smog monitors

641 Views 6 Replies 4 Participants Last post by etwilson, 4 d ago

etwilson

Discussion Starter · 1 mo ago

2015 200C AWD 3.6 34Kmi. w/ every option ever available
The first ever calif. smog ck. failure no lites or problems of any sort. report says monitors not complete. A DRIVE CYCLE procedure is the remedy. the failed monitor was EGR and/or VVT sensor. all other monitors passed. Please help. thank you

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200_S_AWD

· #2 · 1 mo ago

Has the battery been dead or disconnected lately?
Any 'ck eng' light or fault codes?
The way to run OBDII monitors is to drive the car. It may take a couple of days.
Your car may not have an EGR valve.

How to Perform a Basic Drive Cycle

A Drive Cycle will complete the readiness monitors for your car's emissions control system. Here are step-by-step instructions to perform a basic Drive Cycle.

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etwilson

Discussion Starter · #3 · 1 mo ago

There have not been any battery disconnects or electrical problems or codes or ck. eng. lights or starting or driveability issues. Just the required state of Ca. smog test. The report from the test was "OBDII monitors not ready" "EGR and/or VVT system" emission label does not list EGR. I don't understand why is VVT a possible problem with monitors? I do not find any mention of VVT in emissions system. It is a flex fuel system with only gasoline used.
I have a basic scanner/code reader which I plan to have connected for the drive cycle road test. Once the monitors are completed and clear must I return to have a recheck before shutting off eng? I am trying to understand how the systems are supposed to work in order to properly diagnose problems. I am a former Chrysler tech that retired before all the advancements and am trying to catch up. THANKS for the advice. I fully agree with diagnose first procedures.

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ggoose

· #4 · 1 mo ago (Edited)

What is the condition and age of the battery? Chryslers do not tolerate low voltage conditions well and a weak/failing battery could possibly cause the monitors to reset. The EGR/VVT monitor is typically the last to ready.

I would suggest having the battery and charging system tested. If you have a weak/failing battery, the act of starting the engine could drop the voltage enough to clear the monitors. As a point of note, I had a failing alternator with an ac (alternating current) ripple sufficient enough to clear all of the monitors.

The EGR/VVT monitor is set ready when driving at 40-45 mph; it may not set with only city driving. VVT (variable valve timing) tweaks the valve timing allowing a bit of exhaust gas to remain in the cylinder to reduce combustion temps and thusly NOx but only at highway speeds.

Important is the engine oil viscosity. If the oil viscosity is too high/thick, the VVT solenoids may not react fast enough to ready the monitor but be fast enough to not set a diagnostic code. The v6 calls for 5w-20.

Once the monitors are ready they will stay ready until they are reset or the battery is disconnected.

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etwilson

Discussion Starter · #5 · 1 mo ago

ggoose said:
What is the condition and age of the battery? Chryslers do not tolerate low voltage conditions well and a weak/failing battery could possibly cause the monitors to reset. The EGR/VVT monitor is typically the last to ready.

I would suggest having the battery and charging system tested. If you have a weak/failing battery, the act of starting the engine could drop the voltage enough to clear the monitors. As a point of note, I had a failing alternator with an ac (alternating current) ripple sufficient enough to clear all of the monitors.

The EGR/VVT monitor is set ready when driving at 40-45 mph; it may not set with only city driving. VVT (variable valve timing) tweaks the valve timing allowing a bit of exhaust gas to remain in the cylinder to reduce combustion temps and thusly NOx but only at highway speeds.

Important is the engine oil viscosity. If the oil viscosity is too high/thick, the VVT solenoids may not react fast enough to ready the monitor but be fast enough to not set a diagnostic code. The v6 calls for 5w-20.

Once the monitors are ready they will stay ready until they are reset or the battery is disconnected.

Thank you g goose, the battery is 15 mo. old and is a premium hi capacity load tested that is on a battery tender maintainer when garaged. Charge volts 14V. eng cranks with authority every time there are no electrical issues codes or lights. the oil is Ams Oil 5w-20 and a Mopar filter. So it is a matter of performing the proper drive cycle. performance and fuel mileage are great,
Thanks for the advise and will post results when drive is completed.

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ChryslerCares

· #6 · 24 d ago

Hello @etwilson!

If you would also like to seek support from our team, we're here to help. Please send our team a private message to begin a conversation.

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etwilson

Discussion Starter · #7 · 4 d ago

etwilson said:
Thank you g goose, the battery is 15 mo. old and is a premium hi capacity load tested that is on a battery tender maintainer when garaged. Charge volts 14V. eng cranks with authority every time there are no electrical issues codes or lights. the oil is Ams Oil 5w-20 and a Mopar filter. So it is a matter of performing the proper drive cycle. performance and fuel mileage are great,
Thanks for the advise and will post results when drive is completed.

Success at last! After much searching and condensing all the info here is what I did. Very agressive drive cycle is the key to reset VVT/EGR monitor. I drove 20 miles in 4th gear using paddle shifters @ 4000 rpm, then after getting off freeway stop on 2 lane road and did 3 very hard acellerations to 60 mph slowing to 25 mph without using brakes at all.Then drove normally for 30 miles normal shutoff for 4 hours to let all the controllers to go to sleep. A test showed all monitors were complete and passed smog test the next day.
Hope this of help to others.

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