Hydrocarbons = 2000!?!?!?

[PhoenixRPR]

92 Eclipse GSX (close to stock).

I have read through several threads, but haven't found an answer to my problem yet, so I decided to post. Here we go...

I live in California and needed to go to a test-only center for smog. My results were:
Max Allowed My HC Result

953 RPMS (idle) 120 2000 Fail (GP)
2500 RPMS 140 306 Fail (GP)

Max Allowed My CO

953 RPMS (idle) 1.00 0.51 Pass
2500 RPMS 1.00 1.04 Fail

GP = Gross Polluter

They couldn't run the NO test because they didn't have a 4-wheel dyno and I have a AWD dsm. However, the tester said my EGR looked good (it's new) so he would pass on that part.

I'm not venting my BOV line to the atmosphere. I have brand new NGK 6ES spark plus, gapped to 0.30. I have fairly new Accel Thundersport plug wires.
The technician at the station said that my timing was at 14 degrees, when it should be at 5, causing the car to be lean. However, he said this is a minor problem and fixing that would not bring my astronomical HC reading down below the requirement. If you see this thread of mine, I think you will have more indications of how my car is running. The timing is shown in the 3rd graph. http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130496
I also have a fairly new catalytic converter. The TB is spotless and I also just used some lucus fuel injector cleaner to clean up the fuel system before the smog test. Please advise, thanks.

 

[PhoenixRPR]

The formatting above is screwy.

Should read:

Max Allowed My HC Result

953 RPMS (idle) 120 2000 Fail (GP)
2500 RPMS 140 306 Fail (GP)

Max Allowed My CO Result

953 RPMS (idle) 1.00 0.51 Pass
2500 RPMS 1.00 1.04 Fail

If this doesn't fix the formatting of my table, I apologize for not being saavy enough to get it to show up in the thread as it does in the text box.

 

[thefisl]

how long before going to the test did you use the lucas? Just a shot in the dark but wouldn't those deposits that get cleaned have to be burned off? they have to go somewhere.........if you did the lucas treatment right before the test i would say go for a couple of drives on the hwy or long stretches of road to clear that crap up and maybe then....like i said this is just a shot in the dark but something to think about....good luck

 

[PhoenixRPR]

The lucus was put in a few days before the test. It was burned up by the time I tested the car.

 

[PhoenixRPR]

I took the car to get diagnosed on a machine and they read it as 800-1000 HC. I don't know why the other place saw it as 2000. But 800-1000 is still nowhere close to passing. They said that the catalytic converter needs to be replaced because its an autozone aftermarket (cheap) one and not big enough to do its job. However, that cat is only a few months old, but they still claim its causing some of this problem because they saw carbon partially blocking the honeycombs inside the cat. I don't think replacing a semi-blocked cat will bring the HCs down that drastically though. They also say there's an exhaust leak through the gasket that mounts the inlet side of the cat to the exhaust pipe leading away from the engine (pipe after the downpipe I believe). They even told me that O2 sensor response was "lazy", but I don't agree with that. It pulses every second of so, as shown in my datalogger results (feel free to check http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130496 )

They readjusted the timing from 14 degrees down to 5 degrees. After that, the car's power has dropped significantly, is that normal? The car is also having a hard time starting and accelerating after they messed with it.

 

[PhoenixRPR]

Thoughts?

 

[PhoenixRPR]

Problem solved! Hopefully this resolution helps some of you. The EGR valve, although new, was not working because my thermal vacuume switch was broken. After replacing the thermal vacuume switch, the EGR valve worked perfectly. This lowered my HCs from appx. 900 to 300. We then replaced my 3 month old autozone catalytic converter (short style) with a different cat (long style) $75.00. We also replaced 2 exhaust flange gaskets, which were leaking exhaust, that connected an exhaust pipe to the inlet of the catalytic converter. After these changes, the HCs dropped to 12.4! Max allowed to pass is 120 and average score of those who pass was appx. 30. So I'm VERY happy with my score of 12.4.