Nct fail on high CO2 emissions!

lou0312

Hi, i failed nct last week, CO 12.34 % (low idle) CO 11.20% (high idle) lambda: 0.70, engine oil temp 89 degrees C. Low idle above 0.30% is a fail and high idle above 0.20% is a fail. The reading are really high compared to other posts that i have read could someone please shed some light on this for me as i do not have a clue how to pass the re-test if the emissions are this high?

dar83

Sounds like you either have no Catalytic converter, or it's completely fecked.

What car is it?

Peanut2011

You bring the car to the local garage / mechanic and ask them to fix it for you!

On a serious note I've had a fail as a result of high emissions and I was told it was the catalytic converter that was faulty. Had that changed and the emissions were fine on re-test.

lou0312

its a 03 nissan almera I just brought it back from the uk and engine light is on!! so do you think it will be expensive to fix?

Peanut2011

The two things could possibly be related. Catalytic converters are pricey though.

lou0312

would Dipetane work do you think and drive in low gear high revs?

Peanut2011

Don't waste your time with that stuff. Bring the car to local garage and let them test if it is catalytic converter or not. You may be able to test it yourself. If you shake the catalytic converter do you hear the rattle inside? If you do it means the thing is burned to the crisp and will need to be replaced.

Having the local garage check what it is should not be that expensive and at least than you can make your own mind up on what to do. Don't waste your money trying other things first.

working fool

Could be maf sensor or the cat sensor
Get the car to a diagnostic mechanic and he will tell u pretty quickly

ShiresV2

That's so far out of whack that it's something other than the cat.

Matt Simis

The Lambda reading would indicate the car is running really rich (or really lean, dont know on the NCT test). Surely your MPG and general performance are horrific? Ive put cars in the NCT without Cats in them at all and none have ever been even close to this emission level (as in a tenth of your readings).


Why did you import this car from the UK btw?

ghosttown

I've an Almera failed recently, Low Idle 2.89% vol HC 385ppm. High Idle Lambda 1.00

Bear with me as I have no idea on cars
I also get engine light on now and again (turns itself off if I reverse hard !)
And I know the no. 1 cylinder misfires as i find it hard to get up hills or above 140kmph.

Anyway, went to Nissan and got it tested as the local lad said it could be any of numerous faults. They tested it for 40e and said it was "Bank 1 02 sensor" - (new from Nissan 210e + labour).

Got a local lad to put in a 2nd hand one, 50e and 20e labour. He also said that before resubmitting to drive it hard enough for 20min to get temp up.

Did all that, and it sailed through retest.

Mind you, I will be trading it in long before the next NCT is due !

Katunga

Give the car an Italia tune up, rev to 4k for 5 - 10 minutes.

Matt Simis

Katunga wrote: »

Give the car an Italia tune up, rev to 4k for 5 - 10 minutes.

Seriously, look at the figures. That engine is completely f-ed in its current operation, reving it will do nothing good.

CO 12.34 % (low idle)
CO 11.20% (high idle)
lambda: 0.70

Low idle above 0.30% is a fail and high idle above 0.20% is a fail. Lambda is allowed around 0.97-1.03 only.

Leonard Hofstadter

Those emissions are so off the wall that a new cat will NOT fix it, for now anyway. You probably will need a new cat in time, because with those crazy emissions, the cat is going to be destroyed. The engine is running extremely rich, it must be driving like a total dog to be honest.

But simply changing the cat in this scenario is only going to guarantee that you'll need a new one very soon.

The lambda value must be fixed first - it must be put back so that it reads between 0.97 and 1.03, at least then we'll know that it's taking in the right fuel/air mixture.

lou0312

i do not know what an Italian tune up is? and i do not know anything about cars, i lived in the uk for 2 years bought car last feb over there moved home in august was running perfect til i brought it home, it sailed through the mot last june. so will i scrap the car or what? or is it even worth fixing?

Mar4ix

Bring to garage for computer diagnostics. thats first. See what they say, and how much itll cost. Could be problems only with one sensor, but it is hard to say which one, unless connected to computer.

lou0312

I asked nissan mechanic and he said cause i put in a new battery a month and a half ago that i may have upset the ecu which will have noked the fuel management out which is all the sensors which would cause a high co2 reading. Does anyone think this could be correct?

