P0420 Code Reset

This is in Georgia the United States right down from North Carolina and what have you straight down 85 aren't you like North Carolina when your car is a certain years old all you have now is safety inspection?? You know this for sure? Only reason I ask is because I always thought it was the same thing too and then recently I've been looking to buy cars and people are telling me here in the state of North Carolina oh no it's a 2000 model car you don't have to have emissions inspection I can just write you a bill of sale for the car blah blah blah I thought they were full of it turns out that's all completely legal I would think Georgia and Alabama played Mississippi places like that would be similar following similar suits maybe just to refresh and check I don't know I didn't look on the computer when I saw this question but I would think most of these states down here generally very similar I know in the county I live in I'm not regulated by emissions at all they're not even allowed to connect the diagnostic connector up to my car when I go for inspection All they're allowed to do is check the headlights turn signals the horn I want to think that's about it unless there's something when the guy gets in the car that he can readily detect as unsafe then possibly they could do something but other than that it's over. And as far as what you're asking I don't think so these tests and these systems are all made so you have to drive what is it 50 mi or something If you're turning your light off and it stays off for a month oh you should be good after like 50 mi If you can get it in there in 50 mi and the light hasn't come back on you should be good at least that's what I remember the guys would always tell me here in North Carolina after I'd done some work on the car and cleared the code and whatever whatever they'd say oh just drive 50 mi and bring it back and we can test it. It may be different in your state.

 

Isn't it on your state's website under automotive inspections and all that sort of thing I mean if you call the mechanic at an inspection station in your state and say hey just cleared the codes on my car after I did some work how long I got to drive it before I can bring it to you for inspection I guarantee you he'll know.

 

I did this 2 years ago after installing my 'aftermarket' CAT----NO MORE P0420

Easy 5 minute P0420 Fix! - Bing video

 

Well, the inspection system is designed to prevent people from "just getting through emissions". The ECM runs several tests (called monitors) that check the function of different emissions systems.

In order to pass emissions, most/all those monitors must complete with no codes resulting. (Some states allow 1 incomplete, but usually the catalyst monitor must complete).

Clear codes and the monitors reset. A Gen2 should not have "permanent" codes (those will not clear until the ECM runs the associated monitor test and passes it 2 or 3 times).

You can google "OBD2 drive cycle" for generic instructions as to how you can operate your car to allow it to complete all the monitors. Or look in the factory service manual. Catalyst monitor usually involves getting the engine warmed up, then around 10 minutes of steady throttle highway cruising & sitting in gear at a stop for a minute (or followed by a few miles of local speed driving).

The problem is you don't know how bad your cat is. If it fails the test, the ECM will store a pending P0420, the turn the MIL on with a second failure.

While possible that a "marginally" bad cat might take several tests (& weeks) before it codes, most times the drivers never operates (for weeks) in such a way as to allow the cat test to run.

If the light has stayed on for a year, that means the cat monitor never passed two times in a row. (Which would turn the MIL off) Don't see a reason it should pass now.

All this assumes that you don't have any exhaust leaks near the cat that could throw off the monitor test.


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And in what state Florida or Vermont is this particular car with this device installed having to pass inspection? This may in fact put the light out I have one here ready to go and stainless steel with some catalyst material in it It's like $23 but if they plug up to the car or what have you it may fail I don't know.

 

I was tired of constantly getting the p0420,,,This stopped it!!!

 

What states the car getting inspected in?

 

I thought the general rule was about 50 miles I can't remember now the last time I had to go through this many years ago The technician told me I think he said like 50 miles. But I guess the state computer is programmed to figure that out and reject the car automatically Mike as soon as they plug up to the car their computer looks for the last time the car was worked on and codes were cleared and it says it hasn't been far enough yet and lights up red or something and the inspector dude tells you you going to go drive a few more miles blah blah blah and then come back whatever I prefer to just live somewhere that doesn't have emissions and doesn't fall into that money grubbing BS seems to be a lot of states following that suit these days because it cost the state as well as it cost the consumer living in the state so everybody's paying out for what The car is supposed to be computer control and in control of all that stuff when it's time for that to be dealt with lights come on dealer start calling pretty soon cars will be driving themselves to the dealership whatever so why does the state need to mandate control pay the government force their constituents to pay them etc etc etc because it's a money racket that's why thank God my town got out of that racket.

 

I'd be kind of surprised if they aren't just looking at the readiness monitor results from the car itself, and those come online at different times for the different monitors. Each one has a "confirmation driving pattern" you can look up in the repair manual that shows the right kind of driving for that test to complete and go ready.

So it can't really quite be boiled down to "drive this far and everything is ready." There's a good chance everything is ready if you have done enough driving, of enough different kinds, to hit what all the different monitors need. But if you find you've got an inspection coming up and one or two of the monitors aren't ready yet, it can be fastest to look up the confirmation driving patterns for those one or two monitors, and just go drive like that.

 

Like I said=
I did this 2 years ago, after installing my 'aftermarket' CAT
----I have not have a P0420 code since then.