2G Not passing smog because of monitors

[toojung2die]

1997 Eclipse Spyder GST a/t

OBD-II indicates I have three monitors stuck in a not ready condition. Nevada smog will allow up to 2 monitors not ready. Not ready are Catalyst, EGR system, Oxygen sensor heater.

There are no problem codes logged and no CEL. The car passes this part of the test. My friend runs the smog test station and he ran some diagnostics for me. Both O2 sensors are feeding back and the pre-cat sensor is in closed loop during idle. He reset the ECU and I drove almost a full tank of gas before bringing it back. The systems are still reading not ready and there is no CEL. The CEL turns on for about 5-10 seconds during start-up and goes out normally.

I replaced both O2 sensors and ran another half tank of gas, multiple trips. The sensors are still not ready with no errors logged and no CEL.

Mods: 3" catback exhaust, Injen style intake w/filter, "knock" LED on boost solenoid. All hoses, sensors and solenoids connected. Basically stock. Car runs great. What can I do before I have to take my baby to visit Satan.

 

[Evo4-6Clone]

toojung2die

What do you mean sue them in small claims court?
Im trying to find a solution to the problem, ive spent hundreds of dollars trying to fix this software problem and nothing...

i beleive i have a case and if i do im not doing anything small, im straight sueing mitsubishi!
i went to there so called loyal dealers and they BS me and try to get money from me for diag but i know they cant fix the problem and they stated they may not even be able to fix the problem... hmmm

any advice?????

 

[toojung2die]

What do you mean sue them in small claims court? Any advice?????

No advice as far as getting your Mirage to pass smog. I understand your frustration and anger. I've been there. I can get past the smog test because I learned how do do it here. I'm not blowing you off. Just suggesting that it would be great if someone pissed off enough took Mitsubishi to court and hit their bank for a chunk.

 

[TopGun8818]

^Good Luck^
Check out RRE's class action lawsuit thread in regards to the walking crankshafts; these guys don't own up to $hit. I honestly can't ever see myself buying a mitsubishi again outside of my DSM.

 

[InfiniteGSX]

AZDAVE,

I'm glad that you have enough road space in Arizona to be performing the "very specific guidelines." Not the case here in the city; where straight away unpopulated roads are very scarce. Heck! the damn Delorean would run out straight away road way before 88mph You are correct, the smog guys will ask you to turn off the car. However, in my case they were understanding of the situation after seeing that the readiness monitors would not set - so they were ok with me leaving the car on after I came back the next day. This forum isn't about "mines the best way," it's about what best works for someone in their situation. That is why everyone's own experience and feedback greatly helps out when it comes to things like these.

Holy shit, I thought small redneck towns with no exits besides the exits that vortex loop back to the other side of town only existed in movies. The world certainly is changing. Dave, being one of the smartest peeps on this forum, and one with a little too much time on his hands is giving his very well advice on a sure fire way to pass. I for one don't have to worry about this because I can tell my ECU to pass any time I wish.... as well as sit, stay and play dead... Still working on Fetch but the DSM really got the Play Dead game down like a champ! I understand you might only live in a 1 square mile town but that doesn't really mean you can't drive. And even so, these lil redneck towns have emissions? Even our smallest towns in the shitty state I live in that require emissions you can redline your speedo for a good minute or two, and then turn right around. The point is to train, aka Calibrate the ecu. Give it the exact information it requires to ready up for an emissions test in the best way. I for one drove 100 miles out of town and back. But it was ok, had lunch with my mom in Madrid, saw some decent scenery. It was worth it. And we were lucky because our inspector who is a friend, gave us his computer logger which told us when specifics were ready. And we are somewhat the same with a 75% Ready, chance to pass.

My advice..... Pull in, don't shut off the car, peg it off the rev limiter until you see smoke pile out of your exhaust and your Engine start to sound like its an electric engine loosing battery power, Hike your leg like a dog on your driver side tire, flip off the inspector and driv.... push your car out of the bay! -THE END!

To the idiot that figures "well this guy knows what he's talking about, I'm gonna try that!"... Don't do it, I'm being sarcastic and trying to catch a few laughs!

 

[Evo4-6Clone]

pass anytime,SIt and play dead?

