smog question

[ryhi]

i have never been thru the smog procedure and now my registration is up. i need to get my car smogged, but will i pass with my CEL on?

[JRE320]

No, you'll not pass the smog test if there's a problem in your car.
Let a shop repair it first before getting a smog test.

[alphanumeric]

I dont get it.. if your check engine light is on.. and it has nothing to do with the engine . they wont smog your car if hte check engine light is on?

I dont think it would matter.. becuzz if it passes.. it passes.. and ryans check engine light is one from the Vapor system

I dunno :(

[ryhi]

yay i passed..

[htfan1]

Originally posted by ryhi
yay i passed..

You're a lucky man!

I just looked into this for myself on the CA Dept of Consumer Affairs site. Technically, it should NOT have passed. The regulation says it is an automatic FAILURE if the CEL light is constantly ON.

You must be living a clean life!

[Denlasoul]

You guys still do the tailpipe thing? Where I'm at they just plug in the OBD II and let me go. Five minutes of my time, and emissions cert. :D

[alboogiee]

Originally posted by ryhi
yay i passed..

congrats man!

my infiniti had the engine light on and they guy wouldnt test it b/c he said it is automatic failure if the light is on... i pulled my batt cable and tested w/out light on...still failed...

[Prez]

Resurrected from 2005!

My registration was up in November...2008. I paid my registration, but I cannot pass a smog to save my life.

At first, I kept getting "not readies" and the tech would tell me to take it out and drive it around and come back. 2 or 3 times for that, I put it in the dealership and they shook their heads and held onto it for a month and came back with nothin' $1,000 later.

So I called DMV and got directed to State Referee. I go to SR appointment at LA Trade Tech, and the monkeys in the shop there look at my car and hmm and haw and decide they won't test it because they don't like the way the radiator hose looks. They say get it fixed and come back. Uh-huh.

Take it to Rusnak and a $250 car wash later, I can't get an appointment to get in to see those chumps. They're all booked up. I'm about to pull my F'in hair out.

Near as I can tell, when they pull out the ODB(?) plug under the steering wheel to plug it into the test machine, it triggers an automatic CEL. That's why I fail. Supposedly. This time.

So here it is, nearly November 2009. This odyssey has cost me at least $1,500 and everyone but me seems to be passing smog on this board.

So what do I do?

[OCKlasse]

What code(s) does your car read?

[Prez]

Probably "DIN plug under steering wheel is unplugged" or "No connection to ECU" or something.

Other than that, there are no codes to read, my friend. That's the problem. There's nothing wrong with the car.

When you unplug whatever DIN plug is underneath the steering wheel and plug it into the Smog Check computer, the CEL goes on. When you unplug the computer and reconnect the plug to whatever its supposed to be plugged into, the light goes off. Over the time that the testing is going on however, the CEL is on leading to massive amounts of fails. As in eight so far in 2009.

I thought maybe if I had someone fabricate a two-headed plug for me, that might work to solve the unplugging CEL problem, but... I really have no idea how to go about that engagement nor with whom.

And I got pulled over in Hollywood last night and the cops towed my car for expired regs despite the many pieces of evidence I had to tell them I was all over this problem.

Seriously, last night I wanted to sell the car.