Legally pass emissions with SAI faults. Here's how….….
11-22-2017, 09:57 AM
#46
STEP 2: Find a place to drive a minimum of 20 miles at less than 60mph and less than 3000 RPMs. 55 in 5th gear works fine. Cruise control helps. I believe this can be done in different segments provided the car isn’t turned off until the 20 miles is completed, but to make sure, start out by doing it all at once. It’s faster that way too.
STEP 3: Turn car off, remove key, restart. Don’t let the car cooldown. All 5 monitors should still be off. May not be necessary to remove the key but that’s the way I did it. I let the car sit for at least a minute before restarting.
STEP 3: Turn car off, remove key, restart. Don’t let the car cooldown. All 5 monitors should still be off. May not be necessary to remove the key but that’s the way I did it. I let the car sit for at least a minute before restarting.
STEP 4: Repeat steps 2 and 3
All 5 monitors should still be off.
All 5 monitors should still be off.
Last edited by Lorenfb; 11-22-2017 at 10:39 AM.
11-22-2017, 10:00 AM
#47
11-22-2017, 12:09 PM
#48
Pro
Thread Starter
For those that are interested, here's an EPA site listing the emissions rules for each of the 31 states they show as curently requiring testing:
http://eti-home.org/State%20I-M%2020...roduction.html
All the states that list a MAX number of allowed readiness monitors not set follow EPA guidelines of 2 for 1996-1999 vehicles .
The exceptions are CA, which we allows only 1 and New Mexico which allows 2 for 1996 and 1997 and 1 for 1998.
Phone numbers are listed for each state, so if anyone wants to check their state and update me i'll get a database going and post a summary.
It's possible that EPA doesn't have the most current information so please check your state and report back if you get a chance.
http://eti-home.org/State%20I-M%2020...roduction.html
All the states that list a MAX number of allowed readiness monitors not set follow EPA guidelines of 2 for 1996-1999 vehicles .
The exceptions are CA, which we allows only 1 and New Mexico which allows 2 for 1996 and 1997 and 1 for 1998.
Phone numbers are listed for each state, so if anyone wants to check their state and update me i'll get a database going and post a summary.
It's possible that EPA doesn't have the most current information so please check your state and report back if you get a chance.
11-22-2017, 04:03 PM
#49
Rennlist Member
I began a quest this summer to find a solution to my SAI problem after failing my very first emissions test last June. Service records showed my car had a history of SAI problems with various "solutions" some legal, some not. My shop guy felt it was the air pump ($1500 part + install). I felt it was clogged ports. Could have been both. Regardless, I was looking at a major expenditure without any guarantee of success.
To make a long story short…I ended up passing emissions a few days later on a technicality that I stumbled upon quite by accident. A light bulb went off: “Maybe this is repeatable”. So I bought an OBD2 reader and began studying how OBD2 worked, doing a number of drives of different lengths at different speeds, overnight cooldowns, start/stops, etc, with the goal being to find a way to reliably put the car into a state that legally masks my SAI problem anytime I wanted. The car is now off the road for the winter but I was able to come up with a simple procedure that does just that, at least on a 97 C2S 6 speed. Unless Porsche significantly changed the OBD2 system there’s a good chance it’ll work on all 96-98 993’s.
A little background..…
OBD2 cars will "fail" emissions for 2 reasons. The first is if the required “readiness monitors” are NOT READY. If you go to emissions in this condition they'll send you off to do the mysterious “drive cycle" and invite you back for another try. Note: All 5 readiness monitors always go NOT READY when you disconnect the battery or clear the Check Engine Light (CEL) – that’s why you can’t just clear the CEL and pass. The second way to fail is if the way most people fail: OBD2 does its job and detects a real emissions fault, lights the CEL and stores the associated codes. You are sent away to fix the problem.
