Bought a used Chrysler Sebring, 1998. They changed the battery. In order to do the emission test they had to put on some miles to reset the computer. After > 200 miles and a 5th attempt the computer is still not reset to do the emission test. The check engine light is not on but seems to work (comes on briefly) when I start the car. Are they fooling me or is there something wrong with the car?
Thank you for your feedback
Something is wrong with the ECM. It should have reset itself. Once the battery was replaced, the computer ‘lost’ it’s memory of how the car was running, and it sets an emissions tag to ‘not ready’. This is why it will not pass emissions yet. If it will not reset and store the needed info, it will remain in ‘not ready’ mode.
Check the fuses to see if any are blown. The ones to really check for are on ciruits that stay powered all the time, like courtesy lights and cigarette lighter.
Its usually not the number of miles, but the number of drive cycles that resets the computer. This may take 10 to 30 drive cycles. A drive cycle is a start from cold, drive till fully warm, then shut down to cold again. If you drive the car to work, then you’d get two drive cycles per day. If you go to lunch everyday, you would probably only add one drive cycle as it wouldn’t cool down enough while your eating.
I am having the same problem with the computer (ECM) not resetting on my 2000 Toyotoa Tundra. I have not changed the battery, but it has not passed the NH state inspection emissions test for the last 2 months. I have also had it retested about 5 or more times. Likewise, I took the truck to a local Toyota Dealership. They ran a comprehensive diagnosis of the ECM, but it showed no problems. And I have had no check engine light or error codes from the sensors for the last year. A year ago, I had to replace 2 x O2 sensors, but have had no check engine light since then. Incidentally, my 2000 Tundra is being recalled due to rust on the frame, which is very extensive. So I took it to a better Toyota dealership, and they evaluated the rust and advised me that the catalytic converter was also shot & needs to be replaced. I have called Toyota Customer Service hoping they will buy back the Tundra. Could this problem with the Cat. Converter (or other severly rusted exhaust components) be causing the problem with the ECM not resetting without giving any error codes/check engine light?