Menu
What's new
By:
Advanced search...

Failed MOT due to emissions - high CO (EDIT: NOW PASSED)

I

Ihpj

New Member
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
Car
Honda Accord
Forum, I hope to rescue and keep a lovely Honda Accord on the road with your help. My Accord was MOT’d and failed on emissions as follows:


CAR: 1999 (T) Honda Accord 1.8i ES (Auto) saloon. Full UK Spec, un-modified/in-molested.
Engine Code: F18B2E (I think)
History: Documented service history via receipts and all at Halfords Autocenters


Fast Idle Test
Engine Speed = Manual Check = PASS
CO = 0.45 = FAIL (0.30)
HC = 26 ppm = PASS (200)
LAMBDA = 1.014 = PASS (0.970 - 1.030)


Second Fast Idle Test
Engine Speed = Manual Check = PASS
CO = 0.32 = FAIL (0.30)
HC = 16 ppm = PASS (200)
LAMBDA = 1.010 = PASS (0.970 - 1.030)


Natural Idle Test
Engine Speed = Manual Check = PASS
CO =0.48 = PASS (0.50)
 
Last edited:
To be fair, the CO result is not surprising as the car does smell as if it is running a little rich. Have tried the old Italian Tune Up with a can of Seafoam into about half a tank of Tesco 99 fuel. I completed a 50 mile drive in third, revving to 4-4.5K revs at 65MPH, and it was retested while hot after a run - sadly numbers were not much different.

Took it to a couple of Fast Fit exhaust places who all confirm exhaust seems newish (2-3 years), is correctly fitted and doesn’t need replacement and CAT also appears to be aftermarket of a similar age. Many parts of the exhaust are labelled Klarius.
 
At present, looking at the readings on HC and Lambda they seem good to me - suggesting they are not at fault. From my basic chemistry (HAHA!) given how high the CO is, I am leaning towards the CAT not working as it should (or not at all) as it does not seem to be catalysing the CO into CO2.

I would welcome feedback and observations from the Forum please. I think the car can be saved without much cost but I am out of my depth here and would welcome ideas/thoughts/reflections…car is too good to scrap.
 
Thank you both; you echo my own thoughts and those of mechanic and MOT tester.

Trying the fixes in order of cheapest first, and as I have a pathological need to ensure my cars are properly and correctly serviced, I serviced it myself with all genuine bits incl. all filters and plugs as well as oil + filter change (Blue Print filter) and poured a bottle of Cataclean into third-ful tank of fuel…it passed:

Fast Idle Test
Engine Speed = Manual Check = PASS
CO = 0.32 = FAIL (0.30)
HC = 21 ppm = PASS (200)
LAMBDA = 1.012 = PASS (0.970 - 1.030)

Second Fast Idle Test
Engine Speed = Manual Check = PASS
CO = 0.30 = PASS (0.30)
HC = 20 ppm = PASS (200)
LAMBDA = 1.009 = PASS (0.970 - 1.030)

Natural Idle Test
Engine Speed = Manual Check = PASS
CO = 0.24 = PASS (0.50)


Now it could be the service helped, after all the car was very borderline fail, and using genuine Honda parts (like the plugs) collectively made enough of a difference…but I am skeptical only because the old plugs were not discernibly fouled in my view and there was no obvious molestation of the inlet piping etc. (thank you for the suggestion!). I will chalk this down to a win for Cataclean having done its thing…so Cataclean worked for me at least.

I must say, I don’t believe in these snake oils myself but a pass is a pass and I’m pleased to have got it through the MOT. I now have the time to save up and explore the emissions in slow time. Even if we get a year out of the car, it will have paid for itself.
 
Last edited:
By means of update, I wanted to share I opted to swap out both lambda sensors while I have the money and inclination (enthusiasm ;)) to do so. I bought NTK sensors from ‘Parts in Motion’ as follows:
  • NTK Lambda Sensor 0277 - £109.82
  • NTK Lambda Sensor 0266 - £81.58
(Prices incl. VAT and before new buyer discount)

Changed both as I felt it was just common sense and have driven some 600 miles since. I have fuelled it with BP Super (97 RON) only as I wanted to run a couple of tankfuls of good fuel through it.

I believe the car is still running rich but not as much as before, as there is still a slight petrol odour at exhaust. I hope to get it on the emissions machine when work allows as that will tell me for sure what it’s doing. MPG seems to be around 25-28MPG (280-odd miles to a tankful) on a journey on A roads of about 50 mile round trip daily - this seems low to me but improved from before by about 2-4MPG and 50 mile-odd range.

No warning lights on the dash and, as I have found (thanks to forum), my car has no ODB2 port :rolleyes: as I was going to use VCDS to look at fuel trim readings. I am debating if I should have pulled the battery negative lead to allow the ECU to reset itself given the two new lambda’s fitted - or will it automatically adapt with use and time?

Appreciate the forums input, thank you!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top