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96 Saturn inspection monitors won't clear


harleydad91
06-02-2009, 06:04 PM
we have a1996 saturn sc1 that can not be tested for emissions because the inspection monitors have not cleared since we changed the egr valve to eliminate a p0404 code that came up intermittently. The monitors that do not clear are ,catalyst,o2 sensor and egr. We haven't had a mil light or code in over 6 weeks of normal driving, Over 300 miles. We did have an exhaust leak between the engine and the catalytic converter that has been repaired for 2 weeks. The car is driven mostly around town , approx 30 miles a day . However it has also been driven through an obdII drive cycle 7 times, 5 times after repairing the exhaust leak. I have had the car for a year the O2 sensor in the exhaust manifold was replaced before I bought it to pass emissions. The car has 160k,it uses a qt of oil per week ,but runs good otherwise. I pulled the O2 sensor from the manifold to see if it was pluged with soot ,it was not. The 02 sensor in the cat is healed in badly as the cat and rest of the exhaust system appear to be original. There does not seem to be excesive back pressure but I have not measured it with a guage. I did put the car on a scanner to check for egr flow and closed loop operation the results seemed ok I didn't know the exact spec's for the flow but the values did change up and down with throttle position and it was in closed loop. I have access to a snap on scanner but don't know what else to check.

RC1488
06-02-2009, 10:32 PM
Bad ECTS. Replace it with a brass one. Also check the connector for corrosion and replace if needed.

Once the ECTS is brass, normal operating temps should be read to be 3/8ths on the gauge or 195F from a scanner. If they are less than that, it indicates your thermostat is bad and needs to be replaced.

If the ECTS is cracked, or the thermostat is wrong then the monitor tests will not start untill normal operating temps are reached.

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