Emissions MOT Fail (But Only Just) - What Are My Options?
Discussion
I have an old (W reg) VW Golf that I use strictly for running stuff to the local dump, picking up shopping etc etc etc. It does about 1,000 miles per year at most but it's failed its MOT on Emissions.
It had to reach 0.2 on the Carbon emissions measure and on its first attempt was at 0.5. The garage stuck a fluid in the fuel tank and told me to go for a run for 1/2 an hour to really warm the cat up so that this fluid could flush through and clean it out.
I did this and at the end of 1/2 an hour I ran the car straight into the MOT bay and had the probe inserted into the exhaust and it had gone down to 2.6 - still too high.
The car is only worth about £750 and other than the emissions is still perfectly OK. The garage said that the next step is to do diagnostics on it.
It had a new cat 3 years ago and new lamda sensors as well so wont be as simple as merely replacing those.
This diagnostics investigation would 'cost money' they said and to be fair to them they also said that they didn't want to see me throw lots of money at it.
So, my question is, does anybody have any ideas of small tweaks to get the car down to the required 0.2 in the test from 0.26? Is there (perhaps) another fluid I can try? Seems ridiculous to write off a perfectly good barge for the sake of 0.06 on the MOT emissions test.
Cheers
It had to reach 0.2 on the Carbon emissions measure and on its first attempt was at 0.5. The garage stuck a fluid in the fuel tank and told me to go for a run for 1/2 an hour to really warm the cat up so that this fluid could flush through and clean it out.
I did this and at the end of 1/2 an hour I ran the car straight into the MOT bay and had the probe inserted into the exhaust and it had gone down to 2.6 - still too high.
The car is only worth about £750 and other than the emissions is still perfectly OK. The garage said that the next step is to do diagnostics on it.
It had a new cat 3 years ago and new lamda sensors as well so wont be as simple as merely replacing those.
This diagnostics investigation would 'cost money' they said and to be fair to them they also said that they didn't want to see me throw lots of money at it.
So, my question is, does anybody have any ideas of small tweaks to get the car down to the required 0.2 in the test from 0.26? Is there (perhaps) another fluid I can try? Seems ridiculous to write off a perfectly good barge for the sake of 0.06 on the MOT emissions test.
Cheers
Petrol or diesel?
1000 miles a year and short journeys is a sure way to clog up a cars engine especially modern engines with exhaust gas recirculation systems and secondary air systems and such like.
Perhaps you just need to give the engine more of a spanking and take it right through the rev range in 2nd an 3rd!
Failing that, a quick run on VAGCOM -the diagnostics program will highlight any faults like temperature sensors which are perhaps making the car run rich. If it's running rich you will usually find wet/dirty spark plugs and lots of black residue on the exhaust tips.
1000 miles a year and short journeys is a sure way to clog up a cars engine especially modern engines with exhaust gas recirculation systems and secondary air systems and such like.
Perhaps you just need to give the engine more of a spanking and take it right through the rev range in 2nd an 3rd!
Failing that, a quick run on VAGCOM -the diagnostics program will highlight any faults like temperature sensors which are perhaps making the car run rich. If it's running rich you will usually find wet/dirty spark plugs and lots of black residue on the exhaust tips.
Will get one this lunchtime.
Re: the Lambda readings and HC
Just spoke to the garage who said they aborted the Emissions test before the print out stage as it was so high 0.5 that it was never gouing to make it so they didn't continue as they would have had to rev the car so hard it would have knocked the emissions machine out-of-sync.
The follow up test which acheived 0.26 (I watched that one happen) was similarly aborted when it became clear it wasn't going to make 0.2
Just spoke to the garage who said they aborted the Emissions test before the print out stage as it was so high 0.5 that it was never gouing to make it so they didn't continue as they would have had to rev the car so hard it would have knocked the emissions machine out-of-sync.
The follow up test which acheived 0.26 (I watched that one happen) was similarly aborted when it became clear it wasn't going to make 0.2
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