Has anyone with a Hydra/modified ECU gotten their truck smogged this month?. CARB is now fishing for modified ECU's during the smog test through your obdii port and will fail you if it is detected. I'm curious if anyone has been down this road?

 

Carp, I wonder if they will detect my six shooter when its set to the stock setting? That's next years problem

 

I do not believe one can detect a modified PCM through the OBDII port. My home state has become a special kind of stupid.

 

they can find modifed ecu's by Calibration Verification Number. the link below shows how CA might look for the changes.

https://www.carbibles.com/california...ks-this-month/

 

It's very possible that this may be the case with much newer vehicles. However, for a few particular reasons I don't see it happening on a widespread (like voter fraud) basis simply because of the amount of time it would take to do such a thing.

Your "Six Shooter" does not modify the calibration or "tune" the PCM in any way. It fools the injection pressure sensor (ICP) input to the PCM and the calibration already flashed to the PCM makes changes based on that corrupt input. No worries other than the smUg police seeing the extra wiring under the hood. Also, most of Banks' stuff has a C.A.R.B. certification (meaning he paid off the bureaucrats with large sums of cash to get some labels made and get the gestapo to look the other way). These laws have NOTHING to do with "saving the planet". It's all about revenue and control.

It is a simple process to verify a calibration on a PCM provided the correct hardware is available and there is a database that will automatically compare the read file to a factory stock one. Some vehicles' calibration information can't be read through the OBDII port with commonly-available or generic-style tools and I guarantee that these smog check stations are not going to buy manufacturer-specific tools for every make out there on the road. You're not going to have a guy in a separate office take a read calibration from the PCM (which takes anywhere from 2 minutes to over 20 in some cases), load it into a hex editing program, find the calibration file name (in our case the "HEX CODE") and then load a stock file and hit the "compare" button. These shops will NOT be able to buy every calibration from every manufacturer over the last 25 years and do this to every single vehicle.



For example, say a guy comes in with his 2001 7.3L Powerstroke......
Some sort of tool is used to attach to the OBDII port and the PCM is read. Fine, there goes 2-4 minutes. The file is saved and loaded into a hex editor or government-supplied software that automatically reads and compares the calibration. The HEX code is attached to the calibration so it's not hard to find out what the calibration is and as we've seen with programs like ForScan, the hex code is readily available. When a PCM on one of these vehicles is flashed, USUALLY the HEX code is not changed. Sure, a different calibration can be installed on similar hardware; as in flashing from a VRAA7S5 (PMT2) to a VRAA7S8 (CKX0) but dealerships do this all the time so comparing a box code to the actual HEX code isn't going to work for them either. Some flash programmers will use a strategy that inserts some kind of remnants into the calibration near the HEX code portion of the "VID Block" so that the programmer knows what to do when it comes to reflashing back to stock or another "level". These remnants often stay there even when the vehicle is returned to stock. Some don't but most do. ForScan CANNOT pick up these bytes left behind so whatever program these smUg stations use would have to be able to know to read a little bit more than the standard HEX location. Also, there are a few PCMs out there with the VIN programmed into them but not a whole lot. Add to that the growing number of PCM replacements due to failure and it's impossible to actually track anything.

Add to that if it has to be done manually, our PCM memory size PALES in comparison to anything newer so going through a calibration over 10 times the size.....yeah......



This is not a realistic strategy to implement simply based on what is involved to do it.

 

Part of the problem is they pushed this out with no clue on how they are going to test it. which seems like they did that so stations could fail any modified vehicle until the state comes up with a standard test. the link i shared does express some of the issues that Cleatus lists. people who have stock vehicles can still fail smog check depending on how the state tests.

 

It's actually pretty simple process. Having a in house fleet smog check at work I have seen how this functions. All you have to do is follow the prompts, use the barcode scanner to scann the barcode on the VIN in the dashboard. The test sequence comes up and you are prompted to do a pre test visual along with plugging in the OBD. The system is looking for anything that doesn't match the manufacturers approved EPA or CARB files. All of this is done live through the web portal and doesn't need to be downloaded. This takes about 8 mins to complete but you are supposed to be doing a visual inspection concurrently.

 

Well then we as a community should be fine. I can flash a 250/200% calibration to my PCM and as long as I don't erase or rename the calibration information at the address the scan tool is looking at, nobody'd be the wiser.


Most everyone does that and even the off-the-shelf programmers leave a valid Ford calibration HEX code behind.

Even the HEX code from a calibration on a chip will give a valid value. Unless a tuning company wants to erase the HEX code information from a calibration to make it harder for people to see the tuning by making it harder to know what base calibration was used, a valid calibration number will be present on a 7.3L PCM.

I could erase the "VHAE9J2.HEX" in the calibration and make it say "FTHEEPA.GFY" if I want. That would really get 'em going.

 

Not 100% sure about this, but I think those of us with Hydras, DP Tuners etc are in the clear on this. I know I can still read the strategy on the PCM with Forscan, even with my DP Tuner installed. The OEM tune remains on the PCM.

Cody's input is reassuring. I guess the unknown here is exactly what tech they are using, and exactly what they are looking for. I doubt they are advertising that info. @ford390gashog can you share any further details of the system? A pic?

Of course a Hydra or DP is still a smog fail if the tech sees the switcher, wires, or chip on the PCM. Previously I've just hidden the switcher, but pulling the whole kit isn't a problem.

