Hi all
The car failed MOT today on emmissions a little help needed
2.0 ltr 80.000 miles
runs great no problems at all,no eml light. no fault codes either
test result as follows
fast idle test    engine speed =2880 rpm pass
co                                       =0.57  %vol fail     0.30
hc                                       =131            pass   200
lambda                                = 1.022       pass  min 0.970 max 1.030

second fast idle
engine speed                       =3210   pass
co                                       =0.50   %vol fail    max 0.30
hc                                       =121        pass       200
any ideas what to look for
Thanks all

Probably worth doing a paperclip test anyway (in the guide section I think) - if you've not done that.

Beyond that a decent service (inc plugs and filter), fresh fuel and an italian tune up wouldn't go amiss ;)

can you take the plugs out and see what colour they are mine failed like that a few years ago and it was the plugs gone. thet were bright red on the pole were the spark comes from.

Best bit of advice i could give you mate is to clear out your breathers system  :y

When the tester's not looking pull his probe out (now now) & blow on it. Works every time ;)
Tried & tested :)

Pete. wrote on 06. Feb 2010 at 21:21:

When the tester's not looking pull his probe out (now now) & blow on it. Works every time ;) Tried & tested :)

;D ;D
Give your breathers a clean out mate :y this is also "Tried & Tested" :y

Clean the breathers then "drive it like you stole it" - sometimes called "an italian tuneup" - for a good few miles .....

Cleans the whole system out and gets the cats REALLY hot .... this cleans them and restores efficiency on many occasions.

Might help .. :)

Thanks alot guys will get on it in the morning ive got ten days for a free re test,i think im going to change the plugs and clean out the breathers not done them for a while.
do i give it the (italian tune up) just before i take it back for re test ? :-[
Thanks again
Tim

I'd give it one a couple of days before hand ... and on the way to the test ... the tester "should" allow the engine to run until at operating temp before doing the test .. but this might not put max temp into the cats... so if you get them nice and hot on the way there, as you are only having a retest they should still be hot when it's done ... If the car is left standing obviously they'll cool down ... nowt you can do about that I suppose .. :(

I had a similar failure on my annual MOT about 3 weeks ago.It failed on emissions and was advised that cat/lambda was at fault.
Added a fuel mixture from local factor to full tank of fuel and gave the car a really good blast down motorway with revs as high as possible.
Took car back to test centre for retest,and it passed with flying colours.When they asked had I replaced the parts...I told them no.....but only after I had the new test certificate.

Remember when giving your car a high revs tune up/clear out, you do not need to do mega leptons of speed. 

The gearbox layout allows you to rev the nads of it in the low gears and not break the national speed limit....     ;)

Darth Loo-knee wrote on 06. Feb 2010 at 21:30:

Pete. wrote on 06. Feb 2010 at 21:21: When the tester's not looking pull his probe out (now now) & blow on it. Works every time ;) Tried & tested :) ;D ;D Give your breathers a clean out mate :y this is also "Tried & Tested" :y

You may laugh, but it does work ;)

So Pete, just to clarify.If your car fail its MOT you pull the testers "probe" out and blow ?  :o :o ::) ;D ;D ;D...................personally I would rather buy a few new parts, but each to their own. ;) :D ;D

Albs wrote on 06. Feb 2010 at 22:26:

So Pete, just to clarify.If your car fail its MOT you pull the testers "probe" out and blow ?  :o :o ::) ;D ;D ;D...................personally I would rather buy a few new parts, but each to their own. ;) :D ;D

I knew it would end like this ;D

My mates Trans-Am failed badly on emissions. The tester blew on the probe, stuck it back in the exhaust & it passed with flying colours.

Pete. wrote on 06. Feb 2010 at 22:42:

Albs wrote on 06. Feb 2010 at 22:26: So Pete, just to clarify.If your car fail its MOT you pull the testers "probe" out and blow ?  :o :o ::) ;D ;D ;D...................personally I would rather buy a few new parts, but each to their own. ;) :D ;D I knew it would end like this ;D My mates Trans-Am failed badly on emissions. The tester blew on the probe, stuck it back in the exhaust & it passed with flying colours.

Must have had Camel Breath ;D

Just refering back to this 'cat' temperature. When my car went through the MOT not long since, the emissions were well out, the tester said the cat was cold and I had to run the engine at about 2,500 revs for a few minutes to warm the cat, it then passed with ease.
   I had got the car up to normal running temperature  with a run before going to the testing station.

Mine failed on emissions last year. Added some Forte Injection cleaner and took it for a run the night before the re-test. Passed ok next day. As DLK said, clean out breathers, check plugs, and it will go a very long way to improve readings. DLK did mine late last year and along with regular oil changes i am not expecting any probs with mine in a couple of months time when i take it in for test.  :y

Hi guys just to let you know car needed a new cat,now got 12 months MOT :D

So did you take any of the advice that was given to you before you had the cat diagnosd as being scrap?

I suspect not but hey ho you got the ticket, and a large bill. :-?

ffcgary1 wrote on 10. Feb 2010 at 22:28:

So did you take any of the advice that was given to you before you had the cat diagnosd as being scrap? I suspect not but hey ho you got the ticket, and a large bill. :-?

With a Lambda of 1.022 I suspect that might not be the end of it. :-/

Kevin

Change the engine oil and filter and air filter. Make sure oil is not being blown through the breather system in the intake and being burnt. Give the car a good blast just before going to the test site and get it properly warmed up. If the worst comes to the worst, there is an oil addative available from motor factors.
Works for me!  :y

Hi, Yes i did everything you guys sugested changed spark plugs, cleaned out the breathers, i even put in some wyns pre Mot emissions cleaner,when i took it back for mot it failed again at about the same readings as before which led me to believe it was either the cat or the lambda, thanks to you all for helping me out, the car is running much better now :D
Tim