PLEASE EXPLAIN WHAT YOU MEAN
ive reread your post about 8times now and still cant understand

 

[toojung2die]

Check out RRE's class action lawsuit thread in regards to the walking crankshafts.

The reason the woman won against Honda was because she opted out of the class action lawsuit and invested the time to follow it through on her own. She took it to small claims, won her case and came close to maxing out the dollar limit. The only people that make any money on class action lawsuits are the lawyers.

Just thought I'd throw the idea out there. It would be awesome if a DSM owner could duplicate.

 

[HX35GSX]

Other than the OBDII Wiki article this thread seems to contain the most info related to the OBDII readiness monitor issue found in 97-98 4G63 Eclipse/Talon platforms.

I have an early 97 TSI AWD auto (build date July 96) that I could not get to set all monitors to "ready" in order to pass AZ emissions testing. I thought I was following the TSB-03-13-005 drive cycle instructions carefully but I was not.

Once I understood the exact procedure required, the ECU set all the conditions to "READY" and I easily passed the OBDII test.


I have boiled down the test procedures to only what applies to the 97-98 Eclipse/Talon and pointed out why the test appeared to not working for me at first.

In my testing I only had a Scan Gauge II monitor on the OBDII port. It would allow me to read and reset CEL codes and to see the status of drive-cycle monitors as incomplete or complete (output as a hexadecimal code). Newer Actron scanners usually will show the Readiness Monitors named in a list so that you can see what has been completed.


The biggest thing I can warn you about during the first drive-cycle testing period is to trust yourself that you are making progress even though the scanner will not show a single test has completed (even if the entire first cycle testing has been done successfully). You will not see any updates on a diagnostic scanner until you have successfully completed at least one test of the second drive cycle. At that point you would see one test show "complete" and know you are on the right track. This is what originally fooled me into thinking I was not doing the testing correctly so I was inclined to stop and drive home instead of continuing the testing.

Other quick notes before starting:
Ignore anything you read on the OBDII TSB linked above about the Strict Evap Leak Monitor Test. 97-98 Eclipse/Talon 4G63 use Purge Flow Monitoring.
Forget what you've heard about the testing needing to start when the engine is cold or that you only have 16 minutes to complete some of the requirements. That only applies to the Strict Evap Test and that does not apply to the models we are concerned about.

The engine needs to be above 180F for all testing.
One drive-cycle is defined to be the engine being started and turned off in one session. The first list of four tests should be completed all in one drive-cycle. If you turn the key off you will need to run the list all over from the top.

The four test may be run in any order but I like to do the hard tests first and I usually pick a very early Sunday morning when traffic is very light and when speeding up and slowing down will cause the least concern. In my case I choose a 8 mile length of freeway that also had a frontage road so I had a choice of speed ranges I could safely travel.

FIRST DRIVE CYCLE
Here are the four tests in the order I like to run them.

CATALYST MONITOR
Engine must be warm and driven at freeway speeds for a minute or two and then start the following:
Drive at a constant speed for two full minutes. During these two minutes you must not exceed 2600 RPM nor allow the throttle to return to full idle position. After two minutes have elapsed fully release the accelerator and coast for 10 seconds. Repeat 6 times.

In my case I simply held 2500 RPM on the freeway for two minutes and then when no one was behind me I left off the gas and coasted for 10 seconds. I then repeated that 5 more times. You do not have to complete this six times in a row. If you run into traffic just re-start the two minute timer once you get back up to speed. If you feel you might have messed one up then do a 7th or 8th routine to be sure you have 6 good cycles.

Cliff Notes: Drive 2 minutes on freeway at 2200-2500 RPM (if you exceed 2600 RPM or close the throttle, re-start timing). After 2 minutes elapse, coast for 10 seconds (Repeat 6 times).

EGR MONITOR
Engine must be warm. Drive 20 seconds at 40 MPH at between 2400-2600 RPM (A/T models set overdrive to "OFF"). After 20 seconds release throttle and coast until speed drops to 20 MPH. Wait approximately 5 more seconds. Repeat the test 8 times in the first cycle only.

