[ale] Car topic

[Ron Frazier]

Hi David,

Keep in mind that the state can changes these rules at any time.  
Emissions testing is only required in 13 counties, so you could move 
outside of that area, into the burbs.  I'm only being half serious 
there, but the thought had crossed my mind since I have 2 cars to deal 
with.  The last time I talked to my mechanic, he said the factories are 
pretty much building the car around the emissions system.  It does seem 
to be a bit of overkill.  Another option is to get a diesel, which is 
exempt from testing.  Certified alternative fuel vehicles or all 
electric vehicles are exempt, I believe.  All electric would have to 
be.  Finally, believe it or not, you could get a bigger vehicle.  My 
step son's Chevy Silverado crew cab pickup is exempt since it's over 
8500 lbs.  The price you pay for that is terrible gas mileage and big 
maintenance costs if anything breaks.  Also, any car over 25 years old 
is exempt I believe.  The most recent 3 model years are exempt, ie 2009, 
2010, 2011 for this year.  That's a rolling window which changes each 
year.  I think they have some exemptions for seniors, but that may be 
related to repair costs.  If you're just an average driver with a medium 
weight gas powered car of modern (but not too modern) vintage, they've 
got you over a barrel.

These links should help:

http://www.cleanairforce.com/
http://www.cleanairforce.com/docs/GCAF%20Press%20Kit%202011.pdf
http://www.cleanairforce.com/docs/2011%20QA%20Brochure_FINAL.pdf

By the way, Circuit Cellar Magazine has been doing a nice series of 
articles on how OBD works.

http://circuitcellar.com/

I've been looking for an embedded linux system that I could run a robot 
on and also program it in C++.  I'll have to check out that board you 
mentioned.

Sincerely,

Ron

On 9/7/2011 10:56 AM, David Hillman wrote:
> This may be a little bit left field, but it's still a technical 
> problem.  I spent the better part of the last weekend underneath my 
> car--a 2002 Volkswagen Passat AWD--trying to do a couple of things. 
>  One, I was looking to add a computer in the dashboard that is to be 
> hooked up to the ODBII port for diagnostics information.  It'll run 
> Angstrom Linux on a Beagleboard 
> (http://beagleboard.org/project/angstrom/).  Two, I tried to remove 
> the secondary air pump and the myriad of vacuum lines that have been 
> giving me hell over the last year.  The pump is seized up and I have a 
> vacuum leak somewhere in that rat's nest.  Getting to the pump 
> requires the removal of the entire front bumper and radiator assembly 
> from the car.  The price of the pump is $400 - $600.  That is a whole 
> lot of cash for very limited benefits.
>
> Why is the air pump useless?  Well, it doesn't prove that my car has a 
> real drivability problem; that's what the O2, mass air flow and other 
> sensors are for.  My car's engine is in absolutely splendid condition. 
>  I don't mess around with that.  The only benefit to the air pump 
> system is to get the catalytic converters get warmed up a little bit 
> earlier in colder climates.
>
> The pump failed because too much moisture got in from the exhaust 
> system and eventually rusted out the motor.  Connected to the pump are 
> a couple of valves that open up during warm up to let air into the 
> exhaust system.  Those valves can sometimes fail, letting 
> moisture-filled exhaust into the pump motor.  Such a complicated 
> system is mandated by our wonderful government greenies.  I am all for 
> "green", but this is ridiculous.  All this has done is add weight 
> (heavy pump) and a whole lot of complexity to my wagon that I love. 
>  Unfortunately, it's nearly impossible to remove the system without 
> reprogramming the engine management computer.  If I don't do the 
> reprogramming, the car won't pass the emissions test.  It won't pass 
> the test with a bad pump anyway.  Spending money that could go into 
> finishing my project is giving me a headache.  Trying to figure out 
> how to reprogram the engine computer is giving me a much bigger headache.
>
> Is there to get around the emissions requirements in Georgia?  I 
> called the tag office, but I got put on hold for an eternity.
>    

-- 

(PS - If you email me and don't get a quick response, you might want to
call on the phone.  I get about 300 emails per day from alternate energy
mailing lists and such.  I don't always see new messages very quickly.)

Ron Frazier

770-205-9422 (O)   Leave a message.
linuxdude AT c3energy.com