Mar4ix

lou0312 wrote: »

I asked nissan mechanic and he said cause i put in a new battery a month and a half ago that i may have upset the ecu which will have noked the fuel management out which is all the sensors which would cause a high co2 reading. Does anyone think this could be correct?

Sounds like bulsh1t to me... probably trying get some money out of you. try get second or even third opinion. if id have to change ecu every time, when i change battery, id be without pants at the moment, i had nissan skyline, disconnected number times from battery, and changed battery, never any problem ... unless you connected wrong way, on not proper battery.

Go to nissan dealer - ... i think the best , and ask for diagnostics, shouldn't be expensive.

lou0312

but saying that wen i changed the battery battery was not on properly and had to put it on properly and ever since that day the engine light came on and engine struggles and is horrible and sluggish and eating fuel!! so it will have to be a nissan mechanic not a regular mechanic to do the diagnostic test yes?

Leonard Hofstadter

You need a new mechanic. The one you're using has just pulled a load of $$££ from his behind.

There is something seriously wrong with that engine at the moment, and it will damage the catalytic converter amongst other things if it is not rectified soon. It is taking in nearly twice as much fuel for the amount of air entering the engine as it should be!

lou0312

he isn't my mechanic i just rang him asking a question!! cheers for the advice but it sounds like its f***ed

lou0312

so how much is a new cat converter then?

Mar4ix

lou0312 wrote: »

but saying that wen i changed the battery battery was not on properly and had to put it on properly and ever since that day the engine light came on and engine struggles and is horrible and sluggish and eating fuel!! so it will have to be a nissan mechanic not a regular mechanic to do the diagnostic test yes?

what you mean not on properly ? there could be problems , if you disconnect wrong way ... minus to plus, and plus to minus ..... it would wrec car completely(open for corrections) ..... but not half way ... find good car diagnostic center.... no need to be 100 % nissan garage.... just need a person, who knows what he is doin, and where to look.

lou0312

it wasn't connected the wrong way the bolts were loose around the plus and minus so tightened then, as in connection wasn't being made as connectors were too loose! yeah il do that thanks!!

Prick!

Is there an engine management light on? Could be something that needs cleaning, i.e an EGR valve.

lou0312

yes the orange engine light is on

Prick!

lou0312 wrote: »

yes the orange engine light is on

What car have you?

Mine failed on emissions with I think similar figures to that. It failed on low idle but passed on high idle.

It was an EGR valve that needed replacing. If it is that valve a cleaning may do it which is cheap. A new valve is over 100 euro.

Mar4ix

lou0312 wrote: »

it wasn't connected the wrong way the bolts were loose around the plus and minus so tightened then, as in connection wasn't being made as connectors were too loose! yeah il do that thanks!!

if bolts lose, it wouldnt wrec the car ... it would cause bad start, or not charging / flat battery. ... thats it.

conwerter would be last, to change, scrapyard probably to find cheap. for almera, catalytic conwerter would cost from 100 - 400 .. depend off who you buying...

ebay - http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=nissan+almera+catalytic+converter&_sacat=0

micksgarage - (choose your model) http://www.micksgarage.com/exhaust-parts/catalytic-converter/nissan/almera/almera-mk-ii/2000-onwards/

dieseljohnny

Hi.


Id get someone that knows how to diagnose cars properly.
Not just plug it in,pull a couple of fault codes and base the repairs around them codes without checking the system properly.

You have the engine light on,get it checked to see whats stored.

A couple of things to check via live data would be the coolant temp sensor reading,fuel system status(open or closed loop)o2 sensor pre cat and post cat operation and voltage,long and short term fuel trims and air mass meter reading or manifold pressure reading depending on the system thats used.

Those values should give someone that knows what their doing a good direction to go in diagnosing the problem with your car.

CiniO

lou0312 wrote: »

Hi, i failed nct last week, CO 12.34 % (low idle) CO 11.20% (high idle) lambda: 0.70, engine oil temp 89 degrees C. Low idle above 0.30% is a fail and high idle above 0.20% is a fail. The reading are really high compared to other posts that i have read could someone please shed some light on this for me as i do not have a clue how to pass the re-test if the emissions are this high?

Changing cat won't really help here, as your lambda is way out of what it should be.
You need to find a reason for such low lambda reading, (could be one of sensors, possibly lambda sensor itself) Obviously it could be as well something more serious. If you manage to get your lamba readiong to around 1, then I assume CO emmission should go down a lot, possibly to be withing limits.

