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Failed Smog in California


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I have an ej22 Obd1 in a 85 vanagon. Today was my first attempt at smogging the van and It failed. The HC and CO were above the limit. Before i installed the engine i did the timing belt purchased a non oem o2 sensor and replace the water temp sensor with one from o'reilly's.  The check engine light is not on. I was hoping someone could help me out and point me in the right direction on making the proper fix. ThankYou 

 

 

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That's really strange. It passed all the visual inspections (good) and it passed the 25mph tests (barely- but good) but failed the 15 mph rather badly. Also noticed it stated the cat was modified?

 

 

-I need some info to be more helpful and I might be able to get you passed (legitimately) if you answer everything:

 

 

1. What year is the donor engine or what year/model is it from?

1a. Running Subaru ECU or aftermarket?

 

2. What year is the catalytic converter from? Is it the VW cat from 1985? Or was it transferred from the donor?

 

3. Does the engine have a distributor or coil? 

3a. If distributor, are you running the correct ignition timing?

 

4. When was the last time you gave the engine a complete tune-up? By tune-up, I'm referring to plugs, wires, cap & rotor (if it has them), air filter, fuel filter, and most importantly an oil change? (modern engine oil with API certification for the engine, and not cheap, non-certified oil that's OK for an 85' VW, right?) 

 

5. Have you done anything to the engine like cam, header, advanced timing, modified exhaust  to work, or built exhaust new from scratch, etc.?

 

6. How have you routed the fresh air intake for the engine? Is it breathing air around the engine, or did you run an actual tube so it's pulling fresh air, away from exhaust and PCV?

 

7. Is the PCV system actually connected to the engine? i.e. Is there a vacuum hose connected to a PCV check valve that's connected to the valve cover? Or are you running a simple breather filter off the valve cover?

 

8. Did it pass a previous test? Or is this the 1st year running that engine?

Edited by Bushwick
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1) Engine is out of 1994 subaru legacy  

 

1a)  The ecu the came with the engine its the original 

 

2) The cat is airtek D- 280-97 5800 series  http://arb.ca.gov/msprog/aftermkt/devices/eo/D-428-3.pdf

There is an executive order allowing the cat to be run ran with the engine. It was provided with in a kit from a company called Kennedy Engineering 

 

3) Coil 

 

4) Before i installed the engine I did the timing belt. Replaced plugs with NGK (9126) FX31 Wire Set and plugs with NGK (2756) BKR6E-11. Oil was done and filter. . Fuel filter is also new. Air filter is also new. 

 

5) Nothing has been modified except for the exhaust head is not stock it come from  Kennedy Engineering.

 

7) I attached a diagram which how the how everything routed 

 

 

 

 

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New PCV valve and new spark plugs and wires if they aren't new.

 

I'm just on the other side of the "hill" from you and work on a lot of these motors.

 

If you want the fun trick - run the gas tank to near empty. Buy a gallon of Acetone from a hardware store. Go to the gas station and put your acetone in the tank with 4 gallons of premium gas. Drive around until the engine is good and warm to make sure the catalyst is at max efficiency and take it in and smog it.

 

The acetone burns super clean and will bring your numbers down. You'll get fewer MPG out of it and you wont be at peak performance, but it works like a charm to make the motor run clean.

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High HC and high CO says its either not getting enough air, or its giving too much fuel. 

 

Plugs and wires are new, but I would pull one or two of the plugs and see if they're covered carbon from excessive fuel. 

 

Temp sensor or MAF sensor will also affect fuel delivery. MAF can be skewed enough to greatly affect fuel mixture at lower rpm. 

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Was the engine smogged before going into the VW?

 

 

Is the air filter/intake pipe clogged or damaged? If engine isn't getting enough air, it won't fully burn the gas.

 

 

I wouldn't personally add anything to the gas tank as it'll still fail as it's not running correctly.

 

 

Did the kit company offer any type of warranty or offer to retroactively "assist" with any issues? I'd contact them as something might be routed incorrectly or is defective. 

Edited by Bushwick
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I pulled plugs 1 and 4 this evening. However, I can't say I see anything out of the ordinary. Maybe a bit darker than they should be. I was reading they should be brownish/grayish. I was going to try to check maf but multimenter isn't working just my luck. The maf came out of the junkyard although it has not thrown any codes. I was looking at the oem maf it's well over 200 dollars. Would it be wise to buy an aftermarket one? Rock auto shows many different choices. I've double and triple check the routing of the hoses and everything is just like the diagram.

 

Pulled engine from junkyard and I'm going look at the air filter/to make sure it's good to go.

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Edited by JC20
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Yeah I would say its running a bit rich. See the black buildup around the outside?

 

Look into getting free-SSM hooked up so you can do some data logging.

