Failed CA Smog - No O2, High HC, Low CO Help!

[carf21]

Sorry to have to post another Smog thread. I went through many previous threads but couldn't find one that's close to the results that I got, esp for the 911. It's hard to imagine that a 3 yrs old Porsche with just over 10k miles failed Smog!! Please help.

The test is done is CA, and the report doesn't show NOx. Drove the car in both HW/City for 20-30 mins, oil temp at 200F for at least 10 mins before the test.

Idle - PASS
CO2% - 15.0
O2% - 0.0
HC - 62/100 (Meas/Max) - pass but unusually high
CO - 0.01/1.0 (Meas/Max)

2500 RPM - FAILED
CO2% - 15.0
O2% - 0.0
HC - 201/100 (Meas/Max) - failed by a mile!
CO - 0.02/1.0 (Meas/Max)

When the guy at the station ran the 2500 test, he left the car in neutral with the fan blowing the front of the car. Is that normal? What difference would make in gear and air blowing into the rear engine intake?

Not sure if it's related but I noticed the car hunt for idle very slightly. The tach bounce a bit between maybe 700-900rpm (couldn't really tell exactly) and I could hear a very slight "pop" (like if you tap on a speaker cone) about every 1/5 beat of the engine. No signs of anything even close to stalling as far as I can tell. Is a cylinder misfiring? Otherwise, the car runs fine at higher rpm, and feels strong.

[rusnak]

What year 911? If it's a 3.2 how old is the cat, and how old and in what condition is the O2 sensor?

[efhughes3]

I'd think that isn't a 3.2 if it is 3 yrs old and only 10K miles. Me thinks he took a wrong turn in Forumland.

[jimbauman]

When you brought the car into the smog place, had you driven it pretty hard for at least an hour to get the cat really hot? That's always highly recommended..... High HC readings are typically unburned fuel from incomplete combustion... a super hot cat helps lower that...

JB

[rusnak]

Oh I see. It's one o them newfangled machines.

[isldtime]

3 years old?
Factory wty. time!
Not your problem.

[isldtime]

Thinking about your post. Why are you trying to smog a 3 year old car?
No smog check is required for 5 years in California!

[rusnak]

I just got one more question...

[carf21]

I needed to do the smog check because I bought it out of state into California and needed a CA smog cert for registration. Come to think of it, that explains why I'm having trouble finding more about smog for these newer 911. Guess not many owners needed to do that. It's a 997.1 (not the "911" 911 - I had that mixed up).

It's a 2007 (pre-owned) with < 3 yrs in service so I hope Porsche will warranty it fully. I assume that all parts (o2 sensor, cat) are also < 3 yrs old but the previous owner could have done something to them. I'm just hoping because the warranty language around emission systems were quite convoluted. For example, it reads that emission components (with some exclusions) are covered for 3 years for CA emission purposes instead for 4 years like the rest of the car...

I'm planning to take it into the dealership next week to have that checked out. I wanted to get my facts straight before facing off the service department there and hope to come out unscathed. This is my first Porsche so I really don't know what to expect or feel knowledgeable enough to have a decent conversation with the dealer.

How much more will a hotter cat help with cutting down HC? Is it normal to have such a low CO (mine is 0.02, avg is 0.1) with such high HC at 2500?

[sig_a]

Failed a smog test in a state with a failed government by a state employed bureaucrat who's trained to fan the front of all cars regardless where the engine is.

Why am I not surprised.

[Quicksilver]

Originally Posted by sig_a

Failed a smog test in a state with a failed government by a state employed bureaucrat who's trained to fan the front of all cars regardless where the engine is.

Why am I not surprised.

The radiator is in the front of a 997...

The emission systems have a federally mandated warranty on them no matter who the manufacturer is. Take it to the dealer for free repairs.

[jimbauman]

I think the fan is there just to blow away exhaust fumes.....
JB

[ischmitz]

By the end of the day the exhaust fumes out of a 996 or 997 are almost breathable - that's how clean they are supposed to be. When I got my 996 smogged for the first time the guy at the station didn't trust his instrument readings - they showed zero for HC.

I don't think that a hot cat will make any difference in your case. Your car has a fault and needs service. It could be a leaking injector or faulty O2 sensor. Get it to a dealership and have them put it on a PIWIS to read the fuel trim information and sensor outputs. The diagnostics and repair should all be covered under warranty.

Ingo

[efhughes3]

Why isn't this thread closed or moved?

[my1st911]

Originally Posted by jimbauman

I think the fan is there just to blow away exhaust fumes.....
JB

Its usually there to push air into the radiator.

[carf21]

Thanks for the advices - sounds like it's not a cat problem. I'm going to have a dealer diagnose and fix this. Please pardon me for posting in the wrong forum - thought this is for all 911 :-)

I thought the fan is for blowing cooler air into the air intake, which is on the back. My guess is blowing at the radiator won't make too much of a difference but I'm not an expert.

Just thought I'd share my "findings" after deciphering the warranty language of these newer machines:

2 yrs - Federal mandate, do what it takes to pass the emission test
3 yrs - California mandate, do what it takes to pass the emission test
7 yrs - California mandate, only cover certain emission related parts, more so than the Federal mandate below, but not clear whether diagnosis and adjustments are covered
8 yrs - Federal mandate, only cover Cat, ECU, PSM

Happy that my car is under 3 yrs.

[ischmitz]

It is my understanding that a car maker must meet these mandates to be legally able to sell a car into the U.S. market. However, Porsche warrants everything for at least 5 years from new. So unless they changed their policies significantly their warranty should be better than these mandates.

Ingo

[carf21]

It's sad, warranty is only 4 yrs now, excluding emission components, which have different coverage (my previous post). They now offer owners an additional 2 yrs extended coverage as good as the new car warranty for about $2-3k as long as the new car warranty didn't expire.