I drive a 2000 Saturn SL2 and I am having too much trouble passing Massachusetts state inspection. All my tests pass except for the emissions diagnostics test, because it doesn’t start up in the car. So per advice of the carshop, I drove it around a lot so the cycle could reset, on the highway for about 30min. I also drive regularly in the city. A retest after, driving to the North Shore beaches from Boston, without shutting the car off at the station, yielded the same results. What the heck is wrong with me car? And, how does this get fixed so I pass inspection?
Other things: the battery was disconnected and reconnected because the connection was loose. The check engine light comes on when the car starts up, only. Then turns off. The car is over 100,000 miles.
If the battery was disconnected very recently, that itself is the likely problem.
The car may need more drive cycles in order for an emissions test to be run.
If you are having a check engine light, you will also be having codes. Go to a parts store such as pep boys, and have them check for the codes, just ask they will know what you want. this may well be all you need to find out what the heck is worng. (yeah I know, but isnt that the best way to spell it, I mean really.)
It can take a week or two of driving after a disconnect before the computer will be “ready to test”. If it refuses, a DEALER can usually “re-flash” the computer to cure this…Failing that, you should be able to get an emissions waiver instead of buying a new computer…
Chances are, your EMISSIONS are FINE…This is just a computer glitch and you should not be forced to spend a fortune correcting it…
A friend of mine had the very same problem with his 97 Explorer. I took a quick look at the factory “engine controls” wiring diagrams & told him which fuse to check.
Sure enough, it was blown. He replaced it, drove 5 days & then easily passed Calif. emmisions.
The fuse he replaced was the KAM (keep alive memory) fuse for the PCM. When this fuse is blown the settings are lost everytime the key is turned off.
Your mechanic should be able to tell you which fuse to check.
there is a series of steps that I found online for reseting or initiating the emissions cycle for an OBD-II something something in a Saturn made after '97 and sure enough it worked, and the car has passed inspection. thanks for the help fellas!