This SAI workaround hinges on two things. First, you don’t need all 5 OBD monitors READY to get your car tested. For 1996 thu 1999 cars, DEP guidelines only require 3 of the 5 to be READY. Most states follow DEP guidelines (CA may be the only state that requires 4 monitors). Second, the OBD system can’t flag an SAI problem until the secondary air monitor is READY. To exploit this all you need to do after resetting the OBD system is get 3 of the 5 monitors READY, making sure one of them isn’t the secondary air monitor. If you do that, your SAI problem will go undetected. Simple and legal.
So how do you do that? ….
Get yourself an ODB2 reader, preferably one that can display all 5 readiness monitors on a single screen. While not absolutely necessary it’ll be a helpful in the event you need to modify the procedure to work on your car. There may be other variations that work but start with steps below, following them EXACTLY. They have been tested multiple times on a 97 C2S and work.
STEP 1: RESET the OBD2 system using the OBD2 reader (or disconnect/reconnect the car battery). This will clear any faults and make all 5 monitors NOT READY, which is want you want. Do this the night before or right before starting the procedure.
STEP 2: Find a place to drive a minimum of 20 miles at less than 60mph and less than 3000 RPMs. 55 in 5th gear works fine. Cruise control helps. I believe this can be done in different segments provided the car isn’t turned off until the 20 miles is completed, but to make sure, start out by doing it all at once. It’s faster that way too.
STEP 3: Turn car off, remove key, restart. Don’t let the car cooldown. All 5 monitors should still be off. May not be necessary to remove the key but that’s the way I did it. I let the car sit for at least a minute before restarting.
STEP 4: Repeat steps 2 and 3
All 5 monitors should still be off.
STEP 5: Repeat step 2. Somewhere between 13 and 18 miles into this leg the CAT and O2 Heater monitors will go READY. Sometimes EVAP goes ready at the same time. If not. Do step 6.
STEP 6: Come to a stop without turning the car off and idle in neutral until the EVAP monitor goes ready. This should take less than 5 minutes. You now have the required THREE monitors ready.
7) Go to emissions. Be happy.
Sounds complicated but it basically comes down to three drives you can complete in about an hour and a half. There may be other variations that work such as shorter runs, different speeds, etc, but rather than wait until next spring to find out, I thought I’d put it out there for review and comment. A test is worth a thousand theories and a thousand tests are even better. So I’m hoping a little “Crowd Testing” will reveal how useful this is across a larger sample size of 993’s.
Notes:
- You should do emissions right after step 6, preferably without letting the car cool down. In every test I did the AIR monitor went READY on the first cold start after completing step 5, and then the CEL tripped 12 to 17 miles after that. Don’t know why, that’s just what I observed.
- Check with emissions in your state to verify they only need 3 monitors ready. A partial internet survey of DMV sites seems to indicate that all states except CA allow this.
- If you live in CA there’s still hope. You’ll just need to go a step further and find a way to also get O2 monitor ready before the Air monitor. This is one of the things I didn’t have time to test this year.
-If your OBD is throwing codes unrelated to SAI, the same approach may work with a different sequence: just find a way to get at least 3 monitors set that aren’t related to your particular fault.
- The OBD2 reader I used was an Autel AL519 (Amazon, about $60).
Looking forward to the feedback.
-Jay
To make a long story short…I ended up passing emissions a few days later on a technicality that I stumbled upon quite by accident. A light bulb went off: “Maybe this is repeatable”. So I bought an OBD2 reader and began studying how OBD2 worked, doing a number of drives of different lengths at different speeds, overnight cooldowns, start/stops, etc, with the goal being to find a way to reliably put the car into a state that legally masks my SAI problem anytime I wanted. The car is now off the road for the winter but I was able to come up with a simple procedure that does just that, at least on a 97 C2S 6 speed. Unless Porsche significantly changed the OBD2 system there’s a good chance it’ll work on all 96-98 993’s.
A little background..…
OBD2 cars will "fail" emissions for 2 reasons. The first is if the required “readiness monitors” are NOT READY. If you go to emissions in this condition they'll send you off to do the mysterious “drive cycle" and invite you back for another try. Note: All 5 readiness monitors always go NOT READY when you disconnect the battery or clear the Check Engine Light (CEL) – that’s why you can’t just clear the CEL and pass. The second way to fail is if the way most people fail: OBD2 does its job and detects a real emissions fault, lights the CEL and stores the associated codes. You are sent away to fix the problem.
