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SMOG FAILED

Tiny
ERIKS805
  • MEMBER
  • 2001 SATURN SC1
  • 4 CYL
  • MANUAL
  • 106,000 MILES
Smog failed because it couldn't complete a self-test. FAIL: system malfunction light. Mechanic said to drive it around more. The last time the battery was disconnected was about 5 months ago. In that time, I have driven in town and on the freeway. That should be several thousand miles. Why would it say that it fails or what can I do to fix it?

". Failed the MIL/check enginge light due to failure to successfully complete all OBD self tests"
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Saturday, April 30th, 2011 AT 12:09 AM

7 Replies

Tiny
BMRFIXIT
  • MECHANIC
  • 19,053 POSTS
Check coolant sensor operation
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Saturday, April 30th, 2011 AT 12:35 AM
Tiny
ERIKS805
  • MEMBER
  • 7 POSTS
Not sure what you mean by checking but the wires seem to look good. The coolant temp gauge seems to be working normally. The only coolant problem occurring is that i'm losing water. I couldn't seem to find a leak. The hoses going to and leaving the radiator seem fine. It will only lose water while im driving. Could that have something to do with it?
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Saturday, April 30th, 2011 AT 12:53 AM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
  • 30,869 POSTS
Just to add to this one are you saying the monitors wernt set and that is why it failed?If your checking the coolant temp sensor you can't just look at the wire's remove the connector and see if the connector is corroded. Also do you have a multimeter?
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Saturday, April 30th, 2011 AT 5:21 PM
Tiny
ERIKS805
  • MEMBER
  • 7 POSTS
I checked the wires and the insided of the connector. They are not corroded. I do have a multimeter and measured the resistance. I didn't take the actual sensor out and got a reading of about 70-75 ohms. It was in a hard to get area but I think that the reading is fairly accurate.
-the smog report says, "This vehicle failed the MIL/check engine light due to failure to successfully complete all OBD self test."

it passed every functionality and emissions test except for that one
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Sunday, May 1st, 2011 AT 10:54 PM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
  • 30,869 POSTS
With you loosing coolant most common reasons on that car are the coolant cap not holding pressure and venting the coolant in the form of steam. Also the water pump leaking then I would look below the upper radiator on the radiator plastic tank they crack there and leak coolant really common. As far as you testing the coolant temp sensor with your reading of 75 ohms the engine was not run at all that day?If that's the case what was the outside temp when you checked it?Also you can't only check it when its cold like that I have seen a lot of sensors read the correct temp until the engine started getting over 180 degrees then it was reading incorrect. Let me know.
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Monday, May 2nd, 2011 AT 6:10 PM
Tiny
ERIKS805
  • MEMBER
  • 7 POSTS
I tested the sensor again after driving around for about 15 min. And the sensor is now reading 90 ohms.

Could the leaking water be the result for the smog failure?
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Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011 AT 2:30 AM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
  • 30,869 POSTS
I would check those ohms readings again on the sensor there way off take a look at the code chart I posted.
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Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011 AT 10:24 PM

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