PS - It's CO emissions what you failed for (carbon monoxide), not as you indicated in yout thread subject CO2 (carbon dioxide), as this is not even checked during NCT.

lou0312

as i said i do not know anything about cars sorry CO my mistake!

nct tester

definitly diagnostics needed here, those almeras gave trouble with faulty oxygen sensors, think it was the rear one, there was a recall on them soon after they came out, maybe yours was never brought back. thats where id be starting anyways, those almeras rarely fail emissions , lets alone a reading that high. what were the hc readings on high idle??

spr1nt3r

Prick! wrote: »

What car have you?

Mine failed on emissions with I think similar figures to that. It failed on low idle but passed on high idle.

It was an EGR valve that needed replacing. If it is that valve a cleaning may do it which is cheap. A new valve is over 100 euro.

My Almera does exactly the same. However, no misfire, orange light or even faults via diagnostics - checked in 2 garages. I had over 9% - fitted new airflow sensor - down to around 4%. No faults found, car on high idle passes no problem and drives fine (stutters a bit when cold but nothing major).
I was also told EGR valve and am also thinking to clean the bugger and pass the darn test. Is there much involved into cleaning and is it worth even attempting to do it?
My one is 1.5 petrol with 140k miles on clock. Other than low idle NCT was purrfect.

jkonthe

my nct failed exhaust emissions
engine oil temperature 83c
low idle CO 0.34 vol% above 0.30% fail
(710 rpm) HC 161 ppm

Any ideas

Mar4ix

jkonthe wrote: »

my nct failed exhaust emissions
engine oil temperature 83c
low idle CO 0.34 vol% above 0.30% fail
(710 rpm) HC 161 ppm

Any ideas

Maybe visit a garage ... hope that helps.

greasepalm

how dirty is air filter,are spark plugs old and worn,with high emissions you will need oil and filter changed as oil is contaminated with petrol,any air vacuum hoses gone and deffo diagnostics done for fault codes,if none old skool checking to be done.

one common thing with engine light on is short journey as cars need a good run down motorway for exhaust to clean the crap out.

if people fail on nct emissions i get them to give car a good run first then recheck emission readings which are usually perfect now.

V.W.L 11

right guys I have posted this on one or 2 other threads already but I need different opinions,Volkswagen Bora failed the nct yesterday on the high idle emissions only nothing else,the readingings were high,

CO was 1.92% vol,fail above 0.30%

HC757ppm,fail above 200ppm

now I done absolutely feck all to the car prior to the test,but after the test yesterday I did spot that the spark plugs are sooty and the oil is as black as you can get,would a good service combined with a change of catalytic converter fix this issue???the car is not chugging out any smoke no more than other cars and is running fine,good fuel economy etc,the tester did rev the sh1t out of it for well over 5 minutes though.,all advice greatly appreciated.

greasepalm

bora are a crap engine as they burn oil ,does your car throw out load of smoke on cold start?not having it serviced regularly is going to cost you money now to try and get it through the nct,i did all that oil and filter,oil additive,plugs air filter and cataclean but failed to get it down enough.any engine fault light showing or recorded faults on a scan as there was with this.we had changed the spec of oil from 10w 40 to 5w 30 low ash oil for the new cat we had to fit to get it through the nct which it did.10w 40 clogs up cat quicker than 5w 30.

is the car driven short distances if so i would try catacleen on a 1/4-1/2 half tank of petrol and get a local garage to see if emissions come down much before deep pockets needed.

V.W.L 11

greasepalm wrote: »

bora are a crap engine as they burn oil ,does your car throw out load of smoke on cold start?not having it serviced regularly is going to cost you money now to try and get it through the nct,i did all that oil and filter,oil additive,plugs air filter and cataclean but failed to get it down enough.any engine fault light showing or recorded faults on a scan as there was with this.we had changed the spec of oil from 10w 40 to 5w 30 low ash oil for the new cat we had to fit to get it through the nct which it did.10w 40 clogs up cat quicker than 5w 30.

is the car driven short distances if so i would try catacleen on a 1/4-1/2 half tank of petrol and get a local garage to see if emissions come down much before deep pockets needed.

she puts put out a small bit of smoke on a cold start but nothing that would have made me worry,once it was warm it was fine,no loss of power etc,no engine fault light on,nothing,it hasn't had a scan yet though I am going to get that done,i'll stick in 5w30 so also,i'll need a new cat clearly,the oil and plugs are blacker than black, so I am changing those this week,but I have had experience of emissions problems once before and it was expected then,car running sh1t,lack of power,eating petrol,had those a few years back but none of this on the bora

