davidnyc

I needed to get my car (with new engine) inspected so it could be registered but for some reason, I couldn't get the catalyst monitoring to set to ready. I drove around for a few days and still not ready. Idled the car for a bit. Still not ready. I searched on the Internet and step 1 for OBD2 readiness is idling the car with the air conditioning and rear defroster on from cold start. Shockingly, this did it. Monitoring is ready and was able to pass inspection.

5CHN3LL

From what I've seen, doing a complete drive cycle isn't always necessary - the readiness monitor should indicate which procedures need to be carried out, which in your case did the trick. Congrats!

Had you recently disconnected the battery or had some other condition that caused the car to not be emissions-test ready?

davidnyc

Yes, brand new motor and then had a secondary air pump issue that was just taken care of.


https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dash...321293183?mt=8 and has been a great cheap investment to read/erase codes and monitor the car.

Imo000

You'll need to drive the car on a highway at a constant speed (around 60mph) at a steady rate (cruise control) for about 30 miles. Pick a highway that is rural during low volumes. The system needs time to see if the converters are working right and part of it is steady highway speed.

Macster

The idling was the key. I've driven a number of times -- more often than not -- with the A/C off and with the car with a rear window defroster with this off as well and all the readiness monitors have reached completion with no real difficulty or delay.

Basically, start the engine cold, let it idle a minute or two -- I use the secondary air injection pump as a "timer", when it shuts off that's my signal the engine is ready to be used -- then drive off and keep RPMs under 4K until the engine is fully up to temperature.

You want a mix of driving: stop and go; some low speed (<45mph) cruising, and some high speed (>= 45mph) cruising tossed in. Avoid the temptation to engage in hard acceleration runs. Big engine loads that arise from hard acceleration cause the DME to switch to open loop mode and this suspends any monitoring of the converter function.

mrjonger

It's been 700 miles of mixed condition driving since I changed the spark plugs and mine was not ready when I took it into smog today. I guess I'll try the idle with AC and rear defrost tomorrow.

I never idle the car to start. My mechanic told me to take off immediately upon start and keep it under 3 until the engine was warmed up...then never shift before 4.

mrjonger

Still not reaching ready status on Catalyst Monitoring. Thoughts?

I turned on the AC and rear defrost from a cold start (after parking overnight) and let it idle until the secondary air pump shut off and the RPMs dropped. Car has ~800 miles since I unhooked the battery to change spark plugs. Mufflers were removed, ground wire was also removed during this process. While the car was up, I removed the air pump because I wanted to check the engine mounts. I also changed the air filter. I took out the box and disconnected the MAF to remove the crumbling spongy resonator stuff and housing. There are no stored or active errors. I changed brake pads last week but I don't think that should do anything - battery was not disconnected. I think that's everything. Thanks in advance for any guidance.

Macster

What you are doing ain't working. Time to try something different.

Let the engine idle a bit after a cold start. Keeping engine RPMs under 3K is a bit overkill-ish. I just keep RPMs under 4K (more like 3.5K) until the engine is fully warmed up.

Once the engine is warmed up if you always go over 4K before you upshift I think that's pushing the engine too hard and is probably interfering with the readiness tests, preventing them from completing.

Pretty much the above is how I drive my Boxster (and Turbo) and sometime during my commute drive of 30 miles all the readiness monitors are set to complete. This probably happens at some point before the 30 miles are up I just never bothered to monitor the readiness test progress to try to find out exactly when. That it happens and I don't have to do anything "special" is all that matters to me.

mrjonger

I agree. Based on some input, I'll get a scanner, mimic some of the 993 cycle procedures. I'm going to do when there's less traffic, I'm in a dense area - I rarely get to cruise uninterrupted at slower speeds...or higher speeds.

Schnell Gelb

Some of us have much more difficulty with this than others and for no diagnose-able reason.
There is an official Drive Cycle procedure which is often quoted(see Renntech for more) but for some that does not work until many Drive Cycle attempts have been made. Another issue is the Drive cycle for older/different models like the 993 may not be relevant because they have slightly different systems and parameters.
Assuming there is not an equipment defect (major assumption on our aging cars!) , don't overlook the possibility of marginal cats/O2 sensors, weak SAI Pump, partially operative SAI valves and small Vac leaks conspiring ,cumulatively to cause the Readiness issue.Yes, it is rather vague and I think poorly understood .
One diagnostic technique I have found useful is to note when the CEL comes on. Yes, it may require 3 starts to trigger the CEL but I mean does the light come on during cruise(Drive Cycle procedure) or about 2 minutes after a cold start ? If is comes on soon after the SAI pump shuts off after the cold start, I speculate that incriminates the SAI system,not the Cats.This may seem a trivial distinction until you see the price of a pair of new cats.
If it is the SI system there is lots on Renntech about how to tediously plod through the dagnostics. I hope you are not up against Smog Test deadline.
The Dealer can force the System "Ready" and immediately do a Smog Test for you -but nobody explains precisely what system/technique they use to do this. And the CEL may return quickly after the test.

mrjonger

Thanks Schnell. Ahsai made some of the same points and pointed me towards a scanner that can display the tests on my phone in real time. I'm hoping it will make things more specific. There are no CELs or stored errors. After 800 miles of driving, I would've thought a CEL would have come on by now - so I think it might be the nature of my commute and driving behavior - or so I hope (vs having to replace anything). Where in LA are you? I feel that I owe you at least a beer after all the times you've chimed in.

Edit: Forgot that Ahsai mentioned the Mk II does not reset after disconnecting the battery. So a more plausible explanation would be marginal hardware component which hasn't been tested enough to trigger a CEL., Either way (maybe due to my driving style), hoping the scanner points it out.

Also going to double check the SAI connections and the intake boot. Listening closer, it sound like there may be vacuum leak, but could also be my ears playing a trick on me.

e90steve

After I had my IMS and a new battery installed I had to go through the readiness procedure.

Followed it to a T and worked within 100 miles.

Idle Car after sitting overnight for ~2 mins.

Drive at 20-30 mph for around 3-3:30 mins.

Drive 40-60 for apx 15 mins

Decelerate to stop Idle in Neutral (if manual) for 5 mins Park (if auto)

DO NOT EXCEED 3k RPM or 60MPH.

I was golden after doing this.

vitaminC

FWIW (probably not much), I've been having this same problem while trying to get my dad's '05 Mini Cooper S ready for smog. No CEL, no codes, just a persistent "catalyst monitor" error. Even after putting the stock header and cat back on followed by lots of slow freeway cruising, still no changes. So frustrating!

Anyway, I have the GoPoint OBD reader and their app is great for monitoring stuff. You can even log every parameter it reads and export it for later analysis in your favorite spreadsheet software. Super useful, though it still hasn't pointed me to the solution...

mrjonger

That's the 993 cycle. I read that it needed to be done strictly and sequentially for the 993 - not sure if it's true. From what I read and am told, doing this for the 996 also works...but you don't need to do it sequentially or at the specific intervals - but you need keep the RPMs and speed low. Where I live, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do all of this. I going to get the scanner and try to get these cleared without being so stringent to the cycle guidelines. Otherwise, I think I'll have a strong case for the referee.

e90steve

I managed to do it in Atlanta morning traffic. 993 or not IT WORKS. I drove 400 miles without knowing that this was a procedure that had to be followed and then went to register the car (needed emissions) and failed because OBII not ready. Found this procedure, followed it that day and then immediately passed. It sucks, it's a pain in the *** and almost impossible to do, but it works.