Cliff Notes: Drive 20 seconds at 40 MPH maintaining 2400-2600 RPM (MT tranny in 3rd or 4th, Auto tranny O/D off). After 20 seconds release throttle and coast to 20 MPH then wait 5 more seconds before repeating 8 times.

O2 SENSOR
This one is easy to complete if your O2 sensors are in good condition. Warm engine. Drive for 2 minutes at 40 MPH. RPM range required (A/T 1100-3000 RPM, M/T 1500-3000 RPM). Required only once per drive-cycle. Told you it was easy.

PURGE FLOW MONITOR
I do this one last in the cycle because the car is already warmed up good and you do it while parked. Simply shift into Park or Neutral and idle for a full 5 minutes. All accessories must be off with no electrical loads, do not apply brake or have your sound system thumping. Steering wheel should be centered and not turned during the 5-minute test. The ECU must see that the intake air controller is in use, that the system is operating in Closed Loop and that the TPS sensor shows the gas pedal is not depressed (idle switch on). This is easy....just park the car while idling and don't turn anything on or touch the gas pedal.

This completes one full drive cycle and remember that all of the above 4 tests must have been completed without the key ever being cycled off.
If you have successfully completed all test within the first drive cycle unfortunately you have no way to know that at this point. Even the fancy dealership computer boxes will not indicate any updates at this time. Now you can turn the car off, wait 10 seconds or more and then begin the second drive cycle.

SECOND DRIVE CYCLE
Repeat the above four tests again except this time you should only have to do each test once. There should be no need to repeat the EGR and CAT test multiple times as in the first drive-cycle. If you have an OBDII tester that shows when a ready condition has been met then you should start to see the individual tests on the list show "complete" status as you work through this second cycle. Once all four show complete you should then see the OBDII Readiness condition change from "NOT READY" to "READY".

At this point, turning off the ignition should not erase or forget any of the testing you just performed. The only time you will completely have to start over is if the battery is removed from the car or if you reset a CEL light at any time.
In the future if you get any CEL light it is much better NOT to force a reset or you will have to go through this whole process again before you could pass emissions testing.

If you have a CEL light it is sometimes better to fix the condition but not immediately reset the light. Normal driving over the next few days will reset the CEL light on its own if you have fixed the problem and you won't have to completely start all over with this complicated OBDII Drive-Cycle process.

Mitsubishi Motors Technical Service Bulletin
http://www.obdclearinghouse.com/OBD-CH/documents/newdocuments/mitsubishi/tsb0313005.pdf




Cut and paste this text to a printable document for quick reference in the vehicle.


CATALYST MONITOR TEST
Drive 2 minutes on freeway at 2200-2500 RPM (if you exceed 2600 RPM or close throttle, re-start timer). After 2 minutes elapse, coast for 10 seconds. (Repeat 6 times).

EGR TEST
Drive 20 seconds at 40 MPH maintaining 2400-2600 RPM (MT tranny in 3rd or 4th, Auto tranny O/D off). After 20 seconds release throttle and coast to 20 MPH then wait 5 more seconds. (Repeat 8 times).

O2 SENSOR
Drive for 2 minutes at 40 MPH. RPM range required (A/T 1100-3000 RPM, M/T 1500-3000 RPM).

PURGE FLOW MONITOR
Park the car while idling and don't turn anything on or touch the brake or gas pedal for 5 minutes.

Turn off ignition, wait ten seconds, restart and repeat each test (but only one cycle is required so this will not take nearly as long as the first cycle.
Check OBDII for "ready" condition.

Would this work if I removed my EGR valve, charcoal canister, along with all the vacuum lines? My GSX hasnt been running in over a year so I know that the readiness monitors are not ready. If I delete the above mentioned will I have a problem with the obdII inspection?

What about this?
"1996 - 1998 Mitsubishi vehicles - These vehicles may have a high degree of "Not Ready" for
catalyst monitor due to a "trip based" design. Mitsubishi has provided driving cycles in its
service information to allow monitors to operate. These vehicles should be scanned for MIL
illumination without regard to readiness status."

