handy

I know some of you are pretty good at diagnosing this stuff, so if you could offer any opinions i'd be grateful.

My car is a 92 civic hatch, the motor is a d15b purchased from the great guys at Teknotik(even though i didn't win the damn seats) and swapped in by me and my mechanic buddy 2 weeks ago. My old stock motor was blowing smoke and smelled like ***.

The new engine is a blast, but it kills me that it's failed the e test twice. It throws no codes(running a p28), has new o2,cap, rotor(wires are on order but old ones seem fine) NGK plugs,fuel filter,pcv,timing set dead on at 16, brand new AEM cai and Holley Airmass header (both CARB exempt if that means anything)running to stock cat, 2.25 mid pipe, and stock muffler. Using synth oil, ran injector cleaner last tank (but current tank is only regular gas.)

first testhe tested as a 1.6l)

asm2525
HC(75)119 fail
CO(.42).52 fail
NO(576)938 fail

curb idle
HC(200)101 pass
CO(1.00)0.18 pass
NO(N/A)

this was at a honda dealer that took it away into a huge 30 bay garage where i couldn't even see the testing, which kinda seems wrong to me. after that test, we advanced the timing a bit, and rigged on a new purge canister solenoid valve, which we noticed was not stock on the d15b....any one else have this problem?

anyway, second test (different place, 1.5l):

asm2525
HC(82)106 fail
CO(.45).29 PASS!!!!
NO(636)1017 fail

curb idle
HC(200)68 pass
CO(1)0.01 pass
NO(N/A)

My sticker is up july 5, so i'm walking if i don't figure this out fast. Any thoughts? Is changing cat a safe bet ($150) or suck it up and pay 450 for a conditional?

sorry looong post thx
jeff

imported_Dawson

mind as buy a cat cause a conditional is only good for i think a year (i should know that cause it is my job but ......you know)

plugs pregapped?

handy

ya dawson, plugs were gapped spec..the repair place would replace the cat as part of the $450 conditional, and i thought it was a 2 year. My mech. buddy can do cat at cost but he's not drive clean certified so it won't count toward conditional i believe...so do i roll the dice and have him do it and hope it passes, or do i play it safe and go the expensive $450(max) route ?
my card's close to maxxed out after that engine swap lol

can anyone tell me for sure if it's the cat?? motor was reasonably toasty both times, especially with the weather this week!

Buddah

Oh geez...where to begin...

Umm, it could be your evaporative fuel canister, fuel filter, air filter, or a bunch of other things. What type of fuel are you running? Was the computer given it's proper chance to program itself and recognize the engine? (since I assume it was disconnected from a power source when you swapped the engine out) Are you running a high flow cat?

Cheers,
Buddah.

Renegade_18

my thoughts is that ur CAT is all messed up cuz of ur old motor i think i'm going to have the same problem but thats where i would start .. cuz it gets plugged with oil and everything else ur motor burns or doesn't burn theres my 2 sense

Greg P.

Dr.K

**** the E-Test. All it is is a stupid GOVT cash grab. Go get a fake one.

imported_Mashimaro

if your NOx is high, that usually points to your cat being toast.
did you drive your car for a long time on the highway before testing as well? could be why your HC's are a bit higher as well...

i failed 5 times (we have 'AirCare' here in Vancouver) before i passed. my computer was the biggest difference in making me pass. the first few times i tried, i trippled the maximum allowable levels. when i put the computer in (p28 vs the p72 i ran the first few tests with), i halved all the maximum allowables...

i also:
-changed the o2 sensor
-put the stock header back on
-borrowed a friend's new cat
-retarded timing 1 degree
-filled up with 'Mohawk Gasoline' (ethanol)

anyways, hope this helps! good luck dood!

handy

thanks a lot for the responses, tcc is a good bunch of peeps for sure...
Cheers!


update: my buddy and i stuck on a new cat last night after work. Right away we could tell something was different...the idle was a lot less shaky, and he said the exhaust smelled much less rich( he's got a way better nose than mine but i could smell the dif too), and after we ripped it a while there was a good sulphur odour out the pipe, which i'd never smelled before from my civ. I don't want to jinx it but we've got a good feeling about our chances.

renegade: totally agree with you about the oil friggin with the old cat, that's what made me decide to gamble on it (plus it never hurts to put on a new part, eh)


Buddah: i think i was runnin the opposite of a high flow cat dude But you're making me think about the ecu it's a p28 and has given no signs that it's confused (not that i'd know what to look for)

Mashimaro: thanks for your help, very sorry to hear about your troubles! I think i'll be ready to take a shotgun to the test equipment after a third fail, let alone 5!!! Yes,you can bet your *** i will be driving hard on the highway next time for a good hour at least, after fillin it with sunoco 94...btw what engine are you running?

Dr.K: don't get me started on the gov't double standards, man


So tommorrw (sat) we do test number 3 and see if the gamble pays off... i will post the numbers, so place your bets gurus

ItalianMafia

let us know how it went.. i had the same problem a few weeks ago... i was told i needed to fix the cat, because it failed everything..

so i went to a mechanic that i knew and he gave me the part and install for $90, then it failed etest.... so i was kinda upset.. so i went back to him with the fail and he told me it wasnt the cat (stupid cadanadian tire told me it was the cat when i first failed) and he said its the 02 sensor.. so for $150 i got the 02 sensor fixed, installed, and etest... and it passed with flying colours..

handy

Sorry, no retest yet....the driveclean tech is off for the weekend at the garage i'm dealing with, which is open "24/7"....

looks like i'll be taking some *cough* unscheduled time off *cough* tomorrow to put this bitch to bed.....got a full tank of 94 and a prayer

imported_winner007

Most likely is your Cat. But i don't know why it doesn't fail at idle. That's weird.

handy

UPDATE: PAAAAAAAAASSSSSSS!!!

....but just by 1 point!

ASM2525
HC(82)81 !!!!!
CO(.45).12
NO(0636)406

Curb idle
HC(200)44
CO(1).02
NO(N/A)

Man, it doesn't get closer, i was one point away from takin a chainsaw to the place, lol...my mech buddy's theory (which he explained to me i dunno how many times before i got it) is that the CAI/header is responsible for the higher gases because it's helping the engine process more fuel by adding more air to the mix(?) So a more restrictive intake might bring down the numbers....anyway i'm not about to test that out anytime soon as i've had more than enough of this e-test **** to last me. But next time, i'll probably stick a sock in it...

Btw the owner kept asking me why i didn't go for the conditional, go for the conditional...i knew he would make damn sure that he got my full $450 if i did...so i told him" just run it"...he stalled me as long as he could, hoping my car would cool down, but in the end i lucked out....in your face pal

Anyway, hope this helps those who are having same probs



jeff

bbarbulo

iTrader: (2)

how so?? if your car runs like ***, it runs like ***.... it's in no way the gov'ts fault. I'm all for the e-test.

imported_Dawson

well said

imported_Mashimaro

Congrats buddy! feels good to finally pass eh? lol!

anyways, i'm running a B18C and had to swap out the p72 ecu for the old p28 in order to pass.

imported_Moe_Mentum

I was in the same boat as you ... I passed the HC by 1 point. I'll have to take it again next year, so I wouldn't mind finding a solution to the high HC. What normally causes high HC?