There used to be some places that did free OBDII code reads.
Anybody know of places that still do this since the change in the rules?
Anybody know of places that still do this since the change in the rules?
‘Check engine’ light on? Expect to fail new Drive Clean test
- Thread starter Wingboy
- Start date
silverbullet132
Well-known member
Not sure if they do it up here, but when we had a code pop up on my Dad's Volvo in the US, Autozone read it and gave us a print out for free.
Thanks
Apparently Autozone in Canada is PartSource. They don't open until 10 on Sunday so I'll start calling around then to see if there's a store in the area that will do it.
Anyone in the Oshawa, Whitby, Ajax area with a reader willing to check/clear a code if PartSource is a no go?
It's not for me, just trying to help someone out.
I'm in Scarborough, send me a pm if it's not too far
Sent from my Phone, dont judge the grammar
You can clear the CEL by simply disconnecting the battery for a good 20-30 minutes or so.
However, that doesn't mean that you/your friend will pass the test.
Apparently, there is going to be some changes made to the new system within the next month or so...
Not true on any recent OBD-II vehicle (i.e. not true on almost all vehicles that will be subject to this new test procedure). It is a US Federal requirement that emissions-related codes are stored in non-volatile memory. It doesn't matter how long you disconnect the battery for ... it will remember the codes. It will lose readiness status if you disconnect ECU power ... but it won't forget the trouble codes. No readiness ... no pass!
Some very early OBD-II vehicles were not fully compliant, so there might be a few early ('96 - '97 ish) vehicles that didn't fully comply, but every new one should be as described - disconnecting the battery doesn't make all your troubles go away, no matter how long you disconnect it for.
For $20, everyone should invest into OBDII bluetooth reader.
Resetting the code by disconnecting the battery is not a good idea, since you will automatically fail because the drive cycle tests will display incomplete even though you won't have the Check Engine Light ON.
Brian P, you are incorrect on the codes being stored in memory. The codes themselves are not stored, when you reset they are clear from the memory and no OBD reader will be able to pull the codes that have been reset. Over a certain distance, the sensor will trigger the code again. However you are correct on the readiness test which will be "INCOMPLETE" that results in automatic failure on the emission test.
So let's say you have an EVAP leak which is one of the most common trouble codes, so as soon as you reset the ECU using the OBD reader or disconnecting the battery, the code cannot be retrieved that same moment. Code will come back in a bit of driving. If you believe otherwise, I would be very interested to see this.
Resetting the code by disconnecting the battery is not a good idea, since you will automatically fail because the drive cycle tests will display incomplete even though you won't have the Check Engine Light ON.
Brian P, you are incorrect on the codes being stored in memory. The codes themselves are not stored, when you reset they are clear from the memory and no OBD reader will be able to pull the codes that have been reset. Over a certain distance, the sensor will trigger the code again. However you are correct on the readiness test which will be "INCOMPLETE" that results in automatic failure on the emission test.
So let's say you have an EVAP leak which is one of the most common trouble codes, so as soon as you reset the ECU using the OBD reader or disconnecting the battery, the code cannot be retrieved that same moment. Code will come back in a bit of driving. If you believe otherwise, I would be very interested to see this.
Last edited:
clearing the code is not gonna work neither, after the codes are cleared you need to drive the car for the computer to see all the sensors again and that can take up to 3 days or many miles. the new obd2 drive clean looks for all sensors.
if there is a sensor not working then it will throw a code again.
if you hook it up to the drive clean with it not reading all the sensors it will fail again.
http://www.samarins.com/diagnose/checkengine.html
if there is a sensor not working then it will throw a code again.
if you hook it up to the drive clean with it not reading all the sensors it will fail again.
http://www.samarins.com/diagnose/checkengine.html
Last edited:
Red_Liner740
Well-known member
^^ It does not look at ALL the sensors...my drive clean paper had a few "not applicable" sections under A/C and some other stuff...
not really sure how the new drive clean test works, but i would think if the SES light is on from a AC code then the test would abort. it might not read it for the test, but i think it needs to see all the sensors to run the test.
Last edited:
hardk0re
Well-known member
Apparently with rear o2's disabled they read the readiness bit and fail you if disabled, so I had to re-enable my rear o2. Which triggered a CEL within a few minutes of driving. Thankfully a 1u Farad Capacitor and 1m Ohm resistor fool he car into thinking it has a catalytic that works. Mine does just not at the efficiency I think it expects, however it was enough for it to pass ministry tail pipe inspections for years.
Thanks for all the offers of help guys!
PartSource had the reader and it put up a code for plugs and wires.
Before anyone starts flaming me I wasn't there....
The women picked up a set of plugs and wires and I'll swap them out shortly.
Just for the heck of it I'll disconnect the battery for a while and see what happens.
It's a 2003 Focus with a bazillion kms on it so she doesn't want to invest any serious $$$ in it
PartSource had the reader and it put up a code for plugs and wires.
Before anyone starts flaming me I wasn't there....
The women picked up a set of plugs and wires and I'll swap them out shortly.
Just for the heck of it I'll disconnect the battery for a while and see what happens.
It's a 2003 Focus with a bazillion kms on it so she doesn't want to invest any serious $$$ in it
Driveclean is good for a year. Anyone here that cares to listen....