Would I be able to use this to my advantage? I got it off page 31 of the EPA's "Performing Onboard Diagnostic System Checks as Part of a Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance Program"

 

[HX35GSX]

So can anybody elaborate on this???^^^

 

[AllConfused]

New member here, been following this thread for a while and thought I would throw in my $.02 cents regarding Arizona (Phoenix to be exact).

I purchased a stock 97 Eclipse GST convertible with 80K miles on the car for $3200. I went to smog the car and received the "Not Ready" status for 5 of the systems. I was advised to complete a drive cycle for my car. I went home, googled the drive cycle and the first forum I came to had a reply with "HAHA you can't". Upon further research I found this forum and this thread specifically.

I contacted Arizona's Department of Air Quality regarding the matter. They informed me that on May 04, 2011 the 96-98 'All Models' have been removed from the IM/OBD Vehicles Readiness Exception List (EPA420-F-08-009). I was e-mailed the attachment that states "The OBD readiness criteria for this vehicle allow two monitors to be incomplete. Test as normal."

At this point in time, I replaced the battery on my car and plan to follow azdaves' drive cycle suggestion as I have followed the drive cycle released by Mitsubishi (TSB-00-13-005) without luck at this time.

 

[MY1GDSM]

I purchased a stock 97 Eclipse GST convertible with 80K miles on the car for $3200. I went to smog the car and received the "Not Ready" status for 5 of the systems. I was advised to complete a drive cycle for my car. I went home, googled the drive cycle and the first forum I came to had a reply with "HAHA you can't". Upon further research I found this forum and this thread specifically.

This isn't exactly true... if for some unforeseeable reason your car's Ecu needed replaced the newer Ecu might make it pass

Don't ask me how though

Moral and legal responsibilities are all yours(off-road use only)

 

[Remz540]

I run a PA state inspection and emissions shop for what it's worth in my experiences with not ready codes on OBD 2 cars the car must b driven up if not more then 500 mile or more. Some Toyota, lexis, Audi, vw. If u reset the Ecu the state OBD reader will know and it won't work no matter how many times you try. Best of luck and my advise is if you know someone have them run there car on the state OBD2 reader and when u pass they can do the safety.

 

[AllConfused]

Well, no luck with the drive cycle. I am nearing 1K miles total. Almost 700 miles before replacing battery and now 300 since battery change. Anyone know which computer I can put into the car to bypass this issue? Specific Model number of ECU or ebay links would work as well. Thanks.

Contacted Arizona's Department of Air Quality again to see if there is any sort of waiver I can get. 1K miles have been put on the car now attempting drive cycles. I just can't get it to complete.
-----------
Located a 99 ECU on Ebay and purchased it. Should be installed this weekend. Guy at Department of Air never got back to me. Figures.

 

[rhodes2010]

You already have what you need.
The 1996, 97, 98 Eclipse will never have the monitors in a ready state.
It is a fact, unless you follow some extremely difficult rules
offered by Mitsubishi.

I JUST went through this a few weeks ago.

My 1996 Eclipse GSX has 5 monitors that refuse to go ready.
After calling my state board that handles smog regulations they told me
to instruct the smog test person to skip the OBDII readiness and
do the tail pipe test.

The state systems are designed to overlook readiness for a specific
list of vehicles, the list is long, and our Eclipses are on that list.

The problem is test people keep using the OBDII monitors to pre-check
and check for readiness. Eventually they would like this to be the only test.

Anyway - a 1999 Eclipse ECU works as it should, but
the state document with the list of exempt vehicles works for us.

I learned this after hours of wasted time and gas.

Hopefully the docs I just uploaded will stay attached here.
Print these and show them to testing station.

 

[AllConfused]

Yeah I understand what your saying, however the documents you uploaded are no longer followed by Testing Stations.

On May 4, 2011 the EPA released new documentation.

 

[MY1GDSM]

Guess you Don't want some help? I do this stuff all day long and have this stuff on hand... .

Good luck with EBay I really hope you did your hopework as about 95% of what is on there is either falsely advertised or just flat isn't what they say... I've seen switch case and all sorts of things...

 

[AllConfused]

Guess you Don't want some help? I do this stuff all day long and have this stuff on hand... .

Good luck with EBay I really hope you did your hopework as about 95% of what is on there is either falsely advertised or just flat isn't what they say... I've seen switch case and all sorts of things...

