eAir Repair: December 2009

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December 2009 edition
In This Issue
Training and Determination Pay Off
When My Phone Rings
Don't Overlook Engine Temperature
2010 Seminar Schedule
Dashboard Tip of the Month
Articles Needed for eAir Repair
Training and Determination Pay Off
By: Scott Lettow (Field Trainer) Car-X Associates Corp
Pictured, left to right: Dan Calabrese; Pedro De La Torre; and others in Dan's
crew at Car-X Auto Service, 5418 S. Pulaski, Chicago.
Every day brings a challenge in the automotive repair business. "Committing to repairs has been paying off for us," says Dan
Calabrese, store owner of Car-X Auto Service at 54th and Pulaski in Chicago. Dan has been in the auto repair business for over
40 years and started his career as a muffler installer.
Dan and his crew are committed to training at the Car-X Training Center and the seminars offered by the Illinois EPA.
They had a 1999 Concord with a 2.7-liter engine come in with a P0420 DTC. No surprise, this vehicle had failed for a CAT code
and now was rejected from the Illinois Air Team because the CAT monitor had not set to ready. This was a high mileage vehicle.
The shop followed the guidelines of TSB # 18-29-98 from ALLDATA. The post-CAT O2 sensor was transitioning from lean to rich.
They found it to be a mirror image of the engine control O2 sensor. The fix was easy. They replaced the CATs and took the
vehicle out to run the monitor.
Running the monitor was not easy. After reviewing the drive cycle instructions and the pretest and enabling conditions, they drove
the vehicle through two drive cycles without setting the CAT monitor to COMPLETE.
Dan and Pedro attended a free seminar sponsored by the Illinois EPA at Moraine Valley Community College at the same time
this vehicle was in their shop. The class was taught by Scot Manna and addressed readiness monitor challenges. Scot had
emphasized in that class how important it was to make sure to run inside the parameters for any drive cycle.
Catalyst monitor pretest conditions
● MIL is off.
● No emission related diagnostic trouble codes (DTC's) are present.
● Catalyst temperature range from 0 - 2,500º F.
● ECT signal from 131 - 260ºF.
● Engine speed range between 1,440 - 2,016 RPM in drive.
● MAP sensor signal from 12.9 - 17.6" Hg.
● Open throttle time from 1.5 - 13.9 minutes.
● RPM speed ratio from 25 - 255 RPM.