 

Did the MAF come from the same car you got the engine from?

Injectors original to the engine?

Fuel pump and fuel pressure regulator original?

Edited by Fairtax4me
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Yeah, I see the build up around the threads. There also a bit oil around the threads which can mean a host of other problems. Learning something new everyday 

 

I just got my evoscan cable from new zealand; but I haven't had a chance to do anything with it. I will try doing some logging this weekend.

 

The original MAF that came out of the vehicle was throwing a code; So i pulled another one from the pick in pull. Also  it threw purge solenoid code; but i replaced it with one from pick and pull.

 

Injector are original 

 

Fuel pump is a stock  vanagon bosch pump which from everything i read it makes more than enough pressure. The fuel pressure regulator is also original to the engine. 

 

Thanks for everyone's help.

Edited by JC20
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Germans like to run high pressures. "More than enough" might mean "too much" in this case. I would put a gauge on it and make sure its sitting around 30-35 psi at idle. Should be around 40-45 with the regulator vacuum hose removed. If the fuel pressure is too high its going to spray in more fuel than is needed. 

If the pressure doesn't change with the vacuum hose removed, use some pliers to pinch the return hose and see if the pressure changes. 

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I woke early this morning to try get some data before work.

 

This was my first time using Evoscan not quite sure what all the number mean. I need to more reading. I have ECU id 733263, and I used SSMI 7332xx. The thing that caught my eye were value for the 02 sensor. For whatever reason i'm only getting 02 average. While the engine  between 700 and 1700 rpm the 02 average is 0 the value began to change over 1800 rpm and im getting 322.2656. I took a snap shot of my log but  If anyone is willing to take look at  the whole log let me know i can always email it.

 

I will try to get fuel pressure test tonight.

log 1.bmp

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Did the fuel pressure test ,and I'm getting 26 psi at idle with vacuum line on and 36 with ot off.Definitely did not expect that. I'm thinking the fuel preasure regulator or fuel pump are bad.Fuel tank,lines and filter are new. The gauge is a rental from auto zone so it could be bad.

 

 

EDIT i was looking at the wrong fuel pressure values i had the turbo values. 26 and 36 are the correct values for a naturally aspirated ej22 

Edited by JC20
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  • 2 weeks later...

I still haven't been able to solve my issue; I'm going through and checking the sensor. Hoping for some opinions on what could be wrong. I'm not sure why so many voltage readings are off; i checked them multiple times but i end up with the same numbers. Now im wondering if the ECU is bad.The original Mass air flow sensor was giving weird readings; so i purchased a new one. However the new one is still giving voltages that are off. I'm getting to many volts at idle and also the ground wire has voltage.

 
B 48: 8 Power supply: ignition on: 13.1v Engine on: 14.06v   
 FSM: Igniton on 10-13v Engine on 13-14v
 
B 48: 9 Signal: ignition on: 1.1v Engine on: 1.6v  
FSM: Ignition on 0 - 0.3 v Engine on 0.8 -1.2 v
 
B 48: 10 Ground: ignition on 0.8v Engine on : 0.8v  
FSM Ignition on 0v Engine on 0v
 
The water temp sensor itself seems to be working fine. I replaced it a couple of months ago and the resistance values seem to be withing spec. However, I'm getting to many volts at the water temp sensor wire/.
 
Cold: 2.97k ohms      FSM 2.0 - 3.0 Ohms
Warm 0.420 k ohms  FSM 0.3 -0.4 Ohms
 
B 48: 7  Water temp sensor: Ignition on 1.9v Engine on 1.9
FSM Ignition on 0.7v -1v Engine on 0.7v -1v  * After warm up 
Edited by JC20
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If you have voltage on the ground side that means the ground has high resistance somewhere. Need to fix that because it can keep the signal voltage high.

 

If that reading is testing at the ECU, you need to check the ECU grounds on the intake manifold. On the older engines the ECU ground is at the base of the rear of the number 4 intake runner.

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This morning i took voltage readings from the all the pins on the ECU which are grounds.

 
Air Flow sensor  B48 Pin 10 0.8v
Throttle sensor   B58 Pin 1   0.8v
GND (sensors)   B48 Pin 21 0.8v
GND ( Control systems) B48 Pin 11 0.8v
GND ( Control systems) B48 Pin 22 0.8v
 
GND (Injectors) F47 Pin 24 43.9 Mv
GND (Injectors) F47 PIn 25 43.4 Mv
GND (Igniton system) F47 Pin 15 43 Mv
GND (Power Supply ) F47 Pin 14 44.4Mv
 
I think all the grounds that are showing voltage must share a common ground which is B 48 Pin  21. What i don't understand how come the grounds on  B47 are showing good values? I already cleaned the ground strap attached to the intake manifold.  
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