although it is not as sufisticaked .lol as the new stuff

edit.. Hey I just thought of something else too that could drive you nuts.. evap system. does your gas cap swoossh when you open it? lol.. sometimes the fuel pickup screen and lines going to the tank from the filler neck, charcoal cansiter.. can get obstructed and cause a lot of fumes to build up in the system that is powered by ... engine vacuum.. so it can back up to the point that is sucks fumes into the mixture at the vacuum source

[nswst8]

Just to throw it out there,

What about the EGR valve if it is bad it could throw your emission off.

[2oodoor]

Check, advance curve.. using a timing light find your current base idle setting. Now unhook and plug your vacuum advance line(s) at the dizzy(also any wire connection your cars underhood sticker asks you to unhook when checking base timing), now watch the timing mark with the light as you gas the motor to a steady rpm of around 2 to 3K rpm (cruise speed) ok your mark should have moved around and no longer in site (actually if you had a fully marked degree crank pulley you could mark what your total advance is.
Ok if it did not move then your centrifigal advance is frozen , under the pickup plate in the dizzy.
There are some other ways to do check this, but these cars have a bit of vacuum advance at idle, then get more at just off idle so it is hard to check that. In other words you have "four diff advance point" so to speak. One with out any vacuum assist, two diff vacuum assist primary and secondary, and then final advance centrifrigal. Also some cars have computer assisted advance, OBD ,1,2
LIke I said before your idle and final cruise CO was good, it was your just off idle , or movement of the throttle from idle CO that was high, then it settled.
More ign advance would burn off the mixture quicker, probably would not take much. You have to still stay inside a perimeter though or you will cause the ECU to make adjustements that could throw off either end , idle CO or cruise CO.
If you ever had the head cut any, also, through the life span of the head 20 years of resurfacing can make the cam and crank closer and throw off your valve/cam timing.. God bless the Adj cam gears cause your car will always be rich unless you correct that spec by advancing the cam a little to put it back to factory specs, not necessarly for hot rodding purposes..:)

[2oodoor]

true as well, if it is sticky or slow to open . the egr is closed at idle , then opens up fully at acceleration and from there it moves in and out according to engine load. if it is sticky it will be slow to move, thus making electronics slow to read and compensate. This all happens in like nano seconds.. lol
If it is stuck opem bad enough you have to replace egr, cause you will have very unstable idle, if it stuck closed it will be like not having one at all.
Pico, sorry to give you so many diff avenues to look into, I know it is confusing sometimes if you dont do this everyday.. :wave:
Remember , on my prevous post, ign timing and cam timing are two totally different adjustments, and if you change the cam timing, you MUST readjust the ign dizzy timng to catch it up. But.. not visa versa changing dizzy timing does not affect cam timing.

[2oodoor]

another thing,, lol
is your LXI one that originally had black box, i think 86 and some 87 did. yours is 89 but just makeing sure.
there was some things you have to do if you intalled CAI if so.
AND make sure your cone filter is new, they get damp sometimes and cause these type problems.

[Pico]

yeah i have herd of the thermostat making the car run rich. aparently getting a higher temp one makes your car run better. my mate has the same problem in his civic, it runs rich and sometimes misses and pisses round when its cold.

I'll try that Thanks wohdog

better put those old injectors in before you put that in your tank, Iso alchohol reaks havoc on your electronic injectors and injector circuit to the ECM

Do they check your timing at teh smog station? if not see my first couple of posts on this thread
I thought you maybe knew somebody that had an old CO meter and tailpipe sniffer to see what is up so you can check it good before the test ??? this equipment has been around for years although it is not as sufisticaked .lol as the new stuff

edit.. Hey I just thought of something else too that could drive you nuts.. evap system. does your gas cap swoossh when you open it? lol.. sometimes the fuel pickup screen and lines going to the tank from the filler neck, charcoal cansiter.. can get obstructed and cause a lot of fumes to build up in the system that is powered by ... engine vacuum.. so it can back up to the point that is sucks fumes into the mixture at the vacuum source
Yup they did check the timing and everything and even swapped in another set of injectors.
I'll check the canister it does make that swooshing sound when I take the cap off. Thanks roodoo2


Just to throw it out there,

What about the EGR valve if it is bad it could throw your emission off.
I believe the shop did some kind of test on that to see if that was the problem
Thanks nswst

