My 2005 CF, sat for a while in my garage and the new battery died, so I charged up the battery and took it in for emission test and the tech could not get a read-out, his system said "... On Board Computer is not ready ...". The Tech told me just drive it for 100 miles and come back, I drove for 140 and still same issue.

Looking at this forum I realized I have to do a "Drive Cycle", which I might add is kind of hard to do around my city, where the top speed is 45, and I'm not sure if the "Drive Cycle" can be performed in a low speed until I get it on the highway etc...?

Question:
How can I verify that "Drive Cycle" is completed successfully and the on-board computer is happy? Can I buy one of these "UltraGauge EM MX" and somehow view and verify the on-board computer is ready and populated correctly before going back to the emission place and dish out another $25.

I have Chrysler Max-Car, if I take it in, can they reboot / re-initialized the on-board computer some-how and avoid this "Drive Cycle" procedure?

Thanks for your help.
Alex

 

The answer to your last question is no.

DRIVE THE CAR, that is all there is to it. And a drive cycle has an actual definition. I once could quote it but can't right now.
It would involve the car warming up to operating temperature and then cooling off past a certain point. I don't see any shortcuts - you've got to drive the car.

What is needed here is driving history - and you have none.

Had the batter not been allowed to discharge, you'd not be fighting this, of course.

 

I written down the HOW 2 for "Drive Cycle" from this forum so I understand what to do, I do have a great battery maintainer/ charger, just lazy I guess.

SO, there is no way to use a OBD reader to make sure that drive cycle is complete, before going for emission test?

 

I'm tihnking the Ultragauge I have does have a way of verifying that, seems like I read that somewhere.

But I'm not sure.

 

Some OBD2 readers will give you the 'readiness' readings.

 

The OP has probably not been able to do this but it was covered a few years ago.
I'm not sure if this works but ...........CLICK

 

The drive cycle is made up of a few use cases. Some are based on mileage, others on the number of starts, fuel levels, and others are based on temperature rise and cool down.

http://www.obd2.com/support/reprog/d..._procedure.pdf

 

Posted by Ray Hacker at CICCI (rhacker382)

Here is how you create a "Ready" state for all your electrical components by driving about 8 - 10 miles
(for safety do it when there is little or no traffic):


The OBDII drive cycle begins with a cold start (coolant temperature below 122 degrees F and the coolant and air temperature sensors within 11 degrees of one another).

NOTE: The ignition key must not be on prior to the cold start otherwise the heated oxygen sensor diagnostic may not run.

1. As soon as the engine starts, idle the engine in drive for two and a half minutes with the A/C and rear defrost on. OBDII checks oxygen sensor heater circuits, air pump and EVAP purge.

2. Turn the A/C and rear defrost off, and accelerate to 55 mph at half throttle. OBDII checks for ignition misfire, fuel trim and canister purge.

3. Hold at a steady state speed of 55 mph for three minutes. OBDII monitors EGR, air pump, O2 sensors and canister purge.

4. Decelerate (coast down) to 20 mph without braking or depressing the clutch. OBDII checks EGR and purge functions.

5. Accelerate back to 55 to 60 mph at half throttle. OBDII checks misfire, fuel trim and purge again.

6. Hold at a steady speed of 55 to 60 mph for five minutes. OBDII monitors catalytic converter efficiency, misfire, EGR, fuel trim, oxygen sensors and purge functions.

7. Decelerate (coast down) to a stop without braking. OBDII makes a final check of EGR and canister purge.


NOTE: This was found at benzworld - but the procedure is good for any OBDII ECU

 

Nice Valk, I saved this for later since I will need to get my car smogged soon.

 

It always pays to read previous threads, I had posted exactly the same info 9 hours earlier. LOL
Up here in Canada we have had a lot of people get upset when the new regulations caused this problem to occur quite often for no good reason. The powers that be were told that the time span between tests was stupidly short and could be extended because most cars were so good pollution wise. Naturally this was ignored.

 

I don't understand if the OP has a warranty, why now just go to the dealer and get it resolved?

 

LOL damn, I missed it.

How is smog managed up there? Is it strict like California, or more laid back?

 

The test ($35) lasts two years, and is for cars five years and older. If you fail the test and fail again ($17.50) after spending $450 you will get a conditional pass. This would be for cars that are older normally. I have never had any trouble so I am not too sure of the system.
It was not wanted by the auto trade as the equipment cost a lot of money and the fee they could charge was small. They could make money on repairs but there never were too many cars to repair.
Some new test (January 1st 2013) has caused an abundance of fails due to the system not being ready, and in some cases many miles driven resulted in a repeated failures, very frustrating.
I have to get a test before I can get a sticker this March. Trouble is I disconnected my battery to attach the battery tender so now the system has to reset. I will not have the car on the road until after the tag expires, so I will have to drive it with an out of date disk for a bit. I could get a temporary tag. That costs more cash, so they have you by the short and curlys.
Here is the blurb on the Ontario Drive Clean program.
This gives the generic procedure to set the car up to pass the test as well.

 

That's actually pretty similar to California but our tests run $50-$100, if you fail you repay the full price. Each fail is automatically reported to the DMV, and we don't have a conditional pass. lol

We have C.A.R.B certifications for mods yet the smog shop and police (if they're in a bad mood) will write us anyway due to the fact the law states you are not allowed to modify the original running condition in any way. It's stupid. I've been turned away from a smog shop for an AEM intake on my eclipse before. Even though it had a CARB sticker and I had the documentation stating it's 50 state legal.

That really bites that you cant drive until the tag expires and it ends up working out that way.

 

This test only applies to those of us in the lower portion of the Province, the more heavily populated area. The area just north of us does not have the test.

 

Boy, am I lucky! I live in a county in central Pa. and we do not have an emission standard to meet. There are no metropolitan areas anywhere near me, so no emissions tests. I purchased my car from a dealer just outside Phila. so it had an emissions sticker on it. Hope this never changes, my condolences to those that have to deal with the beaurocratic crap.

 

Also if you have the Torque app and an adapter it will show you your drive status..
BA