I took your Don't ask me how literally as Don't Ask. Yeah, I will take all the help and input I can get. I have to get this smogged as I have no other car.

 

[MY1GDSM]

Just PM me or Email me(thought I did when I posted that)... There was a part to that you didn't see I think

I would have put a strait face or something if I was serious... . Damn tone deaf Internet...

 

[danielgw2004]

Well, no luck with the drive cycle. I am nearing 1K miles total. Almost 700 miles before replacing battery and now 300 since battery change. Anyone know which computer I can put into the car to bypass this issue? Specific Model number of ECU or ebay links would work as well. Thanks.

Contacted Arizona's Department of Air Quality again to see if there is any sort of waiver I can get. 1K miles have been put on the car now attempting drive cycles. I just can't get it to complete.
-----------
Located a 99 ECU on Ebay and purchased it. Should be installed this weekend. Guy at Department of Air never got back to me. Figures.

I have the same problem as you when my battery was dead over the winter. my car is 97 Eclipse GSX. I bought a 99 ecu from ebay but later found out it won't work on the 97 cars but only 98-99. I am using ECM Links with a eprom ecu, I just installed yesterday and will test drive in the next few days. I really don't want to the ECMlink because I don't plane to do any Mod on my car. Please post update when you get any luck with your car.

 

[DSMnOOb00]

I have the same problem as you when my battery was dead over the winter. my car is 97 Eclipse GSX. I bought a 99 ecu from ebay but later found out it won't work on the 97 cars but only 98-99. I am using ECM Links with a eprom ecu, I just installed yesterday and will test drive in the next few days. I really don't want to the ECMlink because I don't plane to do any Mod on my car. Please post update when you get any luck with your car.

Same thing here! My monitors won't ready up, plus I have a bogus p1105 code too!! I'm saving up for ECMLink

 

[danielgw2004]

Same thing here! My monitors won't ready up, plus I have a bogus p1105 code too!! I'm saving up for ECMLink

I fix my car with P1105 code before, it was the fuel pressure solenoid. You can test it with Multimeter along with power. If you going to replace your, here is the part number: MR126455

VALVE ASSYEMISSION CON [Part# MR126455]
Mitsubishi List Price:$48.80
Your Price:$39.04

Good Luck!:
cool:

 

[MY1GDSM]

. I bought a 99 ecu from ebay but later found out it won't work on the 97 cars but only 98-99.

Yes it will if your going to say something like this explain why it doesn't or don't spread misinformation.

97 just don't have a few emissions parts that the 99 do so unless you install the missing parts it will throw a code for them.. there is a pressure sensor an solinoid that come to mind first.

If your purchased ecu actually wouldn't make the car run something is wrong with it or you where victim to one of many falsely advertised Ecu on EBay...

 

[dougpenhall]

I just wanted to thank you all for all your effort and hard work, and for posting all this information in this forum.

I'm in California and without you guys my girlfriend's car would have never passed smog.

We had to take it the referee and they passed it.

If anyone else in California experiences this issue, then your smog tech is probably screwing up so take it to a referee and they'll pass it.

 

[abovethefirehouse]

Hello. I'm new here. who is the referee? i feel dumb asking but you cant learn with out asking.

 

[SmalltownDSMer]

The referee is who your car will get sent too if an officer believes you have illegal modifications. They will inspect and possibly tear your car down to find such things.

I was not aware that they will approve smog for you, but the post above you states so. Had a buddy get his car sent to a ref back when I lived in Cali, after finding everything illegal on his car it was given back to him in a pile of parts and told to make it legal.

Jayson

 

[abovethefirehouse]

Sadly im bone stock and i don't want to get tagged driving with expired tags to get these monitors to turn on. How can we show these test only that my car is on the exempt list? i have a 98 eclipse gs spyder...

The referee is who your car will get sent too if an officer believes you have illegal modifications. They will inspect and possibly tear your car down to find such things.

I was not aware that they will approve smog for you, but the post above you states so. Had a buddy get his car sent to a ref back when I lived in Cali, after finding everything illegal on his car it was given back to him in a pile of parts and told to make it legal.

Jayson