This SAI workaround hinges on two things. First, you don’t need all 5 OBD monitors READY to get your car tested. For 1996 thu 1999 cars, DEP guidelines only require 3 of the 5 to be READY. Most states follow DEP guidelines (CA may be the only state that requires 4 monitors). Second, the OBD system can’t flag an SAI problem until the secondary air monitor is READY. To exploit this all you need to do after resetting the OBD system is get 3 of the 5 monitors READY, making sure one of them isn’t the secondary air monitor. If you do that, your SAI problem will go undetected. Simple and legal.
So how do you do that? ….
Get yourself an ODB2 reader, preferably one that can display all 5 readiness monitors on a single screen. While not absolutely necessary it’ll be a helpful in the event you need to modify the procedure to work on your car. There may be other variations that work but start with steps below, following them EXACTLY. They have been tested multiple times on a 97 C2S and work.
STEP 1: RESET the OBD2 system using the OBD2 reader (or disconnect/reconnect the car battery). This will clear any faults and make all 5 monitors NOT READY, which is want you want. Do this the night before or right before starting the procedure.
STEP 2: Find a place to drive a minimum of 20 miles at less than 60mph and less than 3000 RPMs. 55 in 5th gear works fine. Cruise control helps. I believe this can be done in different segments provided the car isn’t turned off until the 20 miles is completed, but to make sure, start out by doing it all at once. It’s faster that way too.
STEP 3: Turn car off, remove key, restart. Don’t let the car cooldown. All 5 monitors should still be off. May not be necessary to remove the key but that’s the way I did it. I let the car sit for at least a minute before restarting.
STEP 4: Repeat steps 2 and 3
All 5 monitors should still be off.
STEP 5: Repeat step 2. Somewhere between 13 and 18 miles into this leg the CAT and O2 Heater monitors will go READY. Sometimes EVAP goes ready at the same time. If not. Do step 6.
STEP 6: Come to a stop without turning the car off and idle in neutral until the EVAP monitor goes ready. This should take less than 5 minutes. You now have the required THREE monitors ready.
7) Go to emissions. Be happy.
Sounds complicated but it basically comes down to three drives you can complete in about an hour and a half. There may be other variations that work such as shorter runs, different speeds, etc, but rather than wait until next spring to find out, I thought I’d put it out there for review and comment. A test is worth a thousand theories and a thousand tests are even better. So I’m hoping a little “Crowd Testing” will reveal how useful this is across a larger sample size of 993’s.
Notes:
- You should do emissions right after step 6, preferably without letting the car cool down. In every test I did the AIR monitor went READY on the first cold start after completing step 5, and then the CEL tripped 12 to 17 miles after that. Don’t know why, that’s just what I observed.
- Check with emissions in your state to verify they only need 3 monitors ready. A partial internet survey of DMV sites seems to indicate that all states except CA allow this.
- If you live in CA there’s still hope. You’ll just need to go a step further and find a way to also get O2 monitor ready before the Air monitor. This is one of the things I didn’t have time to test this year.
-If your OBD is throwing codes unrelated to SAI, the same approach may work with a different sequence: just find a way to get at least 3 monitors set that aren’t related to your particular fault.
- The OBD2 reader I used was an Autel AL519 (Amazon, about $60).
Looking forward to the feedback.
-Jay
your process is very similar the "bmw drive cycle" that many of have used to set the readiness monitors, (it typically takes two cycles with a complete cooldown in between.
It also recently worked on my 360.
have fun.
