So I bring my 02 Ex in for is mandatory inspection to my local mineke and the guy calls me to tell me my truck "is not ready to be inspected"...after about 30 seconds of "who's on first" type conversation, I realize that he means that my truck is "asking" for a drive cycle for the O2 sensor because the battery may have been reset (no it hadn't for maybe 2 months) or because someone cleared the check engine light (I've never seen it on except at start up when all the lights turn on for a second).

I put a good 300 miles a week on her and the battery charging system is working fine as far as I know...the only thing electrical that might be weird but shouldn't have any effect on the situation is that my sirius and cell phone charger are always plugged in and powered up even when the truck is off.

I'm going on a couple hundred mile road trip today any suggestions to help get her back on par....I was thinking about really disconnecting the battery to see if it needs to be re done again and maybe it'll do the trick.

Any help would be appreciated.

Rob

 

If there were never a code for O2 then non will be recorded.
This is keep alive memory info and would be cleared during a reset of the PCM [battery disconnect]
To be thorough,
The mechanic doing your inspection would really need to run it thru a drive cycle OBD scan to ensure everything is working up to snuff. This costs and you need to approve or else there is little he can diagnose.

My truck ran with the check engine light on. When it came to emissions testing I reset the PCM memory went thru the test passed and waited for the light to come on again after, about the third start up. Here its a fail situation if the light is on.

If you've never seen the MIL on it safe to assume nothing tripped the light so all is OK. The Mech may be doing due dilligence.

This site is useful.
www.obdii.com.drivecycleford.html

 

Don't disconnect the battery-that will reset all the i/m flags.Just drive it a couple of days.The 02 test needs a few cold starts & drive cycles to pass.

 

Read this:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/5...t-come-on.html
Wondering why your MIL doesn't come on?

That monitor will NEVER show ready.

Do you have an O2 sensor after the catalytic converter? I bet you don't.

In New York, I have to get the guy to put in a weight code of over 8500 lbs, even though the registration shows only 5600 pounds (shipping weight).

The engine is really a heavy-duty truck engine, and does not need to comply to the full OBD-II spec. However, an X, or a pickup registered as a passenger vehicle, will not be heavy enough (on the registration) to be inspected as a truck.

 

Just went back to Mineke and asked about the OBD1 thing and to see if they can run it idle only....to quote them the "when we scan the reg it tells us on how we can test it...if it comes up as a passenger vehicle we have to plug it in and run it." His advice, change my registration....next stop Ford dealer.

 

It doesn't matter how much the truck actually weighs, what matters is the truck's GVWR. All Excursions and Superdutys are over 8500 pounds and the rules change for the better when the GVWR is over 8500 pounds.

 

Not in the Eco **** state of NY....it's all about the reggie.

 

In NY, passenger cars are registered based on the unladen weight on the title.

Commercial vehicles are registered based on the GVWR.

Since the Excursion (and pickup trucks with cap/topper/camper - ie no open bed) are considered passenger cars, and are registered with the unladen weight, they are under the 8500 lbs.

My mechanic (who I only go to for inspections) had to punch in a different weight code. I called the DMV (forgot the number) and they told me what to tell the mechanic. He did it, and it worked.

NYS DMV - Vehicle Safety, Inspection, Repairs and Dealers

 

Thanks Krewat, i'll make that call tomorrow...of course they closed about 10 mins ago..

 

That's wrong of NY, but you already knew that. Over 8500 GVWR trucks are not designed to meet passenger car or even light truck emissions.

 

I spoke with the "clean air" department of the NYDMV today, the guy was very knowledgeable in regard to this problem and as stated above the Excursion when registered as a passenger vehicle will NEVER even be able to be inspected properly. Out loud I wondered to him how my truck passed last year and the year before as he stated this has been the system and the policy since 2004. His suggestion was to go to DMV and have the weight (and class) of the truck changed and i'll never have another problem I think on the title it states somewhere like 7215#..though the GVW is 8900# on the sticker inside the driverside door. He also stated (although admitting it was not his area of expertise) that I MIGHT have to get commercial plates and thus commercial insurance to do this.

Well up on hearing this, i headed back to the Ford dealer to let them know what I discovered and wondered how we can get her done without an expensive trip to the DMV...
After a little brain picking I learned that sometimes the inspector might have to skip scanning the window registration sticker and instead scan the barcode on the sticker affixed to inside of the drivers door sill, if the window sticker can't be read correctly. I wonder if since that sticker states the 8900# it doesn't directly tie in with the weight listed in the DMV's database...that being said, i'm dropping her off in the morning and according to the service writer they'll see what they can do.


The last thing I want is commercial plates on her, screws up being able to go on parkways in NY and can be a big hassle in the city if you don't have additional commercial vehicle markings on your doors ect...not to mention more expensive registration fees and possibly insurance.

Wish me luck.

 

Thank God Michigan does not do this (yet).

Sorry for you guys that live in the "leaf eater" states.....

 

I still say, all the inspector has to do is change the weight code (even when scanning the reg sticker) and then do an idle sniffer test. Which is what the DMV told me to do in the first place.

You might want to check some of the heavy-duty truck shops, they might know the trick.

Funny, my HC limit is 300PPM. Which is higher than what my '74 highboy did with 11:1 compression and a big lopey cam...

 

Where do you go, might be worth the trip?

At the dealer right now...fingers crossed.

 

Akron Auto, in Copiague.

The dealer HAS to know how to get it to pass...