Failed MOT on emissions

[besidetheseaside]

Yep checked those and they were surprisingly clear but I cleaned them anyway, even took the stub off the manifold to make sure. I will check the earths. Just pricing up a cat...... get one tomorrow for £130 or on on Wednesday for £80, as the leads are coming Tuesday I may as well go for that one. If it comes early I can have it fitted same day and book a retest ASAP.
Up till 1 this morning scouring the Internet for ideas, my head is cabbaged

[Laird Scooby]

I've done a bit of digging :

https://assets.publishing.service.go...th-edition.pdf

Pages 5-9 (as shown by the pdf reader page counter) and 12-13 and finally Pg 210 are the evidence you need to prove your car should pass an MoT as it stands at the moment and if you have already paid any retest fees, you should have them refunded.

From Pg5 :

Some passenger cars first used during the “transition” period (i.e. 1 August 1992 to 1 August 1995) and some light goods vehicles and large passenger cars first used on or after 1 August 1994 were not required to be manufactured to the EC standards requiring advanced emissions control systems to be fitted. For these vehicles the non-catalyst test will be applied. Owners of vehicles which were first used during this transition period, are advised to check the entries in the Annex to this booklet or contact the vehicle manufacturer.

From Pg12 :

From 1/8/92 and before 1/8/95 but are not included in the Annex3.5% vol0.12% vol (1200ppm)No specific requirement but engine must not be clearly above its normal idling speed

The Annex it refers to has the entry for Volvos of your year on Pg 210 and the B200F is NOT included in the Annex - therefore it should pass on the BET (3.5% CO, 1200ppm HC) despite being a 1993 car.

If you can, print out the relevant pages and take them with you wearing a pair of steel toe-capped boots to swiftly kick the tester with should he argue.

[Stephen Edwin]

First unfuddle the brain. You have one life enjoy it. Do things completely different, preferably with people you love.

I feel that a cumulative amount of money is being incurred. This is a regular pattern of trying to get these engines sorted remotely via the interweb.

Do the MOT testers or another motor engineers near enough to you have enough experience of this engine type to diagnose what is actually the issue here? Getting the job diagnosed and done could be the best and cheapest route now.

[besidetheseaside]

Whoa hold the bus, this is amazing !!
I am printing it off right now and am going to try and get a retest today, although Bank Holiday I will be lucky.
Thank you thank you.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by besidetheseaside

Whoa hold the bus, this is amazing !!
I am printing it off right now and am going to try and get a retest today, although Bank Holiday I will be lucky.
Thank you thank you.

You're welcome and good luck - that was why i was asking what year it was - i have a 1994 registered car that is eligible for the BET and has passed a few times that way although was still capable of passing at the lower, later, tighter levels.

Going to resurrect my printer (i hope!) and print off similar for me, just to remind the tester in a couple of weeks time!

[besidetheseaside]

Earliest retest I can get is Tuesday at 2, that will give me time to fit the new leads which are coming Tuesday morning.

[Ian21401]

Both that about the checking/cleaning the PCV system and the BET. I’ve had my 1992 B200F since 2005 and it has never been able to pass the current CO test. The most recent testers reverted to the BET to obtain a pass but it’s good to know that it is official. It does have a cat, it and the single Lambda sensor in the cat have been replaced a couple of times over the years. Curiously, after checking and cleaning the PCV system a couple of years ago, the CO readings went up. 2013=0.04%, 2015=0.07%, PCV cleaned, 2016=0.38%, 2017=0.47%, 2018=0.55%. I think that I will follow your advice and clean the PCV at each oil change in future. (6,000 miles or annually.)
I had never cleaned the PCV before, but did it as there was pressure in the cam cover causing an oily film/mist on the outside of the cover. The oil separator was fairly clean but the flame trap was very dirty with an oily emulsion. The two narrow vacuum pipes were both blocked. The large bore pipes were just slightly dirty with an oily emulsion. I cleaned the throttle body and checked the narrow drilling’s and cleaned the idle air control valve just for good measure.

Your info.and advice invaluable as usual.

[Laird Scooby]

I would expect that if you change the oil and clean the PCV system at each oil change, you will reverse that trend of increasing CO Ian, it's sort of along the lines of the CO has dropped after the first one and the ECU has compensated but as time has gone on, it's not compensating. Cleaning the MAF might improve it too but the other thing is, as i mentioned before, if the PCV system hasn't been cleaned for a long time and is then cleaned, it will need cleaning again a month or so later.

Out of interst, what oil do you use? (Brand as well as grade/type please)

[besidetheseaside]

Originally Posted by Stephen Edwin

First unfuddle the brain. You have one life enjoy it. Do things completely different, preferably with people you love.

I feel that a cumulative amount of money is being incurred. This is a regular pattern of trying to get these engines sorted remotely via the interweb.

Do the MOT testers or another motor engineers near enough to you have enough experience of this engine type to diagnose what is actually the issue here? Getting the job diagnosed and done could be the best and cheapest route now.

We are very light on old school mechanics/workshops around here, ( plenty of people know about sheep though ) if it is not plug and play then they run away. I can normally cope with most of what my cars throw at me but this one had me foxed and I may have had my blinkers on for a bit as I stared at countless screens. Thankfully I have spent less than £50 on this occasion, a small amount compared to what I have spent recently on essentials and breakages.
Had to cancel the 2pm appointment as it my Mum's 80th and we are going out for a meal, hoping to get back later when the tester will hopefully squeeze me in.
Many thanks to ALL on this forum for your help and advice and encouragement, I will never be too old to listen and learn..........

[Stephen Edwin]

Well. Great pleasure your mother's 80th !!!!!!




S*d the car at least that day ....


.