Boxster MOT Fail on Emissions

[AlanBoxster2.5]

Hi All,

I took my 1998 2.5 Boxster to my local garage for a MOT as it was convenient rather than a Porsche dealer. It failed on excessive emissions, the garage could not diagnose the fault as it did not have the equipment and was told to take it to a specialist.

Anyway looking at the exhaust emissions it seems to be ok on cold start but once it warms up, it gives out a slight tint of yellow grey colour and i would imagine the rest is just aspirated steam.

Can anyone put any light on the matter, as I have to wait 2 weeks to get the car looked at. Wondering if it is the CAT or some sort of sensor. I only use the car on weekends and did have Tesco 95 ron petrol in??? EEEEK.

Thanks

[HairyPotter]

Hi All,

I took my 1998 2.5 Boxster to my local garage for a MOT as it was convenient rather than a Porsche dealer. It failed on excessive emissions, the garage could not diagnose the fault as it did not have the equipment and was told to take it to a specialist.

Anyway looking at the exhaust emissions it seems to be ok on cold start but once it warms up, it gives out a slight tint of yellow grey colour and i would imagine the rest is just aspirated steam.

Can anyone put any light on the matter, as I have to wait 2 weeks to get the car looked at. Wondering if it is the CAT or some sort of sensor. I only use the car on weekends and did have Tesco 95 ron petrol in??? EEEEK.

Thanks

sorry to hear about the fail, if you have the emissions print out from the test centre please add that data to your thread

[AlanBoxster2.5]

Hi All,

I took my 1998 2.5 Boxster to my local garage for a MOT as it was convenient rather than a Porsche dealer. It failed on excessive emissions, the garage could not diagnose the fault as it did not have the equipment and was told to take it to a specialist.

Anyway looking at the exhaust emissions it seems to be ok on cold start but once it warms up, it gives out a slight tint of yellow grey colour and i would imagine the rest is just aspirated steam.

Can anyone put any light on the matter, as I have to wait 2 weeks to get the car looked at. Wondering if it is the CAT or some sort of sensor. I only use the car on weekends and did have Tesco 95 ron petrol in??? EEEEK.

Thanks

sorry to hear about the fail, if you have the emissions print out from the test centre please add that data to your thread

HI,

Fast idle test:

Fast idle HC (ppm vol) : 271

Fast idle CO (%Vol) : 6.48

Fast idle Lambda : 0.822

Second Fast idle test:

Second Fast idle HC (ppm vol) 293

Second Fast idle CO (%Vol) : 6.44

Second Fast idle Lambda : 0.822

Natural Idle test:

Idle CO (% vol) 4.93

Thanks

[berty987]

Fast idle test:

Fast idle HC (ppm vol) : 271

Fast idle CO (%Vol) : 6.48

Fast idle Lambda : 0.822

Second Fast idle test:

Second Fast idle HC (ppm vol) 293

Second Fast idle CO (%Vol) : 6.44

Second Fast idle Lambda : 0.822

Natural Idle test:

Idle CO (% vol) 4.93

Here is a link to the UK MOT Test.

http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual/contents.htm

More info here :

http://www.bobmckay.co.uk/p_emissions.html

If the car is only used weekeneds it could just be that it needs a good long run with a few high rpm periods to properly warm up the engine , get the cats working and clear any contamination from the Lambda sensors. Did you take the car for a run before dropping off at the MOT centre, was it up to temperature during the test ?

Edited July 7, 2008 by berty987

[AlanBoxster2.5]

Fast idle test:

Fast idle HC (ppm vol) : 271

Fast idle CO (%Vol) : 6.48

Fast idle Lambda : 0.822

Second Fast idle test:

Second Fast idle HC (ppm vol) 293

Second Fast idle CO (%Vol) : 6.44

Second Fast idle Lambda : 0.822

Natural Idle test:

Idle CO (% vol) 4.93

Here is a link to the UK MOT Test.

http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual/contents.htm

More info here :

http://www.bobmckay.co.uk/p_emissions.html

If the car is only used weekeneds it could just be that it needs a good long run with a few high rpm periods to properly warm up the engine , get the cats working and clear any contamination from the Lambda sensors. Did you take the car for a run before dropping off at the MOT centre, was it up to temperature during the test ?

