Failed NCT - Exhaust Emissions?

rediguana

Hey.

My trusty 1998 Starlet failed the NCT on Exhaust Emissions

Low Idle 0.84%
High Idle 1.04%

I obviously have no idea what this means. My question - does it sound like something that will be easy / cheap or difficult / expensive to remedy? What's the problem, in layman's terms, anyway?

Also, any recommendations for a garage in Sandyford area that is fairly-priced, not a con merchant, and would be a good bet to fix the problem.

Cheers.

Anan1

Is that much outside the requirements? It'll say on the test sheet. If the car's only a little bit over then driving the sh1t out of it for a bit might get it through.

rediguana

Well...

Low Idle: Anything above 0.5% is a fail (it was 0.84%).

High Idle: The stats are a bit more difficult to make out here...

The car doesn't pump out black smoke or anything though. I'm hoping it's just something small. The car is worth nothing, so I really don't want to have to spend E500 or something just to keep it legally on the road.

Damomayo

was the car fully serviced before the test .... if it needs a service it might increase the emmisions ..... driving the car hard (high revs maybe in lower gears to stay within speed limits) with fuel additive will help as well put have it gone out of system b4 retest .... good luck

rediguana

It was just serviced in FastFit, as I had left it too late to get anywhere else. They're great guys in FastFit (Goatstown) though, very quick, friendly.

Anyway, so is the consensus that I should just drive it into the ground to "clean out the pipes"? Actually, for one reason or another, it had been driven very little in the weeks before the test - maybe that was a factor in the failure?

pred racer

rediguana wrote: »

It was just serviced in FastFit, as I had left it too late to get anywhere else. They're great guys in FastFit (Goatstown) though, very quick, friendly.

Anyway, so is the consensus that I should just drive it into the ground to "clean out the pipes"? Actually, for one reason or another, it had been driven very little in the weeks before the test - maybe that was a factor in the failure?

It cant hurt..... a couple of litres of petrol, some engine/injector cleaner and a retest will give you some idea of whether to proceed to a garage.

Is it running allright? could it just be a vacuum pipe or airhose leaking?

Atomic Pineapple

You could just have a leak in your exhaust system, i failed my nct a year ago on emissions because there was a big crack in the exhaust at a bend.

Get under the car and have a look, you can get fix it up yourself easily enough with exhaust putty and exhaust bandages, I did and got it through the nct, have to replace the exhaust shortly after wards though obviously

Paddy001

Sounds like you need a new cat or a good burn if you dont drive it hard

itarumaa

Some more info:

High CO = car is getting too much petrol
low CO,high HC = car is not getting enough petrol or has an issue with spark plugs or leads etc = basically not burning the petrol properly
Lambda value not correct (around 1) then it either does not work or car was not running hot enough the cat to work

For me, the OP:s values look either Lamdba or CO value.

BlackWizard

CAT could be gone. But also could be ruined because your Lambda or MAF is faulty.

It will be kinda expensive.. so dont go to a dealership. Try go to a garage that deals with performance cars and shop around too.

rediguana

Thanks, everyone. I think I'll just bring it into a garage. I usually deal with ISA autos in Blackrock and have found them great. If the bill is looking like it's going to be expensive, maybe I'll just scrap the Starlet and pick myself up one of those cheap repossessed ones at the auctions. Are they the best place to pick up cut-price cars these days?

RichyX

I had a similar problem.
Just make sure the car is well warmed up and I'd say you'll be grand.

In my case I sat outside the test center on retest day with the car running. The lad came out to get me and it was tested right away, passed no bother.
Also used the fuel additive, which may have helped.