inspection help
 

ok..now ik you guys here dont condone breaking laws and stuff like that here but im in a bind and am in need if ideas :icon_couchhide:...
My 97 bravada is past its inspection date(expired july 31st)..and due to New York emissions stuff my truck will not pass the mechanical part of the inspection due to the mis-fire in cyl #..and i can not get the "service engine soon" light to go off long enough to get the new inspection sticker,now i have replaced the cap twice and the misfire is still present(b4 u ask i replaced the plugs and wires too).And don't have the $ to pay a garage to tell me what the prob is or just keep replacing parts..so i need any tricks that might get my bravada thru the inspection w/ out fixing this issue,throw out any possible ideas please
thank you

For OBD2 vehicles they pretty much always scan it during emissions testing. A mis-fire is a rather big thing so I don't think you have a choice about fixing it before inspection.

The PCM is gonna throw a DTC if anything is wrong and I don't know of any way to trick its method of detecting misfires. If you had something like HPTuners or EFI Live there may be a way to delete the sensors involved in misfire detection but that would almost certainly cause other problems.

Only option is to fix the problem. Think about what's required for the cylinder to fire. Air and fuel have to enter the cylinder, be compressed, then the spark ignites it. Check and see if there are any fuel system issues that could starve the misfiring cylinder. To check spark I believe you can pull the plug and put a nonfouler in its place and see if theres any irregularities in the spark while the engines running. If the intake valve isn't opening the air and fuel can't enter the cylinder. If the exhaust valve is stuck open there would be no compression and no fire.

Is one cylinder just not firing at all or is it firing but occasionally missing? Is the problem only affecting one cylinder?

Asking yourself these kind of questions and walking yourself through it is the best way to go.

A scan tool that connects to a laptop would probably help a lot as you could monitor various sensors and aspects of the engine while its running.

97Bravada I have some bad news for you, you are screwed until you get it fixed. The inspection machine for New York State plugs right into the port under the dash to read the PCM and that is your emissions test. Any record of miss fires and failure. Even after it is fixed it will take anywhere up to 100 miles of driving to clear all records of the miss before the computer is good for the inspection. Sorry the right way is to fix it, park it or risk ticket.

just give a lil more $$ and you'll pass, that what my friend has to do, has no cats on a 06 ram.

These trucks seem to have some intake manifold issues (leaks) wich will cause it to miss, same with a bad headgasket. If you have been losing water or overheating or getting hotter than normal, you can buy some Blue Devil head gasket repair, and as long as you follow the directions, it will seal it. It's kind of expensive at $60 for a bottle, but it's the only one that doesn't clog the rest of your system. And I've put it in a motor that had water pouring out of it......Sealed it in 10 min. That was 2 years ago, and my buddy is still driving the car every day. The one problem you are going to have once you get it fixed, is like what DKSDAD said it takes quite a few miles for your computer to know its fixed, and make the mixture and timing adjustments. I know your out of time, so if want it quicker, go pull a computer off a wrecked one. Good luck to ya!

Pulling a comp from a wrecker wouldnt help, THAT computer would still have to meet the self testing criteria to become ready as well.

You need to go get a free scan somewhere and let us know what your codes are, then we can get you running again.

OBDII computers will keep the CEL light on until the you drive for at least 2-20 minute trips after up to normal operating temps, and it no longer detects the problem. You have to complete 2 cycles at normal operating temps for the puter to turn off the light.

The puter will store code for 50 key starts.


Another option is to have the codes cleared at your local autoparts store. OR, disconnect your battery, that will clear most codes. Both will clear the codes, however neither will fix the problem.

With the New York State Inspection atleast here in the lower part of the state if you disconnect the battery and reconnect it it will not pass inspection because you clear all memory out of the computer. You will still need to drive and relearn the computer and by then most likely the light will reset. Like I said before and it happend to me for last years inspection fix it, park it or drive it and risk ticket. I had to change out my spider to pass inspection and give it a full tune up.

There are two things at work here. Codes & Monitors. Codes are present when there are problems. Monitors are always there. When you reset the codes, you also reset the monitors. You need both in compliance to pass an inspection with some leeway (not all monitors need to be 'ready'). The leeway varies depending on your location. To get get the monitors to the 'ready' state, you must complete at least one drive cycle (often 2 or more). During the course of a drive cycle, the codes are highly likely to come back if the problem has not been properly corrected.

and i thought our Drive Clean TP sniffer was anal!