"Sandy" <sbeech6 RemoveThis @nospamcox.net> wrote in
news:IKSuh.9775$Kv1.5925@newsfe11.phx:
> Tegger -
>
> Could you elaborate on the smog check & battery disconnection issue? I
> am about to replace my radio and expected to have to disconnect the
> battery in the process. Does a smog check require a certain minimum of
> history on the computer module or something? Thanks.
Sort of. There are certain monitors in the emissions computer that are
known as "readiness flags". These flags must all report "ready" when
checked. Disconnecting the battery also zeroes all the monitors (none are
"ready").
If your location uses the dynamometer method of checking emissions and does
not poll the ECM, then you're fine, flags ready or not. If your area's smog
stations plug in an OBD-II scanner instead, the car may fail on account of
at least one monitor not reporting "ready".
The correct way of clearing any error codes is to use the OBD-II scanner.
This way the monitors retain power, and thus their setting.
Depending on your type and amount of driving, it can take anywhere from
hours to days to weeks for all the flags to set on their own if the battery
has been disconnected. There is an official, specific, "drive cycle" that
is supposed to set all the flags during the cycle.
If you have to replace your radio, you have no choice but to disconnect the
battery. You will then need to wait a while before being able to get the
car smogged. If an emissions test is looming, and you have the choice, it
would be preferable to wait until the car has passed the test, then do any
electrical work that requires disconnecting the battery. Then the flags can
take as long as they want to reset.
--
Tegger
The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/
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