I was wondering if anyone might happen to know as to how long it takes for the I/M Monitors on a 2000 Kia Sportage to activate. I am wondering because yesterday I took my car into the emissions station for the emissions test and it failed. The primary culprit in that was a malfunctions MIL Lamp. I took the car into a repair shop this morning and had them repair that issue. It turned that the bulb was burned out. They replaced that bulb and that seemed to resolve that issue.
Once that was completed I took it out on the freeway and drove it for a little bit after getting gas in the car. I then pulled into the emissions station and had them test the car. I failed the test because it said that the OBD2 system was not ready. I took it out and drove it around some more putting over 60 miles on the car. I had my Actron scanner hooked up and kept checking the status of the Evap monitor, Main Catalyst, and System Engine Monitor but all that I got was ‘inc’. At no time during the drive did any of those monitors say that they were ready during the drive.
I am trying to figure out as why they are not arming and what I can do about them so that I can get the car to pass emissions and re-register my car. I’m stumped because I can find no information about it on the Internet.
I don’t know if there is a time/mileage aspect involved with it or not or if there is a problem with the system that needs to be addressed.
The only code that I get when I scan the codes is P0422 Main Catalyst below threshold, but that is not something that I really worry about because I know what is causing that and how to pretty much fix that issue. That issue is just pretty much an issue of clearing the code when it comes up.
I did clear the codes before I went into the emissions station with the scanner. I don’t know if that has anything however to do with the OBD2 not being ready or the I/M Monitors. The car has passed emissions in the past and I’m trying to get it to do it again, but so far no luck.
Anyone got any ideas as to what might be going on here and how to fix it?
The battery and alternator were replaced in April. I have not had any problems with the battery or the alternator since then. To the best of my knowledge they are both good and to the best of my knowledge the battery has not been disconnected since then. It’s possible though that the technician that worked on my car this morning did disconnect the battery while he was working on it, but I doubt that he did that as he was testing the MIL Lamp circuit.
Each time you clear the fault codes the monitor history is also cleared. The evaporative monitor usually requires a cool down cycle, overnight to perform the natural vacuum leak detection process. The other monitors should take no more than 10 miles of steady throttle driving to complete. Some monitor time out after this so driving 60 miles or 600 miles on the same drive cycle is only wasting fuel.
I normally drive my customers vehicles after clearing the faults to pass the monitor/verification and it usually takes 5-8 miles to complete except for the evap. monitor.
If you have a reoccuring catalyst fault this monitor may never pass.
The fault code that I mentioned I’ve known about since February 2008 and since that time the car has passed emissions after clearing that code out. This last time I had three codes in the system. One was the Main Catalyst code already mentioned. The others were P1693 MIL Lamp Circuit Malfunction and P0326 Knock Sensor Bank 1 Circuit. I was able to clear all the codes out except for the P1693 before I took it into the shop for the MIL Lamp problem. After the MIL Lamp was repaired that code went away. The only code that keeps coming back now is the Main Catalyst code mentioned earlier.
I have no problems clearing that code out, but what I can’t seem to get the system to do is to get the I/M Monitors that I mentioned to work.
I can try disconnecting the battery and then driving it again to see if that solves the issue.
I have looked on the Kiatechinfo website for drive cycle information and it doesn’t tell me anything about the drive cycle for that car.
After you clear the P0422 code, how soon does it come back? The test center knows exactly when the codes were last cleared…Maybe you are going to have to fix the problem instead of spoofing the system…
Not sure about your Kia but my Honda owners manual gives instructions on preparing the vehicle for emissions testing. I just recently purchased the Honda with the CEL light on for a code related to the evap canister. I did a mix of highway and in town driving, plus making sure to travel at a constant speed on the highway ( without cruise control ) as suggested in the manual. Vehicle passed emissions test with one module not ready to test. Here in Ontario, the vehicle can’t have more then one module unable to test so I was good to go.
The evap monitor will NOT run with a nearly full or nearly full tank. The fuel level should be 1/4 - 3/4
It also will not set with an already warmed up engine
Here’s my recommendation
Fill the tank to 1/2 level tonight
Start the car tomorrow morning
Let the car idle for 5 minutes with no accessories on
Do not step on the throttle during this time
Now drive off. Drive a few minutes on city streets before driving several minutes on the freeway.
With any luck the evap monitor will run to completion during the first part of this procedure, and the catalyst monitor will run to completion during the second part of this procedure.
If you know how to fix P0422, why don’t you PERMANENTLY repair that problem before taking the car to the smog station?
Since you say P0422 “keeps coming back now” it sounds like you’re not going to have an easy time getting that smog certificate until that cat issue is resolved once and for all.
@rdonovan I know exactly how you feel. Dropping big $ to replace the converter on a 13 yr old car that otherwise runs just fine and isn’t likely polluting anyway seems foolhardy. Just drive around for a few days before returning for the e-test. As long as the CEL hasn’t returned you’ll probably be fine. Or see f your state has a minimum amount to spend on emissions related repair to obtain a temporary pass and go that route. Iirc here it’s $150 minimum to obtain a 1 yr emissions pass.
You don’t say what state you are in. People are only familiar with the emissions test in their state. For instance, in NY State, your check engine light cannot be on and you can only one system reading incomplete. The only exception is for 1995 or 1996 cars ( I don’t remember which.) that can have 2 inc. .
There is a provision for only spending up to a certain amount to attemt repair, but the limit is a lot more than $150. You also cannot get a waver the next year.
There are states and parts of states that don’t have inspections. Perhaps you can sell your car there.
I looked up your state law, The county where Albuquerque is locater is the only one to require inspections. If you live there or commute there 60 times a year it is required.
as long as you have no codes drive the car as you would normaly would and everything checks out ok they should set in a day or two far asw the cat. code you may need a new o2 sensor not a cat.
Find someone who knows how to read the signals from the O2 sensors.
They can then confirm or eliminate the cat converter as the problem.
It’s not a difficult test, why do so many folks settle for guesswork?