Check, advance curve.. using a timing light find your current base idle setting. Now unhook and plug your vacuum advance line(s) at the dizzy(also any wire connection your cars underhood sticker asks you to unhook when checking base timing), now watch the timing mark with the light as you gas the motor to a steady rpm of around 2 to 3K rpm (cruise speed) ok your mark should have moved around and no longer in site (actually if you had a fully marked degree crank pulley you could mark what your total advance is.
Ok if it did not move then your centrifigal advance is frozen , under the pickup plate in the dizzy.
There are some other ways to do check this, but these cars have a bit of vacuum advance at idle, then get more at just off idle so it is hard to check that. In other words you have "four diff advance point" so to speak. One with out any vacuum assist, two diff vacuum assist primary and secondary, and then final advance centrifrigal. Also some cars have computer assisted advance, OBD ,1,2
LIke I said before your idle and final cruise CO was good, it was your just off idle , or movement of the throttle from idle CO that was high, then it settled.
More ign advance would burn off the mixture quicker, probably would not take much. You have to still stay inside a perimeter though or you will cause the ECU to make adjustements that could throw off either end , idle CO or cruise CO.
If you ever had the head cut any, also, through the life span of the head 20 years of resurfacing can make the cam and crank closer and throw off your valve/cam timing.. God bless the Adj cam gears cause your car will always be rich unless you correct that spec by advancing the cam a little to put it back to factory specs, not necessarly for hot rodding purposes..:)

true as well, if it is sticky or slow to open . the egr is closed at idle , then opens up fully at acceleration and from there it moves in and out according to engine load. if it is sticky it will be slow to move, thus making electronics slow to read and compensate. This all happens in like nano seconds.. lol
If it is stuck opem bad enough you have to replace egr, cause you will have very unstable idle, if it stuck closed it will be like not having one at all.
Pico, sorry to give you so many diff avenues to look into, I know it is confusing sometimes if you dont do this everyday.. :wave:
Remember , on my prevous post, ign timing and cam timing are two totally different adjustments, and if you change the cam timing, you MUST readjust the ign dizzy timng to catch it up. But.. not visa versa changing dizzy timing does not affect cam timing.

another thing,, lol
is your LXI one that originally had black box, i think 86 and some 87 did. yours is 89 but just makeing sure.
there was some things you have to do if you intalled CAI if so.
AND make sure your cone filter is new, they get damp sometimes and cause these type problems.
She has the black box, and Thanks roodoo for all the info, it will help me get started in the right direction of getting this problem fixed hopefully. I'll keep you and everyone posted on the situation.
I also have one more shop that I talked too and they said for a nominal fee he can get the car to pass no questions asked, so for now to get this done I may do that route.
Thanks again everyone

[Hoy_LDT]

k i got word that iso is able to run in your car but


Best not run iso or hydrogen peroxide in your car.
How the plastic fuel lines will handle it is abit on the iffy side.
the american market might not have them but my jdm si duz , and i'm not to keen on a petrol fire in the passenger compartment.

is right


Iso alchohol reaks havoc on your electronic injectors and injector circuit to the ECM

also is right

but i must say...im not responsible for any damage....just to let you know!!!!

[88Accord-DX]

Yeah picopop, you might need to get one of your buddies to pass it with 'no questions asked'.

Or one of them emission solutions on the market. http://www.autobarn.net/ch05063.html

[russiankid]

Not sure if this could be a problem, or if this was mentioned, but from reading the thread wohdog made, got me thinking. If i am correct the LX-i has 2 temp sensors, one for the ECU and one for the gauge cluster. Could the ECU sensor be reading the temp wrong causing the ECU to give a rich mixture?

[Pico]

Yeah picopop, you might need to get one of your buddies to pass it with 'no questions asked'.

Or one of them emission solutions on the market. http://www.autobarn.net/ch05063.html

All done Derek, I got it to pass with a little help ;)


Not sure if this could be a problem, or if this was mentioned, but from reading the thread wohdog made, got me thinking. If i am correct the LX-i has 2 temp sensors, one for the ECU and one for the gauge cluster. Could the ECU sensor be reading the temp wrong causing the ECU to give a rich mixture?

I thought about that Sam, then I went thru all my receipts from the rebuild and found that I had bought and replaced both sensors from the dealer



Thanks to everyone for your suggestions I'm still going to work on the car in order to get the emissions levels down

[A18A]

good to hear you passed, i was afraid of seeing something bad when i was waiting for this thread to loaded :nervous:

[Pico]

good to hear you passed, i was afraid of seeing something bad when i was waiting for this thread to loaded :nervous:

I'm glad that it did too......:D

[russiankid]

Glad you passed but you should find the problem to the rich mixture.

[redaztec]

Congrats, I'm glad you passed! I'm looking forward to hearing what else you try, since mine's probably going to have to go in for an emissions check at some point, and I know it's not even close to passing right now.

[Pico]

Glad you passed but you should find the problem to the rich mixture.



Congrats, I'm glad you passed! I'm looking forward to hearing what else you try, since mine's probably going to have to go in for an emissions check at some point, and I know it's not even close to passing right now.
When I get the time I'll do more work and research on it and post what I find the problem turned out to be

[MessyHonda]

When I get the time I'll do more work and research on it and post what I find the problem turned out to be



its OBD1 swap time.