If you need to get it within the next 12 months and your CEL is NOT on right now just take it in and get it done today. That way if something happens between now and your birthday (some minor sensor fails) you already have it done, no issue for two more years. If you wait you run the risk that something breaks between now and then. This is simple risk reduction. Solid advise for those driving older cars and or high mileage.
Simple things that could trip you up that are in no way an emergency but they are a fail... O2 heater, evap purge valves, etc. etc. etc.
If you know you will pass today, and you need to pass in the next 12 months, take the pass today!
If you need to get it within the next 12 months and your CEL is NOT on right now just take it in and get it done today. That way if something happens between now and your birthday (some minor sensor fails) you already have it done, no issue for two more years. If you wait you run the risk that something breaks between now and then. This is simple risk reduction. Solid advise for those driving older cars and or high mileage.
Simple things that could trip you up that are in no way an emergency but they are a fail... O2 heater, evap purge valves, etc. etc. etc.
If you know you will pass today, and you need to pass in the next 12 months, take the pass today!
I'll share my experience with this:
I just got my summer car out of storage. Battery was out. I got the car ready and drove it for only ~ 100km... My stickers are coming up for renewal... I go to my usual place (decent shop in burbs) for emission test.
Guy asks me right away: is CEL light on (nope), was battery disconnected - well, yes, it was in storage.
Based on that, he checks the car computer with the some new gadget (plugs into OBDII port, stand-alone thing, with few large LEDs on it)... He said: car isn't ready yet... you have to drive it more for all the sensor to go through their checks... and he said he just saved me $40 bucks, because that would have been a FAIL.
I drive for another 300km, go back - he checks it (this time he didn't check with the "ready" gadget, one of his guys checked with real emissions compute right away) and it's all good - PASS.
On my printout, it does have few fields that are marked Not-applicable - but those are options my car doesn't have (secondary air)...
so emissions computer will check all the sensor your car has installed by the factory.
If your CEL is on, disconnecting the battery or clearing the codes via OBDII won't work.
If you have one of those phantom codes that pop-up now and then, and go away on their own, you should be OK when they are cleared on their own.
I hope this helps.
I just got my summer car out of storage. Battery was out. I got the car ready and drove it for only ~ 100km... My stickers are coming up for renewal... I go to my usual place (decent shop in burbs) for emission test.
Guy asks me right away: is CEL light on (nope), was battery disconnected - well, yes, it was in storage.
Based on that, he checks the car computer with the some new gadget (plugs into OBDII port, stand-alone thing, with few large LEDs on it)... He said: car isn't ready yet... you have to drive it more for all the sensor to go through their checks... and he said he just saved me $40 bucks, because that would have been a FAIL.
I drive for another 300km, go back - he checks it (this time he didn't check with the "ready" gadget, one of his guys checked with real emissions compute right away) and it's all good - PASS.
On my printout, it does have few fields that are marked Not-applicable - but those are options my car doesn't have (secondary air)...
so emissions computer will check all the sensor your car has installed by the factory.
If your CEL is on, disconnecting the battery or clearing the codes via OBDII won't work.
If you have one of those phantom codes that pop-up now and then, and go away on their own, you should be OK when they are cleared on their own.
I hope this helps.
Total money grab. Just like the Boat Smart program. Just a political pay off for the party loyal. Screw them all.
Let's just remember that Jim Flaherty's and Cristine Elliot's law firm got $500,000 in legal fee's for lost information on a memory stick that someone lost from Oshawa hospital, the people's whose info was compromised received $0.00. Tell me who needs not to be re-elected in the next federal and provincial elections. HEY Stephen and Tom are you listening? I doubt they have the brains to figure this out!!
Let's just remember that Jim Flaherty's and Cristine Elliot's law firm got $500,000 in legal fee's for lost information on a memory stick that someone lost from Oshawa hospital, the people's whose info was compromised received $0.00. Tell me who needs not to be re-elected in the next federal and provincial elections. HEY Stephen and Tom are you listening? I doubt they have the brains to figure this out!!
Last edited:
There have been some changes to the new system already.
I will post details when I get back to work tomorrow.
Long story short, if your car fails because it's not ready after 30 km's driven/24 hours, you are eligible for a two speed (visual for diesels and awd cars) test which is similar to the old system.
I will quote the section from the UCDA report tomorrow.
I've just about had it with this war against cars.
Are the people doing these studies completely ignorant or just narrow minded?
One single plane taking off uses more fuel and produces more emissions than a person driving his whole life.
If you want to be serious about pollution, we would have to ban all boats, trains, planes and put an end to all motorsports.
High performance vehicles don't have any emission control.
And i'll bring up diesel engines too, most of them are visibly spewing out massive amounts of harmful particulate into the air.
I bet i could do a study that proves that streetcars cause more pollution, based on the fact that they block 2 lanes of traffic, causing cars to idle longer.
Bunch of pirates.
Are the people doing these studies completely ignorant or just narrow minded?
One single plane taking off uses more fuel and produces more emissions than a person driving his whole life.
If you want to be serious about pollution, we would have to ban all boats, trains, planes and put an end to all motorsports.
High performance vehicles don't have any emission control.
And i'll bring up diesel engines too, most of them are visibly spewing out massive amounts of harmful particulate into the air.
I bet i could do a study that proves that streetcars cause more pollution, based on the fact that they block 2 lanes of traffic, causing cars to idle longer.
Bunch of pirates.
