bigjim172000

iTrader: (1)

Doesnt matter what the tester thinks or how 'close' to the limit it is, if that garage doesnt have a paper slip printout to prove the emissions were withing the legal limits at the time of the test, they run the risk of lossing their licence.

Matt Baxter

iTrader: (37)

mercmark


I'm sure your car had a replacement engine fron a 1991 car, then you just need to get some proof of that

big mac

iTrader: (7)

it aint a licence losser mate slap on the wrists mayb......... admittedly it aint ideal but if the rest of the car is ok no other probs it aint gona kill no one

bigjim172000

iTrader: (1)

Doesnt matter, law is law. Fact is, it needs to pass the emissions test. As there seems to be som many problems with it swinging each way, i would go find a cossie expert and let him look at it.

iansoutham

Only problem that you have got is that the other test station will see that it has failed @ a previous one and will (should) check even more carefully.

Also, if it fails @ one station and a couple of days later passes @ another, VOSA may possible take an interest, if they are able to flag these sorts of thing.

If running closed loop, I'd rather find the cure, than bodge a symptom. It should pass a cat-test MOT no problem if running correctly, especially if standard. Either there is something wrong (sensor-related), or the ECU is no longer running closed-loop. At the very least, I would plug it into a diagnostics checker and see if anything flags up.

mercmark

Hi Guys,
I think the problem is the MOT station I use has rececently had a slap on the wrist from the Ministry for not taking long enough over tests - the prescribed time being 60 mins, which any experienced MOT Tester will tell you is way too long. The penalty system works on a points system, and at a certain number of points (100 I think), they get their licence suspended for six months and the tester has to go on a refresher course.

The whole thing though for cars reg before 1st Aug 1995 (before Cats were 100% compulsory) is a complete ar*e, with some models having exceptions, and some like my Cossie registered just 6 weeks after the 1st Aug 1992 having to pass a strict emmissions test some three year old cars often fail. It really pi**es me off when I hear that some on here have taken post Aug 92 modded cars, running at 8% CO at idle have passed no problem. (I'm a bit jealous really)

We'll see what the other guy says tomorrow, although I have to say since regapping the plugs it seems to be idling more smoothly, but maybe that's just wishfull thinking on my part!

bigjim172000

iTrader: (1)

The ministry can detect how far people are travelling to go to a test, i think it will also show what you said about going from one station to another. Its all part of the 'risk' assessment the ministry do.

IANS2RST

iTrader: (1)

been quite a few cases of dodgy 071's. worth trying some different plugs. personally I use denso iridiums but a cheaper alternative would be ngks bcr8es I think or champion c61's or 59's. when I had 071's in mine I occaisionally had a lumpy idle until fully warmed up

mercmark

yeah, I'd read that about the Ford plugs, so the NGK's may be worth a go. I also don't like the design of the 071 as the electrode doesn't fully overlap, and the gap is a bit harder to measure.

I'm also going to reset the TPS. Thinking back I'd read somewhere that the reading at closed throttle should be 0 volts, but after a bit of searching on here, I know that's wrong and the base setting for a TPS on a L8 is 0.2-0.25v or 40-70 ohmes (Ford say 40 ohmes)- it would certainly explain the lumpiness and the wayward CO readings (too weak at fast idle)

All said and done the car still goes like stink, and if the car had been a pre Aug 92, I probably wouldn't have noticed any of this. Also the readings are very close, so its going to be something that's only slightly out of whack.

Just to clarify, I didn't actually put the car in for a formal test. The guy at the MOT station does some trade work for me and he let me use is gas analyser, and perform a couple of dummy MOT test runs - last time it went in for a "proper" formal test was back in early October.

mercmark

.....have delayed MOT until tomorrow, as I've just replaced & adjusted the TPS. The original was way out and doing some strange things one of which was randomly showing a 4v signal voltage. I also noticed the casing was coming apart, so it's possible moisture may have got in.
Replacement is set at 0.20v at idle and steadily rises to 4.7'odd holding steady voltage at all positions.

Idle misfire has gone, and throttle response is much better right up through the whole range and exhaust note is super even.

Also cleaned the multiplugs on the bulkhead, as some were really caked up.

mercmark

Just a quick update...

....good new! passed it's MOT fair and square on Friday. I can't pin point the fix to exactly to what I did in the last couple of days, but one of them has solved the prob!

Lesson to be learnt here though, always check what would seem like the least obvious things first (like connections, earth points, spark plug gap etc) before you start shelling out dosh on new sensors etc!

mechanic28

iTrader: (5)

is your lamda sensor still connected via bullet connectors?

mercmark

yep it's still connected with bullets, and seems to be functioning fine...I did clean all the connectors up though, and I'll probably solder them up and cover the joints with heat shrink tube when time allows.

mechanic28

iTrader: (5)

would deffo solder them or try and get a o.e sensor with a proper plug as those bullet connector dont do the readings much good due to the high resistance nature of the connnectors

mercmark

know what you mean......I'll make a point of doing it this week. I suppose given the nature of the signal voltage the connectors have to be A1.

mechanic28

iTrader: (5)

they do indeed fella!although i have to say i think the tester is being abit tight!although he is just doing his job

Miller 3

iTrader: (4)

iirc the TPS on a L8 (PF09) should be 0.34v @ idle and 5v @ WOT

mercmark

I've read all sorts of different settings for the PF09 on an L8, some say 0.00v, some 0.25v, and I also remember reading 0.6V somewhere too. Also from what I understand the L8 only uses the voltage readings as reference points, so it's not as critical than it is on L6.
It seems to be working set at what it is now, but I may increase it to 0.34v @ idle and see if it makes any difference.