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You mentioned in an earlier post that you're running a small amount of premix. I would STOP doing that until you get her passed.
Years ago when I still had to do emissions, here was my formula for success:
Operating OEM stock cat in place (plus OEM airpump connected to stock cat)
Change oil the night before testing
Run fresh spark plugs (7s and 9s) and plug wires
Run the car down just under 1/4 tank, then add a gallon of denatured alcohol from Lowes or Home Depot
Remove air pump relay and run jump wire in place of relay (keeps air pump running constantly instead of 3K rpm disengage)
Keep RPMs under 3K driving TO the testing station so you don't overspin the airpump
Ensure the CAT is good and warm
Run test and jump for joy once you've passed
Post test, stop a couple of blocks from the emissions station and replace airpump jump wire with stock relay
Head to nearest gas station and top off your tank with fresh premium!
If Mazda doesn't sell new cats I'd rather get a good aftermarket unit, such as Bonez althoug I have had excellent look with Magnaflow/Ebay cat convereters on my last rx7. My car only has 70,000 miles so I'd rather not buy a used cat. Now I'm not quite sure if this is a good indicator or not but less than a 1000 miles ago I installed my downpipe and took a peak at the cat media which looked intact. I guess I could take it off and take a good look at it. I also have a infrared thermometer so I could check it with that.
Regardless a new cat is due but I highly suspect something isn't doing it job. Given that I almost passed one time and am mostly failing others it could be a problem with my solenoids or my ACV...
*Sigh* I suppose I'm going to have to remove the UIM and test all my solenoids again, which I'm sure I did last time with Ohm testing etc. but I could have overlooked something.
I'll see how it goes I guess. I'd like to pass the test and share with others, as I know many have the same problem.
I'll cob through the FSM and see if it gives me ideas.
as Mr of Light, and Arghx say, check the ACV and solenoids. when i put my REW-FC together i had the vacuum signal to the ACV incorrect, and so it wasn't getting port air. the car ran ok, but just obviously wouldn't pass an emissions test. swapping the vacuum hoses, and it runs better, and its much much cleaner, i think it'll pass now actually. did not touch the cat
the checking, and fixing of my car took less than an hour...
That's what I'm hoping for. I see you're in Boulder as well. Could you tell me what brand catalytic converter you used? Do you still have an rx7?
This thing is driving me insane but a catalyst would make sense and it can't hurt.
Looking at your numbers though... Would it have been HC 18.44, CO 2.1501? If that was the results my car would still fail. I think they might have tightened the threshold. HC limits are 1.5ppm and CO is 15.00
You made several mistakes. My HC is O.1844 not 18.44 And the HC limits are 1.5000 and Co is 15.0000
I had my cat work done at PRECISION IMPORT REPAIR. 10/19/10 There # is 303-797-6510 There in DENVER. They also did my motor in 2004
I keep my car in N Las Vegas. I'm there 7 to10 days a month, and need something to drive when I am there.
I can't thank every one enough for the great feedback. I have tried a few of the things before mentioned. But I'll certainly get e new car (I'm thinking Bonez) and I will run the air pump constantly are revisit my vacuum lines and cables.
I passed with a new Bonez here in DE, which is very strict also. Clean/fresh stock primaries, working ACV/air pump, Bonez HF cat and at idle i run ~14.7-15:1. Passed as a damn near zero emissions vehicle, i was shocked.
Alrighty guys.. I was bored yesterday so I pulled the cat from the car to do a visual. The cat media is intact and the cat looks new. It's a SS 3'' Catalytic converter and and old invoice shows it was installed ~8000 miles ago in 2012.
I also swapped the air pump and removed the ACV to give a look. It looked great. Now I do recall sometimes the cabin getting super hot by the cat and others no heat at all so hopefully cleaning the ACV does something. I'll retest tomorrow and follow up.
My cat looks similar to the one petit offers on it's website but lack the arrow.
