Turning off a the check engine light for smog test

cse160mike · Post by **cse160mike** » 08 Jan 2013, 22:05

Is it possible to turn off the check engine light for a smog test. Is it possible to turn off the check engine light off by disconnecting the battery and reconnecting it. If so I'd appreciate steps how to accomplish this as I am not very knowledgable.

Post by **matthew1** » 08 Jan 2013, 23:21

They've seen it all. They'll catch you.

Battery power interruption will not clear codes, but even if it did, won't have a drive cycle probably, and the OBDII system will say so.

It's better to start by pulling the code(s) and posting it here so we can help. Some fixes are easier than cheating

.

Post by **rmmagow** » 10 Jan 2013, 11:39

Probably can't get away with that in CA. In RI I was able to convince the inspection station to look up info for the 98 V70 since EPA realizes that getting the drive cycle thing to reset properly in a 98 is very difficult. They agreed and put the car through a tail-pipe test and it passed OK. My codes at the time were P0171, P0455, P0243, none of which triggered high CO or other gas emissions. I had cleared the codes prior to going for the inspection with an OBD tool and even now, the CEL stays off for about two days before one of the conditions mentioned trigger the light again.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 10 Jan 2013, 11:53

cse160mike wrote:Is it possible to turn off the check engine light for a smog test.

Sure it is, just fix what is wrong with it in the first place.

Most of the chain Auto Parts Stores will read the error codes for free. Typically they will give you an explanation of what expensive part you need to buy from them to fix the car and most of the time their diagnosis is wrong. The most important thing to write down from getting the codes read is the actual code number. They are in the format of Pxxxx with the x's being numerical. A typical code number would be P0172 and all of them should have that format.

Once you get the codes read post back the code numbers and we can then give you better advice on how to fix the car and get the light shut off.

...Lee

Post by **rmmagow** » 10 Jan 2013, 14:09

What Ozark says!
My codes are almost all going to be from old hoses and cracked elbows. I never got any codes that indicated any super serious issues. Get the codes read or even buy a cheap OBD scanner (probably should be standard equipment for these old Volvos) and post up the codes.