 

I really doubt that the same OBD-II protocols that are in place on newer cars are the same as the ones on our trucks. It will be interesting to see what happens when someone smogs their truck with a Hydra tune.

Since someone else made a comment, I can too. Smog regulations are here to keep the air clean, healthy and safe to breathe. It's not about control. That's what conspiracy theorists want people to believe.

 

Good info Cody. I stand corrected. I just had no idea....wow. I just hope this doesn't go the way it did when I had a '98 Volvo Wagon 740 for my wife. Lets see if I get this right and remember correctly. It had a deal where it had to set all of the parameters in the emission coding. After 6 months of pulling my hair out trying to go through drive cycles to get them to reset correctly, I found an exemption that the state had made specifically for 97-99 Volvo 740 Sport wagons.... SMFH. What an ordeal just to get it to pass. It wasn't spewing bad emissions.....it just didn't have two of the five parameters set due to some issue with monitoring system. Anyways, sorry for the sidetrack. Glad to be out of that hell hole. I hope the state goes back to the way it used to be, but I highly doubt that'll ever happen short of civil war. A 12 billion dollar homeless budget, says all I need to know. It's a mess.

 

Some of the information below may or may not be of help to those who may or may not benefit from understanding certain limitations that exist in OIS equipment in reading 7.3L PCMs:

Vehicle: Ford 1998-2003 Truck 7.3L (diesel)
Problem: Engine could shut off when requesting Mode $09 data with aftermarket scan tool. (This is likely what Torque Pro app users experience, as I have surmised based on user reports)
Probable Cause: Vehicle design anomaly.
Procedure Recommended: Test normally.
What Will Happen: OIS programmed to skip Mode $09 data request on these vehicles.

Vehicle: Ford 1998-2004 F250, F350, E350, E450, E Super Duty, Econo Commercial S- Duty, Econo RV S- Duty (diesel) [Federal certified]
Problem: Federal diesel vehicle over 8,500 GVWR are not OBD-II certified.
Probable Cause: Federal diesel vehicles over 8,500 GVWR were not built to comply with OBD-II or Fed OBD standards.
Procedure Recommended: Test normally.
What Will Happen: BAR-OIS will ignore incomplete continuous monitors. If the vehicle fails to communicate, use the result of the bulb check for the overall result of the OBD Test if the analyzer offers this option.

The foregoing is from a BAR training manual that predates the new PCM calibration "check" that is to begin tomorrow, July 19,2021.

 

Maybe this should be incorporated into the Right-To-Repair lawsuit. This level of intrusion into how individuals operate their vehicles is ridiculous. MN's weaksauce governor wants to adopt CA's emissions standards so it is a source of irritation for me as well.

 

Is there a point at which your CA registered vehicles become exempt from checks like this?

For example, if it is 30 years or older? Are vintage/antique vehicles still tested as a 2019 6.7L PSD is?

In my opinion, regardless if the 7.3L owners are not subject to the PCM modification scan/test, it will be a bit of a hassle. It seems you fellas are guilty until proven innocent when going to have your vehicles checked.

 

Yes and no.

For a brief period of time, the star power of Jay Leno, the connections of Gale Banks, along with a consortium of big name aftermarket industry leaders such as Victor Edelbrock Jr and other notable SEMA business members convinced a California legislator to author a bill designed to preserve the car enthusiast business, which established an exemption for vehicles 30 years and older.

The bill passed, effectively reinforcing the preservation of the "Muscle Car Era" of vehicles, which ended with the first so called "fuel crises" of 1973. Preserving the vehicles preserved the California business interests that make and sell performance parts for those vehicles. That law survived for a couple of years, exempting the 1974 and 1975 model years while it lasted. Then a new bill was passed that redacted the law passed by the old bill, stopping the accretion of exempted years.

So currently, all 1976 and newer gas powered vehicles are subject to biennial inspection, along with 1998 and newer diesel powered vehicles under 14,000 GVWR.

For a few years, vehicles that were 5 years and newer were exempt from biennial smog inspections, but then that got changed to 8 years, with an interesting and telling twist: You don't have to have your vehicle inspected during the first 8 years, but you still have to pay a Smog Abatement Fee of $20 per year. This begs the question... is it really about the air? Or about the revenue that can be generated?

The populace is all too happy to pay the (mandatory) Abatement fee in order to postpone having surly strangers speaking unknown languages with greasy hands and shop floor mopping clothes sliding in and out of the seats of their brand new $100K vehicles, leaving their fingerprints all over the leather.

This year, a bill is making its way through committee that would sort of exempt vehicles from inspection all the way up to when the Smog Check program was implemented, which was in 1984. So, under the current proposal, vehicles 1983 and older would be exempt. However, that has already been amended (before the law even passed) to say that vehicles between 1976 and 1983 can be exempted if and only if they are insured under a "Collector Car" insurance policy.

This adjustment affirms that the "rules" favor those who have the power of influence (money) to make the rules. The insurance lobby is strong in the state capitol.

However, there is no lobbyist for the 21 year old young woman who grew up without running water in the house, and who needs a car in order to get to each part time job because no employer wants to hire full time workers so as to avoid providing mandatory benefits, who can afford to acquire a 1982 Ford Escort, but can't afford to insure it as a "collector car" with the inherent restrictions on use as defined in those policies, nor can she afford to rebuild or resolve why the car won't pass emissions.