George Dalton

V.W.L 11 wrote: »

right guys I have posted this on one or 2 other threads already but I need different opinions,Volkswagen Bora failed the nct yesterday on the high idle emissions only nothing else,the readingings were high,

CO was 1.92% vol,fail above 0.30%

HC757ppm,fail above 200ppm

now I done absolutely feck all to the car prior to the test,but after the test yesterday I did spot that the spark plugs are sooty and the oil is as black as you can get,would a good service combined with a change of catalytic converter fix this issue???the car is not chugging out any smoke no more than other cars and is running fine,good fuel economy etc,the tester did rev the sh1t out of it for well over 5 minutes though.,all advice greatly appreciated.

What was the lambda figure on high idle?

V.W.L 11

George Dalton wrote: »

What was the lambda figure on high idle?

it says 1.01,but I don't know can I trust that,the tester literally revved the sh1t out of it for over 5 minutes solid yesterday,he sat in the car and done it,usually they attach something to the engine that revs it,but not yesterday

George Dalton

The tester was obviously trying his best to get the emissions down by revving the engine to get the cat as hot as possible so he was doing you a favour really.

If the lambda is 1.01 then there is a chance that a service and new cat will get it through ok.

V.W.L 11

George Dalton wrote: »

The tester was obviously trying his best to get the emissions down by revving the engine to get the cat as hot as possible so he was doing you a favour really.

If the lambda is 1.01 then there is a chance that a service and new cat will get it through ok.

didnt think of that to be honest,i asked him was it the cat and he said probably

greasepalm

they attach nothing to engine to rev it as if it hopped into gear imagine the fun then ,its a brake lock from footbrake to steering wheel they use.
i would still try catacleen first before shelling out over e300,we use it regularly for nct failures.

Cormacs72

Can anyone help me as to how much emissions would cost to get fixed! This is what the nct report said:
Low idle
Co 0.74% fail above 0.30%
HC 359ppm

High idle
Lambda 1.00 pass
CO 0.69% fail above 0.20%
HC 341ppm fail above 200ppm.

It's a 06 VW Golf 1.4

Thanks in advance

V.W.L 11

Cormacs72 wrote: »

Can anyone help me as to how much emissions would cost to get fixed! This is what the nct report said:
Low idle
Co 0.74% fail above 0.30%
HC 359ppm

High idle
Lambda 1.00 pass
CO 0.69% fail above 0.20%
HC 341ppm fail above 200ppm.

It's a 06 VW Golf 1.4

Thanks in advance

i'm having the same issues with a 1.4 bora,but only on the high idle,is it high and low idle on yours OP?

Cormacs72

V.W.L 11 wrote: »

i'm having the same issues with a 1.4 bora,but only on the high idle,is it high and low idle on yours OP?

Yeah it's both on mine. Going to drop it into the garage this evening. Was just wondering will it cost much

V.W.L 11

Cormacs72 wrote: »

Yeah it's both on mine. Going to drop it into the garage this evening. Was just wondering will it cost much

I haven't dropped mine in yet so no indication as to how much myself,i discovered in my own cast that the car was in desperate need of a major service plus it was cold on the morning of the test,might use a fuel additive to see will that help bring the emissions down.

greasepalm

if people dont get cars serviced they run the risk of having to get a new car because engine cannot reach set limits,if it came into us to try and get it down we would do
new plugs
oil and oil filter as contaminated oil highers emissions.
air filter replaced and throttle body clean
check breather/vacuum hoses and overlooked brake servo pipe
also run diagnostics for any faults stored
road test car giving it a good long run to give exhaust a good clear out
recheck emissions and if need be would try catacleen additive.

dont use dipetane as that works over months as catacleen will work

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrkYw0Ks2-Q

razz

hey,

had my 2000 Nissan Almera in for an NCT a few weeks ago, it failed on high emmissions at low idle???

have no Engine management light on so have no real solid indication what it can be??

feels like it is running ok most of the time, sometimes when i start it, it will struggle to get to idle revs just for a moment and also trys to cut out when i hold the clutch in for too long going around bends??

any ideas??

Cheers

Chimaera

What are the test results? Post all the emissions results and you'll get a better response.