Hey guys!
So, I have a 2000 s40 that I'm just now getting around to smogging a year later here in Cali. I'm unsure that it'll pass, since about a year ago I had an on/off engine light due to either O2 sensors or the catalytic converter (). It went away, though, but then I let the car sit for like four months.
As expected, the battery didn't have enough juice to start the car. I jumped it, drove it for about an hour, started it no problem once more, then left it at home for a while. Wouldn't start when I tried to get it going the next morning. Because the tags are so expired on it I haven't been taking it on the freeway, so it's only been used for trips to the store (15/20 minutes) and it refuses to start without a jump.
I'm thinking I just need to give the alternator a chance to charge it up on the freeway, so I'll be doing that this week. If that doesn't work I'll go get a new battery. But I also need to smog it this week, and I know there are issues with doing that directly after a battery is dead/replaced; does anyone know the proper ritual for this? I've heard about driving cycles/miles/turn the car on and off/perform an animal sacrifice...
Also, anyone have some tips for passing smog?
Thanks everyone!

 

My answer is to move to another state!

I've heard you must make sure it's fully warmed up so that the cat is working properly. Also, on another forum one person claimed a "pour in the tank" additive would make any car pass smog. Never tried it myself.

My 2001 used to set the code for cat efficiency until I put an extension on the bottom O2 sensor. This would probably be noticed by the smog *****.

 

The reason they won't pass your emissions inspection is because certain sensors in the OBD2 Emissions system require a certain amount of run time to indicate a fault. Most vehicles will need about 15-20mins of steady driving at highway speed in order for the ECU to read all the sensors. Otherwise when the inspector plugs in the tester the sensors will show "inconclusive" or "not responding".