This is mine
Old test, circa 2012
Edit: I took her out and looked at the cat and it's glowing. Certainly something is going on.
Last edited by rxmiles; 08-10-15 at 12:10 AM.
Reason: Added glowing cat pic
You found the problem. Install a good working OEM cat and you will pass emissions.
The tiny brick in that aftermarket cat has only a fraction of the capacity of OEM. The substrate looks fine, yes, but the size and precious metal loading are insufficient. You also have to consider the test itself. If you are running a simple idle and 2500RPM test, then possibly you can get by. You are dealing with the IM240 transient dyno test, which is a fairly severe test procedure.
Clearly not an oem cat. The oem cat has a 2 1/2 inch opening that is narrowed down to about 2 1/8 inches by interior welds. An oem cat will clean up your exhaust way better than what you have.
there are two vacuum hoses going to the ACV, and the FSM has a small section describing when they get vacuum and when the solenoids are on, make sure these are right.
i had mine switched, and it ran pig rich at idle. fixing it, its now not pig rich and i think it would pass an emissions test
Clearly not an oem cat. The oem cat has a 2 1/2 inch opening that is narrowed down to about 2 1/8 inches by interior welds. An oem cat will clean up your exhaust way better than what you have.
+2, that aftermarket unit is not on the same plane as the oem equipment(WRT emissions). The aftermarket ones are cheap because they aren't full of platinum and other exotic catalysts that do a real good job.
there are two vacuum hoses going to the ACV, and the FSM has a small section describing when they get vacuum and when the solenoids are on, make sure these are right.
i had mine switched, and it ran pig rich at idle. fixing it, its now not pig rich and i think it would pass an emissions test
+1
with the ACV working as intended, airpump clutch is engaged and secondary air flows to the exhaust ports through the port air passage. This results in a lean mixture coming out of exhaust ports.
with the ACV working as intended, airpump clutch is engaged and secondary air flows to the exhaust ports through the port air passage. This results in a lean mixture coming out of exhaust ports.
there was a page in the service highlights book, and or the FSM that tells you which solenoid is ON and which is OFF, and tells you if it flows air ON or flow air OFF.
at idle the air pump is on, and all the solenoids are off, but the valve is in port air, which means the switching valve has vacuum with the valve OFF, and the relief has vacuum with the valve ON.
^ yup I put the diagram in my old thread I mentioned earlier. If you look at the top pane you see vacuum flowing to the switching actuator, allowing secondary air to flow to the exhaust ports to lean the mixture out. So the switching solenoid is a vacuum cut solenoid.
^ yup I put the diagram in my old thread I mentioned earlier. If you look at the top pane you see vacuum flowing to the switching actuator, allowing secondary air to flow to the exhaust ports to lean the mixture out. So the switching solenoid is a vacuum cut solenoid.
thanks, yes thats the one. i had mine wrong, and the air pump air was not going to the ports (not sure where it was going), the car ran, idle was rich, stinky, obviously wouldn't have passed an emissions test.
switch the one solenoid around, and now it seems like it would pass an emissions test, no other changes.
the FC control system is different, as one solenoid is on to get port air vs the FD's port air with no solenoids on, so they faked me out
This is a great thread, btw. And well timed as I am trying to get my 94 through smog. I actually went through the process of triple checking my vacuum routing to the ACV. Its super easy, right on top. The only thing I didn't do was pull the split air pipe from the cat and verify the air is actually flowing.
I did the low-tech method of emissions testing: put my face right next the tail pipe and breathed in the lovely bouquet. If I faint or my eyes start welling up, its a no-go.
If I get the suspension fixed tonight, I'll take it to the testing station tomorrow.
I did the low-tech method of emissions testing: put my face right next the tail pipe and breathed in the lovely bouquet. If I faint or my eyes start welling up, its a no-go.
the smog guy tells me not to do that, but i can tell the difference between HC and nox..
the smog guy tells me not to do that, but i can tell the difference between HC and nox..