The Car was standing for a week. I took it 5 mins up the road to the station. So it never warmed up.

Will be taking it to another MOT station saturday will the CATS glowing. Fingers crossed.

Thanks again.

Edited July 8, 2008 by AlanBoxster2.5

[HairyPotter]

Hi All,

I took my 1998 2.5 Boxster to my local garage for a MOT as it was convenient rather than a Porsche dealer. It failed on excessive emissions, the garage could not diagnose the fault as it did not have the equipment and was told to take it to a specialist.

Anyway looking at the exhaust emissions it seems to be ok on cold start but once it warms up, it gives out a slight tint of yellow grey colour and i would imagine the rest is just aspirated steam.

Can anyone put any light on the matter, as I have to wait 2 weeks to get the car looked at. Wondering if it is the CAT or some sort of sensor. I only use the car on weekends and did have Tesco 95 ron petrol in??? EEEEK.

Thanks

sorry to hear about the fail, if you have the emissions print out from the test centre please add that data to your thread

HI,

Fast idle test:

Fast idle HC (ppm vol) : 271

Fast idle CO (%Vol) : 6.48

Fast idle Lambda : 0.822

Second Fast idle test:

Second Fast idle HC (ppm vol) 293

Second Fast idle CO (%Vol) : 6.44

Second Fast idle Lambda : 0.822

Natural Idle test:

Idle CO (% vol) 4.93

Thanks

looks to be miles out on emissions, from my recent MoT test the parameters for my '00 2.7 manual are:

Fast idle HC: max 200 (yours 271 & 293 FAIL)

Fast idle CO: 0.200 (yours 6.48 & 6.44 FAIL)

Fast idle Lambda: 0.97 - 1.03 (yours 0.822 & 0.822 FAIL)

Natural idle CO: max 0.300 (yours 4.93 FAIL)

not an expert by any means but looks to be way too rich; what's it like to drive? (flatspots, throttle response, exhaust smoke); has air filter and air intake system been checked for blockages? Is a major service due? If not I would suggest getting it plugged into a diagnostic machine to pinpoint the problem (though probably not at your local tyre/exhaust centre)

[AlanBoxster2.5]

Hi All,

I took my 1998 2.5 Boxster to my local garage for a MOT as it was convenient rather than a Porsche dealer. It failed on excessive emissions, the garage could not diagnose the fault as it did not have the equipment and was told to take it to a specialist.

Anyway looking at the exhaust emissions it seems to be ok on cold start but once it warms up, it gives out a slight tint of yellow grey colour and i would imagine the rest is just aspirated steam.

Can anyone put any light on the matter, as I have to wait 2 weeks to get the car looked at. Wondering if it is the CAT or some sort of sensor. I only use the car on weekends and did have Tesco 95 ron petrol in??? EEEEK.

Thanks

sorry to hear about the fail, if you have the emissions print out from the test centre please add that data to your thread

HI,

Fast idle test:

Fast idle HC (ppm vol) : 271

Fast idle CO (%Vol) : 6.48

Fast idle Lambda : 0.822

Second Fast idle test:

Second Fast idle HC (ppm vol) 293

Second Fast idle CO (%Vol) : 6.44

Second Fast idle Lambda : 0.822

Natural Idle test:

Idle CO (% vol) 4.93

Thanks

looks to be miles out on emissions, from my recent MoT test the parameters for my '00 2.7 manual are:

Fast idle HC: max 200 (yours 271 & 293 FAIL)

Fast idle CO: 0.200 (yours 6.48 & 6.44 FAIL)

Fast idle Lambda: 0.97 - 1.03 (yours 0.822 & 0.822 FAIL)

Natural idle CO: max 0.300 (yours 4.93 FAIL)

not an expert by any means but looks to be way too rich; what's it like to drive? (flatspots, throttle response, exhaust smoke); has air filter and air intake system been checked for blockages? Is a major service due? If not I would suggest getting it plugged into a diagnostic machine to pinpoint the problem (though probably not at your local tyre/exhaust centre)

I took the Boxster for a retest on Saturday after I had done a 50 mile round trip with the cats glowing. It passed with flying colours. I did put some slick 50 fuel additive in for good measure. Looks like the lack of use it had been having was the cause. I know next time to warm the car up before a MOT. A lesson learnt.

Thanks for all your advice.