Hey guys. I'm in Ohio, in a county that has e check, emissions checking. Anyway, I took my car for test so I can renew my registration and they told me that the probes they use for the exhaust could not get a reading. So, they would not pass me. Said there is a "sample dilution" and could be due to an exhaust leak. I assume I would be able to hear a leak. As far as I know I do not have a leak. Is there something else that would cause a dilution? Check engine light is not on.
Also, sample is diluted, wouldn't that mean low emissions? The whole point of the check in the first place ha
You've got a 95, is it a 4.6? If so they should be able to do the OBD-II based test. Ask them to hook up the scanner to the port under the passenger dash and see what they do...
Yep, 95 with the 4.6. I actually tried the self use kiosk that uses the OBD II today. First thing you do is scan the barcode on door jamb for VIN. When I did that the screen said the car isn't compatible, even though it has the ODB II. I called them the other day, before I tried the kiosk, and argued with the woman about how my car has OBD II. She tried telling me it didn't because it's a 95. Gotta love when they don't know what they're talking about.
Maybe I'll take it back to the drive through and see if they will hook it up to OBD II. I couldn't today because they are closed Sundays. Or maybe I'll garage it (I don't drive it in the winter anyway) let the plates expire, and then get a new plate in 2020. Car will be 25 years old and will not require an e check anymore.
Anywhere that does the emissions testing via OBD2 port only does it on anything 96 and newer. The fact that some 94 and 95 cars are OBD2 does not matter because this is purely a bureaucratic thing. As for your “sample dilution” issue, if you don’t have a massive exhaust leak, then they likely screwed up the test. Did you happen to notice if they blocked off the opposite exhaust pipe from the one they put the sniffer in? That potentially could cause that issue. I would try going to a different facility.
Here in Ohio any of the counties near Cleveland "which have a documented air quality problem" have to get the "E-check" every two years, or before transferring registration if it has been more than 12 months since the last test. Annual vehicle registration requires the e-check be current (12 months old or less) as well - so without it, you can't renew your plates.
Any cars 25 years old or more are exempt from the testing. As the old OBD-I cars have moved into this exempt age group the dyno/tailpipe test has gotten much more uncommon... so I'm guessing the equipment was acting up and/or the tech didn't know what he was doing.
terminator93 hit it on the head. Once car is 25 years or older it is exempt. That's why I thought I might just let the plate expire and get a new one next year in 2020. And by the way, I went to take the car to a different site as suggested and forgot today is Columbus Day, they're closed. Duh on my part ha
Would a P0402 EGR excessive flow cause a "diluted sample"? Just trying to figure out if its the car or the equipment/tech. The check engine light is not on but I have had a P0402 in the past. Changed the DPFE and the solenoid a couple years ago. Haven't had the code since.
So I was able to take the car to a different testing location. Same result of a sample dilution. The guys there really tried to pass it. They ran the test like 8x. Tried both tail pipes, tried just the right side and also different probes. They said their system doesn't allow them to OBD II test it. Just figured I'd throw out an update if anybody was wondering.
JAB - Is on-line registration renewal available? Try it anyway despite not passing the emission test. That's what I did with my '95 and it worked. Good luck. - Jim
We can renew online in Ohio but the database between the E-check system and the registration system is linked, so we can't renew unless there is a valid e-check on file within the previous 12 months.
JAB - out of curiosity which locations were you visiting? Just curious if either is one I visit regularly.
Virginia is the same way. Exemption at 25 years. January 2019: I got the postcard in the mail reminding me to renew my registration, saying that an emission test was needed. Emission inspection station failed my 1995 LX, January 2019. Most recent pass was January 2017. Took it to another station for a retry, inspector showed me on-line renewal was available for my vehicle. So I renewed on-line.
Hey guys. My birthday is Sunday so I was running out of time. I had to renew another car so I was able to ask the people at the license bureau about the thunderbird and I have a solution. I am able to just let the plate expire, I garage the car over the winter anyway, and renew it whenever I choose in 2020. The car will be 25 years old and no longer require the e check to register. I will have to pay a $10 penalty for late registration, but they will prorate the new registration. So I will actually probably save money haha.
theterminator93- I visited the Valley View location near Rockside and Canal. I also visited a Cleveland location on South Miles. I gotta the guys at the South Miles location did everything they could to try and pass the car. The tech who ran it saw me in line and pulled me over to a different bay. Said he hadn't seen a thunderbird like that in years and wanted to check it out haha. Even asked if I wanted to sell it.
Hah, that's pretty cool. Yeah I occasionally get comments too, but it's rare anymore. Probably the guys who had one new and hated getting rid of it when the time came. Or maybe they worked at the plant in Lorain... never know, anyway. The place I usually go to is either the one on Sperry in Westlake or the one in Elyria by the Ford dealer on 57. Just depends where I'm at with work...
Follow-up: So what happened? You re-register it and driving it now that it's exempt?
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