Inspection rejection!
 

Well, not yet .... my car was due for inspection in February .... I renewed the registration but didn't get around to going for inspection yet. It won't pass anyhow because of the misfire CEL (2004, OBD-II, for which they plug in here in NJ.)

Megasquirt is temporarily removed because of unrelated problems. So now I'm back on the stock computer. I'm pretty sure (or at least hopeful) that the misfire CEL is caused by having different size injectors than the stock computer expects. Stock injector size is 265; currently I've got 305 in there, because they were readily available (thanks OlderGuy) when I removed the MS and 460s recently. Car idles/drives fine except the CEL thinks otherwise. (I know for fact that there's nothing wrong the coils, plugs, wires, etc.)

I'm getting 250cc injectors later this week (thanks to Paul). Question is, since 250s are also non-stock (albeit not as much as 305s, and in the opposite direction), do you guys think it will still misfire?

Yes, I know to stay out of boost on the 250s. :)

I'd be hard pressed to think the 305cc injectors would be the issue...

I'm open to other ideas. This is only about passing inspection and keeping my car on the road, not performance, etc. .... after it passes I'm going back to MS and 460s ASAP!

Seth @ Dealer Alternative couldn't find anything wrong that's causing a misfire. But he mentioned seeing a similar problem on another MSM. I suppose the only way to know for sure that it's NOT the injector size would be to find a set of stockers, along with stock iridium plugs (ordinary NGKs in there right now).

I desperately want to avoid throwing money at this problem. If I add up the money I've wasted on failed DIY COPS, having Seth work on it, rental cars, etc., I could've had a freaking Hydra instead of the MS.

conjunction junction!

Could be clogged or dirty injector. The only other reasons would be plugs, wires...ect like you said. You sure its not arcing and there all good.

I had that one due to an improperly gapped crank sensor. Mines a '97 though. The engine never miss fired, but due to the sensor location, it got funny reading in the "miss fire detection" stuff in the ECU.
--Alex

Was it cold out? How old are you? These things can happen later in life.

On a serious note though, do know what the gap is on the NGKs?

Forgot to ask... Is it actually missing? Or is it just the CEL?
--Alex

They were gapped to .030. I thought some extra spark might help compensate for the slightly extra fuel, so I re-gapped them to .040. It didn't help.

It feels normal when warmed up and driving. But it's very slow to start when the engine is cold -- slower than when it was new and bone-stock, and slower than when I had the MS installed. Could that be a symptom of something?

But its not missing when cold?
--Alex

This may sound foolish, but how do I tell? Other than the CEL or seat-of-my-pants ..... it basically runs okay except during cold starts.

I usually go by seat of the pants on that one.

You could put a timing light on it when cold, and see if the light flickers erratically. Not fool proof, but may help.
--Alex

Inspection Completion!!
 

:yippee: My car passed OBD-II inspection today!!! :yippee:

Here in NJ we're allowed to have one thing fail during the OBD-II test. Up until last week I had two things failing (according to my code reader which has a readiness tester inside) -- evap sys and egr sys. I searched around and learned that evap sys is difficult to pass and egy sys should be easier. So I cleaned the EGR valve and decreased my spark plug gap to .025 because there were also alleged random misfires. That was a few days ago. Plugged in the reader this morning to see if the ECU self-test was complete. Oddly, it said that it finished evap sys but not egr sys! Whatever; now I only had one thing failing so I went directly to the inspection shop before the car changed its mind and the CEL returned! :) Passed with flying colors, and that was still on the bigger injectors; I was too lazy to go back to stock 265cc (for you NA owners: it's a real hassle on an NB).

Now I can have two more years of modified goodness. Go-fast parts, MS, even bigger injectors, etc. are going back in my car ASAP. :)

At least now I know HOW to pass inspection next time.

OBD-I is so choice. I didn't even tune and passed emissions and I passed inspection yesterday without my airbag.

You guys in states with emissions testing are so funny.

Inspection here means no windshield cracks, headlights, brakelights, and turn signals all work, horn works, and windshield wipers work. Seriously, that's it. $5 cash and you're back on the road.

I miss living in Indiana. No inspection...period. No downpipe? No problem!

Clarification: I ONLY miss living in Indiana for its extremely lax automobile laws. Other than that, it is pretty much the asshole of America.

I live in Alabama, no inspection. I have never had a vehichle inspected, and hopefully will never have to.I love the south.

What's an inspection? I just walk int othe tag office and pay the tax on my tag and walk out... no emissions inspection, no safety inspection...nothing. Although I wish GA would impliment some kinda of safety inspection because of some of the janked shit I see driving on the roads...

loan a scan tool from a local parts store and clear the code in the parking lot of your inspection station. it should take a little while for it to come back.

I own a scan tool. It's not as simple as clearing the CEL on an OBD-II car. When it's time for Big Brother to plug in their testing machine, it looks for around a dozen things -- EGR system, evap system, front and rear O2 sensors, etc. .... here in NJ you're allowed to have just one system come back as "not completed". If only the CEL itself were an issue then people would just remove the bulb. :)

Anybody here from Massachusetts? I'll be moving there this summer and am kinda concerned about these inspections. In Kentucky there is no such inspections of any kind. What should i be ready for?

I lived in Mass. until 2004 before coming back to NJ. For your older car they do a tailpipe sniffer and make sure there's no CEL. Also test for all the basic stuff: headlights, tail lights, turn signals, brake lights, brakes, mirrors, cat, muffler, etc. .... I'm sure Google can tell you exactly what's involved.

Where in Mass are you moving?

I dunno, I think West Virginia and New Mexico are competing for that honor, with second place being the armpit or perhaps a spce between one of the fat folds. Although I hear that Ohio is really putting out some effort these days.

*Sorry if I piss anyone off. Feel free to make fun of Colorado or Maine. I do it all the time. Maine is particularly easy. Just make reference to things like chainsaws, rusty snowmobiles, flannel, and lumberjacks. We only have one area code for gods sake.

They should do an inspection with the CEL on, over here we do, we just tell them it could possibly fail because of your CEL and you mark it on the computer when your going through the inspection.

Springfield Area.

Guess i'll have to find a cat. lol