Disconnect Battery = Fail Emissions?

[dngrkit]

You might want to check out the car chip, here's the url

:Davis - Automotive

It has a USB to modle connector, software to configure the module which you then plug into the ODB port under the dash. If you want one they can be had cheaper if you do a web search, around $80.00.

CarChip®


With the basic CarChip, the data logger will store up to 75 hours of trip details before you'll need to download. If you drive, on average, two hours a day, that's over a month's worth of driving data! (When full, CarChip "rolls over" and begins to overwrite the oldest data with the newest.)
You'll get complete trip details including:

• Time and date for each trip
• Distance traveled
• Speed (recorded every 5 seconds)
• Hard brakings and quick accelerations
• Reset check engine light
• Fault codes

[5 Speed]

Not sure of disconnecting the battery will make you fail but just resetting the CEL and not running enough start-run-off cycles will. Get the coolest gaget in the world. The Scan Gauge II. It will not only tell you what CEL codes you are throwing, and pending, once you fix the problem it will let you reset the CEL and tell you when the vehicle has gone through enough cycles to the ready to test mode. It is the easiest to hook up and use. I also have a Auto X ray OBDII 5000 and this is so much cooler. I can't tell you how cool it is to see your actual MPG as you drive down the road and if you really want to see if windows up or down or AC changes your MPG it is right there. I just wish I would have know of it sooner.. Yes it will tell you when it is ready to test in addition to all the cool digital gauges.

[Bluethundra]

Originally Posted by red's tundra

This is not quite on topic, but... you were having the shop diagnose your check engine light problem right?? Just for future referrence, you can buy software from a programmer on line that will turn your Laptop or Computer into a diagnostics machine. I think that actual tool/equipment you need to diagnose engine problems is over $400. This guy charges you something like $100 for the cord to connect your laptop to the ECU and $10 for the software and that's it. Plus he offers full tech support as well.

Tundra Thunder bought this setup for his laptop when his check engine light went on. It worked great....it told him exactly which sensor was out. He said it was kind of like the setup the cop had in Fast and Furious.

He told me about it a few months ago and I totally forgot...reading your post jarred my memory. If anyone is interested, I can contact Brian to get the info for you.

Chris

I would be interested in getting this software. Is it vehicle specific or is there a generic setup that will work with multiple makes?

[Tones]

Disconnecting the battery will reset the monitors. There is a certain driving sequence required before the monitors will register OK.
AFAIK, all inspections, if they are doing a smog check, will also plug in and check to ensure all of the monitors have run. I think just about any code reader can scan the monitors and show you their status.

[Marauder]

Disconnecting the battery clears the memory and the ECU must have some drive cycles on it and be in ready mode to do a smog check. You can hook up any OBD2 scanner and it should tell you if the ECU is in readiness mode or not.

[gtpinoy]

I did a smog check last year here in CA and I came in with the check engine light on. The technician reset the check engine light via an OBD II scanner. He went ahead and hooked up the truck to the smog check computer and went through the start-stop-run cycle until the smog check computer register all monitors okay. It took about 30 minutes after the initial reset of the check engine light for everything to check okay. I passed the smog by the way.

[Marauder]

Resetting the CEL doesn't reset the ECU. You probably had some lame little code and he just cleared it. Sometimes the CEL is thrown for some intermitent problem.

[MCoupe]

Here in Georgia, the annual notice that the state slips in with your registration invoice (telling you what cars need emissions test and such) says "If your check engine light is on, for any reason, you will automatically fail your emissions test."

Fascinating that this thread has come back to life after FIVE years in the archive. . .

[ppfedi]

ok guys heres the deal if you disconect your battery or it goes dead or you lose pwr to the ecm for some reason stupid toyotas ecms need to be reset I just read a whole tsb on my friends aldata about it after i spent 500 bucks on all four o2 sensors
the obd2 readiness monitor needs to be reset by ready for this goodluck!!! driving vehicle at 43-56 mph for a period of 3-5 minutes donot allow tps to exceed 30% drive with smooth throttle operation and avoid sudden acceleration stop the vehicle and let idle for 3-5 minutes repeat steps one more time!! do not cycle key during this operation and keep rpms low as possible they call it the drive pattern vehicle must be warm and obviously hwy conditions hope this save someone all the trouble I went thru trying to get my truck past nysi Ill let you know if this works. Its a known toyota issue.

[Hi Volt]

The key wording is "recently disconnected battery" which is the same as "recently cleared codes". The emissions testing facility will fail a vehicle even with no codes present, if emission monitors are not set. These monitors are flags within the ECM memory that indicate that the vehicle has completed the drive cycle necessary to complete such tests of the emissions and EVAP systems. The drive cycle is quite specific being a combination of acceleration, steady state driving, and decel conditions under varying loads. Unless you do the specific drive cycle mandated by the OE specs, it may a number of days to get all the conditions complete to set the flags ( worst case condition and depending on how and where you drive, of course if you drive your vehicle very little it will take longer ). This mandate by the emissions testing stations is in response to people not fixing problems, but instead just clearing codes minutes before a test and squeaking through.

That service tech should know more about the systems before making such a statement. The only way it could be true is if you cleared your codes ( i.e. momentarily disconnected battery ), then parked your truck for months until the day of the test. In that respect you may not achieve the required drive cycle on the way to the test, and fail

The big problem for the general public is poor reporting of this is any mediums not getting the whole story out ( i.e leaving out the fact that in a few days things should be o.k. to test) as this just causes confusion and most likely some fear toward servicing a battery.

It should be noted that these monitor flags are not just a Toyota thing, they are part of the OBDII compliancy required by EPA, CARB etc. for all certified vehicles

[Eddie]

Originally Posted by Hi Volt

The key wording is "recently disconnected battery" which is the same as "recently cleared codes". The emissions testing facility will fail a vehicle even with no codes present, if emission monitors are not set. These monitors are flags within the ECM memory that indicate that the vehicle has completed the drive cycle necessary to complete such tests of the emissions and EVAP systems. The drive cycle is quite specific being a combination of acceleration, steady state driving, and decel conditions under varying loads. Unless you do the specific drive cycle mandated by the OE specs, it may a number of days to get all the conditions complete to set the flags ( worst case condition and depending on how and where you drive, of course if you drive your vehicle very little it will take longer ). This mandate by the emissions testing stations is in response to people not fixing problems, but instead just clearing codes minutes before a test and squeaking through.

That service tech should know more about the systems before making such a statement. The only way it could be true is if you cleared your codes ( i.e. momentarily disconnected battery ), then parked your truck for months until the day of the test. In that respect you may not achieve the required drive cycle on the way to the test, and fail

The big problem for the general public is poor reporting of this is any mediums not getting the whole story out ( i.e leaving out the fact that in a few days things should be o.k. to test) as this just causes confusion and most likely some fear toward servicing a battery.

It should be noted that these monitor flags are not just a Toyota thing, they are part of the OBDII compliancy required by EPA, CARB etc. for all certified vehicles

Exactly,thanks for saving me some typing time

[Hi Volt]

You are welcome Eddie.