The tech said it was due to the check engine light was on or the battery being removed.

I did have my battery replaced about 3 days ago.

And the weird thing is, when I got the car, the VDC Slip light was on?

Maybe he had trouble driving the car out of the dyno. But it looks like the VDC light disappeared.

Now, what do I do? The I don't see check engine light at all. I do see a service light. But it's not even on. It turns off and turns off.

So why did I fail for "MIL/Check Engine Light".

He did mention something about driving on the freeway for 20 minutes between 50-70mph.

That should somehow allow the "engine to relearn" or something.

This sucks! And this place doesn't offer a FREE RE-TEST.


I

 

Go to pepboys and see if they can pull any codes from your car via the OBDII port, if they pull any code figure out what it is and go from there, if no code is pulled(meaning your car is fine), go to the place to get your car go thru emissions again and pull the negative off the battery, reconnect it after 20 min and go thru with the emissions assuming no check/service light come son.

 

Ok, I got my answer.

When the dealership replaced my battery, all the "data was wiped out".

So there is not enough "Data" in the ECU.

I have to drive on the highway for 30 minutes so there is some data in the computer for the guys in Sacrament to read.

 

This issue often arises for owners who have failed an emissions test because their ECU is not in the "ready" state. This typically happens when they have disconnected the battery and have not allowed enough time for the car to complete a "drive cycle".

The Drive Cycle

1. Start the engine. Allow the engine to idle until
the engine coolant temperature gauge needle
points between the C and H (normal operating
temperature).

2. Accelerate the vehicle to 55 MPH (88 km/h),
then quickly release the accelerator pedal
completely and keep it released for at least
10 seconds.

3. Quickly depress the accelerator pedal for a
moment, then drive the vehicle at a speed of
53 to 60 MPH (86 to 96 km/h) for at least 9
minutes.

4. Stop the vehicle. Leave the engine running.

5. Accelerate the vehicle to 35 MPH (55 km/h)
and maintain the speed for 20 seconds.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 at least 10 times.

7. Accelerate the vehicle to 55 MPH (88 km/h)
and maintain the speed for at least 3 minutes.

8. Stop the vehicle. Place the automatic trans-
mission gear selector lever in the P (Park) or
N (Neutral) position or the manual transmission
shift lever in the N position.

9. Turn the engine off.

10. Repeat steps 1 through 8 at least one more
time.


If step 1 through 7 is interrupted, repeat the
preceding step. Any safe driving mode is acceptable
between steps. Do not stop the engine
until step 7 is completed.

 

Lesson learned, never go to a smog station that doesn't offer free retest! Glad you found the reason for the failure. If you have the SES issue ever again most quality autoparts stores will pull it for you, going to PEPBOYS for anything isn't considered safe with our cars!
Gary

 

Thanks.

I don't believe it had anything to do with the check engine light. The tech thought I did the battery reset to cheat the system. (get rid of the check engine light).

None the less, the drive cycle is a PITA. Hopefully, just driving on the freeway for 30 mins will get me to pass.

 

I'm having a similar emmisions problem where the mechanic says I need to replace my ECU.
I replaced my o2 sensor twice and the light reads for the heater now.
He ran through the whole circuit and harness and said they're good.
He thinks the ECU isn't turning the heater on.
Cleared the code before running through emmisions and got a bunch of "Not Ready"

Any thoughts?

A OEM ecu is 150 bucks on eBay. Just gotta install and reprogram

Or is it possible to reprogram the the current ecu?

 

In Cali everything can fail you. Check engine light is an automatic fail and truthfully the shop should have told you that before charging you the fee. They ripped you off because they know it will fail, that was an extra 60 or so bucks in their pocket.

 

Sounds like a nightmare gl, or you could just move to Ohio and run straight pipes... lol catalytic converter??? sounds like it would just slow stuff down. j/k I am pretty sure they are illegal here too.