Date:         Mon, 18 Aug 2003 19:24:06 -0400
Reply-To:     gritis@ATTGLOBAL.NET
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Karen Gritis <gritis@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject:      Help needed for 88 Cabriolet emissions failure
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Please take a minute to help us out, even though this problem isn't Vanagon related.  (If it helps, I have a Vanagon.)  My daughter and I went to get her Cabriolet emissions tested today.  We were shocked that it failed.  

The numbers were as follows:
HC ppm - 15 mph - (limit 152) - actual 56
CO% - 15 mph - (limit .86) - actual .64
NO ppm - 15 mph - (limit 1203) - actual 1614 

So everything except NO was within acceptable limits, although the inspector said that all the values were higher than they should be.  There is no visible smoke.  The inspector said that it could possibly be the catalytic converter going bad, but he didn't know for sure.

The engine seemed to run hot during testing.  There is a water temperature gauge with a light in the middle, the Cabriolet was running half way between the light and the hot zone.  I have the same gauge in my vanagon and I usually run just to the left of the light.

One other thing that might have some bearing on this is that it took 4 tries for the inspector to get a reading.  He finally had to take apart the probe that goes into the tailpipe and blow compressed air through it.  Then he was able to complete the three cycles.  So anyway, the car was pretty hot by the time he could get a reading.

Any ideas??  Any suggestions??  Any and all are appreciated.

Thanks,
Karen