Emission test(ontario) Fail! Please Help me!

[kylejang]

Good afternoon everyone. I really need some help.
Last winter I got 86 Accord LX 4Dr carburated engine with 290000km.
Car hadn't drove for long time sitting in the garage.
I towed the car to my house and change spark plugs and engine oil before go to first emission test(last Nov), but there was white smoke came from the exhaust pipe. Anyway I failed emission test about Nox, Co, Hc.
Later I found there was no coolant, so I drained rest of coolant and refill after that no white smoke come out.
Second test was last week, I wait until day is hot and I bought some sure pass emission thing put in and drive maybe 1hour and half. But I failed.
I pass everything much low numbers compare to limit except CO at drive(30?60?km). The limit was 0.65 something and I got 1.3 something.
Right now I am blame myself how stupid I am didn't change air filter, and also I'm afraid even though changing air filter let me down again, because I don't want spend more money for the car. I'm thinking about buying e-test but it still costs me too. What sure I do? It has been my long time stress since last Nov. I really need some solution. Please help me!!!

[halxi]

full tune up, thats the best advice i can give you

fork out the money now to get it done with and running right so you can drive it for awhile

[88Accord-DX]

Nox, Co, Hc.


Nox=Oxides of Nitrogen
Co=Carbon Minoxide
Hc= Hydrocarbones

Sounds like you have a rich air/fuel mixture to have high CO. You need to adjust the air/fuel mixture screw to reduce CO fumes.

With a car with that kind of miles on it, it would be a good idea to re-place the O2 sensor, PVC valve & catalytic convertor on it.

*edit* white smoke is burning water through the head gasket or some water in the fuel.

[Autowiz]

how long has the car sat? and with how much fuel in the tank? i mean, you aren't trying to pass emissions with stagnant gas are you? as far as changing the settings on your carb, i think you'd be making a problem worse, at this point. replace your ignition's secondary circuts complete(cap, rotor, plugs, & wires), new air filter, and a fresh cat for the high mileage ride, coupled with a drained and refilled fuel tank, with a bit of ethonol, i think is the stuff, and you should pass any i/m test beautifully

[Autowiz]

Changing Carb Settings For Emissions Without A 4 Or 5 Gas Analyzer Is Asking For Trouble! the powers that be in this world, decided some time ago, that 14.7 to 1 air/fuel mixture was the best compromise between power, efficiency, but most importantly, for the environment. 15, 16, or 20 to 1 a/f, will not gaurentee you'll pass emissions. if your carb, on your engine, was once tuned to it's proper settings for that application, and it has, then there is another underlying problem keeping you from passing. perhaps low compression. hmmm, perhaps, before you put another penny in your car, you should do a wet/dry compression test, just to see what condition your engines internals are in. white smoke does usually come from water, and a blown head gasket will keep you from passing i/m tests.

[POS carb]

the o2 sensor on these cars doesn't do much.
Try and find a local high school or college with an auto shop and see if they can put the sniffer to your exhaust, that will really help you in tuning the idle, but that's about it.
Many states now utilize load tests (like a dyno) so what I would recommend to you before you do anything else you should try to get a perspective of what's going on inside your engine from your smog readout

too much NOx is sometimes caused by too much advance...
CO is a rich mixture, if you can tell us the levels at the different RPMs it'll lead you to the correct fix (i.e. if you're rich at 5k rpms the idle mix screw won't do shit) you should also try to get the ignition timing to the factory spec or 1 degree less and replace your spark plugs
Holes in your exhaust will give you bad readings, we could tell a lot more from the printout.
On your distributor there are two vacuum advance tubes. The one in the back (closest to the windshield) is the main advance, I believe on the stock system it is labled #2. There should be constant vacuum here. On the secondary advance (closest to the radiator) there should only be vacuum when the engine is cold. If it is still getting vacuum after it is fully warmed up plug up the line with something (I used a BB from a BB-gun) but don't make it obvious, in California they flunk you if the system looks tampered with



Myths/suggestions I've been told from my old California smog days (I don't agree with all of these) but I did them all and i did pass but it may have all been due to the over-advanced ignition i had on the 1st test:
replace your spark plugs and wires, air filter, oil change
clean out your carb with carb cleaner spray (do this before you replace your spark plugs!!!!!!!)
run 93 octane
put a bottle of isoprophyl alcohol in your tank
drive the car for 30 min before the test to make sure it is properly warmed up
inflate your tires more, every little bit helps. Hell maybe even letting the pressure out of the gas tank may make a difference (that wooosh sound it makes when oyu open the cap)

[kylejang]

thank for help I'll try my best

[88Accord-DX]

The air/fuel mixtue is on the back side of the carburetor. The fastener in the air/fuel screw hole will be tough to get out with the carburetor on the car. (If the carb. has never been re-built.) I added this link to show you how & where to adjust the air/fuel mixture if you plan on doing it.


Few tips how to improve emission test results
- Change oil before testing. For old or high mileage car using a thicker oil may help.
- Change spark plugs and air filter if it was a while ago since you've changed them last time. Complete tune-up may be an option for older cars.
- Flushing the fuel injectors usually helps.
Before the test:
- Check and adjust tire pressure
- Fill the car with premium gas
- Take a car for a spin on a freeway - it helps to clean spark plugs and catalytic converter.
- Make sure, the engine is fully warmed up before test.

If you have check engine light on, exhaust leaks, broken gas cap, or any other problem with vehicle emission system it needs to be repaired before the test - all those items will be inspected during the emission test.