Craig
11-22-2017, 04:06 PM
#50
Rennlist Member
11-22-2017, 04:16 PM
#51
RL Community Team
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
California, We're the government and we are here to help:
Fuel for the discussion:
https://www.bar.ca.gov/pdf/BAG_OBD_M...s_10.21.16.pdf
https://www.bar.ca.gov/pdf/BAG_OBD_M...s_10.21.16.pdf
11-23-2017, 10:01 AM
#53
Pro
Thread Starter
Thanks for the feedback. AZ is where my '97 lived for 17 years! If you know any other 96-98 drivers, I'd love to get some feedback from them. Not much testing will happen here in the NE for a while, unfortunately.
11-24-2017, 09:26 AM
#54
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
I have a 95 and thus no dog in this fight other than to express my dismay at the fact that this thread style is more and more the norm on Rennlist. I’ve been a member since perhaps 2002, and it is harder to share or get advice here.
Jay shared something that worked and tried to put it out there to see if the stars aligned properly or if he was on to something bigger. Many responded as they should, but Loren came out swinging and laced with venom, accusing even of Photoshopping the results. Really?
What’s more likely...a series of nearly hand built cars has some combinations where this will work and some that won’t or that someone who has no financial or other interest in the outcome of other cars, other than to be a good standup Rennlist guy and share, was trying to defraud.
Stop. Just stop.
Jay, thank you for posting what you always presented as working for you and worthwhile for others to try and share.
That is the spirit and value of Rennlist of old.
FWIW I hope you are on to something bigger for many with the issue.
Jay shared something that worked and tried to put it out there to see if the stars aligned properly or if he was on to something bigger. Many responded as they should, but Loren came out swinging and laced with venom, accusing even of Photoshopping the results. Really?
What’s more likely...a series of nearly hand built cars has some combinations where this will work and some that won’t or that someone who has no financial or other interest in the outcome of other cars, other than to be a good standup Rennlist guy and share, was trying to defraud.
Stop. Just stop.
Jay, thank you for posting what you always presented as working for you and worthwhile for others to try and share.
That is the spirit and value of Rennlist of old.
FWIW I hope you are on to something bigger for many with the issue.
11-24-2017, 10:24 AM
#55
Rennlist Member
I don't have the need or the time to go on some crazy driving procedure & I don't want to spend the money on tools I don't need to see the outcome. BUT, in the future, if I DO need this information, I know it worked for one person - it may work for me.
Thanks Jay, for another option.
11-24-2017, 02:03 PM
#56
Three Wheelin'
JPS, that was the sentiment i was trying to express as well. you said it better than i did.
11-24-2017, 03:53 PM
#57
Rennlist Member
The spirit of Rennlist is still alive and well, thanks to the responses from folks like JPS, Gavonder and jfischet. There's nothing wrong with challenging new ideas, but personal attacks are unwarranted and only inhibit new thinking, and new ideas. Sixty two posts, and nearly a third of them are challenges and attacks from lorenfb. Six consecutive posts in the course of just one hour. We all love these cars dearly, and it's easy to get too wrapped up at times. Let's all try to remember how lucky we are to drive these cars, and that we have a place to share ideas and thoughts with other like minded enthusiasts here on Rennlist. 
o
o
11-25-2017, 01:04 AM
#58
Pro
Thread Starter
11-25-2017, 11:46 AM
#60
Pro
Thread Starter
Video of a CA guy trying to get his Readiness monitors set. Watch the whole thing. The guy succeeds in the end but his frustration is comical. I post it here because of it’s relevance to this thread:
@ 2:40 He shows the reader displaying 3 Monitors READY (Green checks) and 2 Monitors NOT READY ( red X’s)
@ 3:30 he notes that one of the 2 just went READY
@ 3:50 he notes that last one went ready.
Take -aways:
-The state of his OBD that caused him to FAIL is the very state we’re seeking to achieve in order to PASS a car with SAI faults: at least 3 Monitors ready, one not being AIR
-Inexpensive OBD Readers are available that display the state of each readiness monitor, individually, in real time, as they change, not only after all 5 go ready.
and if you read between the lines...
-Don't take advice from people that might benefit financially through obfuscation.
Please keep the PM’s coming. Together we’ll try to make this work.