I’ve been trying to get an MA inspection sticker on a 1999
F150 for the last two months. The check engine light
indicates high CO2 levels, so I flunked the emissions
test…over and over again.
So, the mechanic replaced the O2 sensors, reset the
‘computer’, and advised me drive from Portmouth to
Peabody. He did another reading. No luck. I went home,
shut off the engine, and the check engine light came back
on.
If it wasn’t the O2 sensors, he said it must be the catalytic
converter. I said, hold on, what about a problem with the
‘computer’. If you reset the thing, and the light stays off
until I turn it off, and the restart the thing. Wouldn’t that
indicate a problem with the ‘computer’? No, so he
replaced the catalytic converter. Now the light stays off,
but the readings are the same.
Didn’t the registry include a diagnostic tool to test the
inboard ‘computer’? I don’t anything about fixing cars,
but I know a lot about computers, and these guys seem
doing their diagnostic work based solely on basis a
reading from something that isn’t even a required piece of
safety equipment.
But there’s no way around it - or is there? I’ve driven cars
that were literally shedding parts of themselves on the
highway, but passed inspection with flying colors. This
truck isn’t that old, what’s the story? Seems like they
would get a more accurate reading if they hooked a
sensor to tailpipe like they did in the old days.