Caught by a "Catch 22"

[Skip]

In my rush to get things ready for our vacation,

I failed to notice the pretty half's VDC would need inspected

while we were away (gone for about 2 months).

Shame on me!!

 

Upon my return, I find the battery voltage had fallen to an

extreme level.

 

I used my smart charger and it came back to life - no problem.

 

So I went to get it inspected

BUT the OBD II brain had died

as a result of the low voltage.

 

It needs to be driven X number of drive cycles to reset itself.

Result - failed inspection.

 

So we have to drive an un-inspected vehicle for 150 miles?

So sayth the inpsection guy??

I had to pay for the inspection and only get one more "free"

test.

 

I have no doubt that the fuzz could be talked out of a ticket

as we have the paper work.

But getting stopped by dacoppers is still no phun!!

 

I have a scan tool, will it tell me when the pooter is ready

for testing??

 

Let this be a lesson to those who's brain is as lame as mine.

 

Storing a car for the winter ect, you should keep a

float charger on the battery.

 

Reducing a battery to this state of charge can kill it

or shorten it's life dramaticly.

[WAWalker]

I have a scan tool, will it tell me when the pooter is ready

for testing??

 

That would depend on your scan tool. Will it dispaly readiness monitors? We don't have emissions testing here, but as I understand it, they are looking to see if the monitors have all run or that most of them have run. In some states I think you can pass with 1 or 2 incomplete.

The cat monitor will be the one to take the longest.

[porcupine73]

Sounds like what the inspection guy told you was correct. It can take several trips to get all the emissions inspection readiness I/M monitors set to 'ready'. Especially the 'evap' as it only does the fuel system integrity test on the enhanced evap vehicles under specific conditions, one of which is something like less than 9.6 gallons of fuel in the tank another is fuel temp. It took me a couple of days driving to get that one to go ready on my '00obw.

[nipper]

Dont you have a temp inspection sticker or something like that. Did they stop the inspection at the emissions, or did they do the mechanical first (that way you know the car is solid).

 

Depdning upon your state rules, you can get the car inspected if your going to be in state at another station close to your destination.

 

What your inspector said is true.

 

I've been told that if your out of state and your inspection expires, you shouldnt get a ticket while on the road. If you get one on your way home, you have 24 hrs to get one upon reentering the state. If you get a ticket in those 24 hrs, you just need to prove you were out of state prior to the ticket (gas receipt, toll reciept etc).

 

http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/Reading.pdf

 

nipper

 

I've odten wondered about this too, so I just get my car inspected before i Leave. There is no law sayiong you cant get a car inspected many months earlier then the sticker says.

[RallyKeith]

Seems like in PA it depends on the cop. My friend bought an RS from out of state and was pulled over two day after he registered it. Even though he had paperwork showing the car went in for PA inspection the next day, the cop still gave him a warning that had to be filled out and mailed in with proof that the car was inspected within some number of days. The best part is PA law says you have some amount of time from registering a car until it has to be inspected, and it is something like 30 days. This cop was just an a$$. You should be fine, worse case you may get the same thing my friend got, which did not have a fine or pionts.

 

Keith

[Manarius]

I bought my SVX in NJ and I drove around with NJ registration on it for almost two weeks :-p

 

No cop said a thing even though I took the front license plate off...

[Hocrest]

We just got Melis's out of state purchased SVX registered last week. Rules say we had 10 days to get it inspected. I've been driving it for 9 days with no stickers. It had a PA plate/Reg sticker and an expired out of state Insp sticker.

 

I've been past many local and state cops and no problems. You're in the process of doing the right thing, have an appointment set up at the inspection station and the phone number ready if the cop wants it. Just make sure you have nothing that you don't want found in the car during the wait :-p

 

After driving her car for about 5 days through Northeast PA and NY and CT, we were cleaning it out on Sunday and found a small baggy with a few flecks of "Oregano" and some seeds:eek:

HONESTLY officer, we just bought the car, that doesn't belong to us!!!!!!

[porcupine73]

HONESTLY officer, we just bought the car, that doesn't belong to us!!!!!!

hahaha that reminds me on Cops when the Cop finds something in the suspect's pockets, and the suspect promptly replies "but these aren't my pants!!! they're my cousin's pants!"

[subaru360]

A good scan tool will show obd2 readiness status. Some of the cheaper ones won't

 

In PA you can have one monitor not ready and still pass emissions.

 

You have to get an emissions sticker before the safety inspection so not much you can do there.

 

It depends where you live as far as how picky the cops are about stickers. The local cops around here could care less, but the state troopers will give inpsection sticker tickets.

[hankosolder2]

I'd think that in this day and age of photoshop, cheap laser printers and clear plastic stock a DIY inspection sticker wouldn't be too hard to make. Do they have holographs or anything fancy on them?

 

(Only emissions inspection here in IL , no stickers, no 'safety' inspection- they just suspend your plates if you don't comply -w- emissions.)

 

 

Nathan