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PA Emission/Inspection

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esquevez

Junior Member
Pennsylvania

I moved to Pittsburgh and got my license and registration, But i cannot pass emissions b/c my check engine light is on. It always has been and it has been fixed a million times. Finally, (many dollars later) a mechanic told me that there is a short in my electrical system and that it would cost around $600 to find and fix. Otherwise the car is in great shape and would easily pass both emissions and inspection. I hate to pay that much money for a glitch, so I was wondering if there is any other alternatives. I also was wondering how much the ticket is for not having the two stickers. Or how bad it would be if I just went out of county and got just the inspection. many thanks!:confused:
 


ecmst12

Senior Member
Emissions is a state requirement, going out of county won't make a difference. And you can't get inspected in a state where your car isn't registered so that won't work either.

I would suggest getting a second opinion from another mechanic. But if you're failing emissions, it's not because the light is on, it's because the light is indicating a problem that's messing up your emissions! So getting it fixed will make your car run better and get better mileage too.
 

esquevez

Junior Member
Emissions is actually county to county in PA, unfortunately for us it is mainly around Philly and Pgh.

The mechanics have told me that since the vehicle is a 96 or newer that the check engine light automatically fails the emissions b/c of the new (2004) guidelines.
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
Weird...can you get it to go off long enough to have the test?

Either way check with another shop, they might at least be able to give you a better price :)
 

esquevez

Junior Member
Yeah tried that. A friend reset it for me but said that it had to be driven for 20-25 miles to reset the computer so he could run the emissions, but it turned back on.
 

efflandt

Senior Member
I thought ORB III ECU's are supposed to be able to tell someone with a proper machine what the problem is. For example I was getting a check engine light that kept going out every time I was going to take a 2001 vehicle to the shop. I don't know if they put it on a dyno, or took it out for a spin. But their machine was able to show intermittant bad readings from the mass airflow sensor at 60 mph.

So if there is a fault, ORB III should be able to pinpoint what needs to be fixed. Although, that does not necessarily mean it is going to be cheap to fix. I think replacing my MAS cost more than $600.
 

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