MOT Emissions Fail Big Time!

[john_d]

If your car can't pass the emission test, it can't be very efficient on fuel.

oh but it is, i can get the same on gas as i can on petrol.

[Gilbertd]

oh but it is, i can get the same on gas as i can on petrol.

It's equally thirsty no matter what I run on......

[john_d]

nope, i can get high 20's all day long, which is better than some folk with the same car and equal to book figures iirc.

[richard_ha]

It could be running lean, using less fuel, but potentially doing more damage to the engine.

[john_d]

if it was runnin lean would the emissions still be high?

i know somethings wrong as i dont get a good signal on 1 of the lambda's.

[richard_ha]

It does look like, looking at that certificate, it's running slightly rich not lean.

[richard_ha]

I'd start by replacing the lambda sensors.

[john_d]

got 2 ordered, just waiting on them getting delivered

[junkcatcher]

[quote] "So i just take it to the one place ..To get it to pass ..he revs the balls out of it ..5000 rpm for about 5 Min's or so ..it then passes."

He says he has to do this with all rover 420s weather on petrol or gas." [/quote]

The "Italian Tune Up"

Not so much to do with it being a Rover T series more to do with the performance of the Lambda Sensor and Cat getting poorer with age. A lambda sensors "switching time" slows down with age and the cat matrix gets contaminated and ablated, of course if an engine running rich or burning oil the situation will be worse. More modern cars have the cat positioned closer to the exhaust manifold so they run hotter and because of US legislation the lambda sensors are designed to last longer.

Although the primary lambda sensor (B1B1) on my own Rover is still switching about twice a second at over 90,000 miles I intend changing it this summer.

[rossko]

A lot of MoT testers do treat old Rovers as "a bit funny", they always tested my daughters 214 (K series) off-idle. Maybe this is MEMS driven cars.

[junkcatcher]

Important thing with older Rovers with Mems 1.9 or Mems 2.x is to do the fast idle test below 2700 rpm above that they go open loop. There was a mistake in the Autodata files a few years back that specified 2850 rpm and Rovers were failing left right and centre. The last Rovers have MEMS 3 or Siemens ECU don't have the problem

[MarkJones]

i dont know ..thought it was programmed into the mot emision testing machine ..what to do ..ive not looked at them doing it that closely ..but they apear to be following instructions off the monitor

anyway .lots of Rover owners then would have new cats ..lambda's ..plugs... services and god knows what to try and pass then...even sending their cars to the scrappers ..if the mot examiners were going by what you just said ..

BTW ann NGK lambda (ntk or something)up here in north wales for my car is £75...one suplllier for all outlets up here ..

had to get an ngk off a guy on the rovertec forum ..who was in the trade ..for £25


all the best.markj

[MarkJones]

"So i just take it to the one place ..To get it to pass ..he revs the balls out of it ..5000 rpm for about 5 Min's or so ..it then passes."

He says he has to do this with all rover 420s weather on petrol or gas."

The "Italian Tune Up"

Not so much to do with it being a Rover T series more to do with the performance of the Lambda Sensor and Cat getting poorer with age. A lambda sensors "switching time" slows down with age and the cat matrix gets contaminated and ablated, of course if an engine running rich or burning oil the situation will be worse. More modern cars have the cat positioned closer to the exhaust manifold so they run hotter and because of US legislation the lambda sensors are designed to last longer.

Although the primary lambda sensor (B1B1) on my own Rover is still switching about twice a second at over 90,000 miles I intend changing it this summer.

NEW lambda and cat fitted at rebuild before all this palaver begun ..
BTW ..that same mot tester told me last year that a lot of the after market cats where very poor ..and didn't do the job ..and new legislation has come in ..and future cats will all have to meet standards ..he said that would double the price of them ..there is a stamp on them ..to confirm that they meet those standards ..

all the best.markj

[john_d]

well got 1 changed the other may as well be welded on cause it aint budging, a new car looms closer and closer.

[john_d]

maybe a stupid qusetion but i've never let that stop me before so, what would happen if i took the signal wire from 1 bank and fed it into the other bank, the car would think that both banks are running the same, i know its not ideal but surely better than running with just 1 bank?

ps the car is going to a garage who reckon they have it lose 2 minutes after putting it on a ramp!

we'll see.

[Gilbertd]

Stillsons and a length of scaffold pipe have never failed me yet (although if your exhaust is getting a bit tired, it may not be the lambda threads that let go first.....).

[john_d]

the longest spanner i can get on it is 6 inches, there is no room, ive got the egr, bulkhead, exhaust y-pipe and subframe all blocking access

[lotusfrontera]

I`m sure some lambda`s are the same size as a spark plug, if so ratchet wrench.

[john_d]

I`m sure some lambda`s are the same size as a spark plug, if so ratchet wrench.

rachets too big and if i was to use a socket i'd need to cut the wires on the lambda

[tommo2009]

the limits for a vehicle while running on LPG are 3.5% and 1200. If your car can't pass this then there is something wrong. not just for the LPG but the petrol side of the equation as well