Yeah, I swapped out my old cat and right away I could tell the HCs was down by doing the quick sniff test. We'll see soon.
The funny thing is, when I smogged the CYM, I passed easily (the first time) on an IM240 dyno in Arizona. And it had an E6K, street port, etc etc. A decent tune, good working cat + air pump is really all you need. The complexity of the FD's emissions system is I think what trips people up, fails the tests.
I went ahead and got the FD to my shop and get some needed tires. I did some more investigating on the emissions system. I have not done a compression test yet just a "pulling the plugs and cranking test" kinda deal it sound good and I'm getting ~16 inHg at idle.
I got an infrared thermometer and measured the input and output temps on the flange.
Input temp was ~250F Output was ~ 500F so the cat is working and well. I also don't get any smell out of the exhaust but the car is certainly running rich and missing at idle, but the miss is probably the old plugs I swapped in for now.
Now Gas mileage has gone down terribly. Before I'd get ~200 is miles out of a tank and this tank is almost gone in abut 120 miles.
While it was up in the air I pulled the air pump hose and had no flow at idle but once I revved the engine I would get strong flow.
I gotta do some work on customers cars but hopefully I can pull my water thermosensor and test it.
Last edited by rxmiles; 08-12-15 at 09:14 AM.
Reason: Details
I am done for a while... I am literally exhausted and hungry. I have spent the last week poking at the car with no success. Next step for now is to wait for available funds for a new cat and if that wont do at least it will get me a waiver status which allows me for a year of registration or I can get a PO box in a different county and call it good a never have to worry about emissions.
Car boost and runs like a wet dream just amazing.
Any ways out of despair I went to three different cities and ran three different tests just hoping I'd get lucky every time.
My setup: New plugs, K&N filter this time, New 20w-50 Catrol, New o2 sensor, 91 octane with 2 Gallons E85 mixed, Loosened the belts a bit to relieve the E-shaft a bit, 5000Ft above sea level, Stainles steel catalytic converter (Aftermarket) that tests good but is not verified, good solid idle, No smell of fuel or unburned fuel.
I do have the FC3S Thermoswitch mod which makes the fans engage at ~210F which I don't know if it's too much load on the engine.
Did you pull the air pump relay and attach the jump wire in it's place? Didn't see that on your list. "If" they allow you to ride in the passenger seat (AZ does), it helps to coach the driver to ease into the throttle transitions instead of "mashing" it. Driving style can make a significant difference in the final numbers. Find a local FD owner with a low mileage OEM cat and ask if you can "borrow" it for the test.
This forum should have a low mileage "travelling" OEM CAT that can be borrowed for shipping costs Just say'in
Did you pull the air pump relay and attach the jump wire in it's place? Didn't see that on your list. "If" they allow you to ride in the passenger seat (AZ does), it helps to coach the driver to ease into the throttle transitions instead of "mashing" it. Driving style can make a significant difference in the final numbers. Find a local FD owner with a low mileage OEM cat and ask if you can "borrow" it for the test.
This forum should have a low mileage "travelling" OEM CAT that can be borrowed for shipping costs Just say'in
No, I didn't try to jumper the relay but I might. I have been trying to borrow a cat but haven't had luck yet. There was one for sale under the classifieds section but you can clearly see it's clogged. There is one for sale locally but they're asking $250 and I don't know I want to take the risk...
I'd like it to pass for my own satisfaction at this point since I feel the car is outsmarting me.
They also won't let you in the car during testing. You get to sit behind a glass door and watch them hit fool boost like mad men.
I'd like to also point out that I don't have the expected 10-8-10 boost pattern... It's more like 14-8-10 the primary comes in hard until in transitions. No problems there though but I'm thinking it might be failing because of that if the ECU is pegging to the rich side.
08-08-15, 09:12 AM
