it's two years since i had to do a smog on my california regiestered 2007 vantage. and once again the "secondary air pump" monitor test will NOT execute, no matter how far or in what manner, i drive the car.

i researched this two years ago and my have created a thread associated with that frustration. IDK. last time i ended up taking it to an Aston Dealer (first and only time) and they charged me 400 bucks for a mech to take it home so as to trigger the monitor to run the test. they wouldn't tell me what they did and i wasn't pleased about that, i can assure you. ...THAT's not happening again! so i'm asking for tips on getting it to run.

anyone experienced the same problem and if so, what did you do about it?

experience not necessary to respond. at this point "stabs in the dark:, "any port in a storm", "hail mary's", "even a blind squirrel..." types of wild assed guesses are welcome.

 

See attached drive cycle procedure

 

this will give me confidence that i can get it done. never seen it before. thank you, oh so much!

 

after reading the pdf that stated (paraphrased), "Bring the vehicle to a stop. Idle with transmission in drive (neutral for M/T) for 2 minutes", i lost my confidence that it would work. because i drive the car for miles and miles and miles at a steady rate of 60-65mph all the time. and the SAP monitor is always listed as INC.

anyway... today i got tha car out again and after driving at 54mph, using cruise control, for 30 miles (another recommendation from this forum, in fact) and pulling into a gas station, and stopping the car, the SAP monitor was still listed as INC. i then put another 70 miles on the car on the way home and when i got there the SAP was still listed as INC.

and i'll be damned if i'll pay another $400 to the nearby aston service center in walnut creek, ca. to complete it. i think i'll go over there and make it clear that two years ago we went through this, activated the test, but failed to explain how it was done. so i'll demand as best i can that they should do so now. ...but not today, and think i'll have a good stiff drink, beforehand, regardless of when i do it, which will be soon as the DMV is sending me letters demanding that i complete the registration process.

 

Maybe this can help

 

thank you, i certainly hope so.

i think i'll visit the storage facility in the morning, where i keep the car, for a few days in a row and simply start the car up and let it idle for about 5-10 minutes.

i keep the car in a private storage facility (unheated) so to drive the car, i call the storage facility the day before and ask to have my car brought out into the enclosed outside paddock area, where i can retrieve it. this means that the initial start for ANY drive involves a storage facility employee starting the car, driving it about 150ft and immediately parking it. then, when i show up the car has already had its "cold start" with no accompanying five minute idle time, which is one of the numerous procedures i've read about that will supposedly execute the secondary air pump monitor's test.

at this point, i'm just guessing until i get the aston dealership to cough up what they did two years ago to get the test to run.

 

started car yesterday morning (80F). no luck. cleared all tests and got the car out this morning (76F) and ran it at 50-53mph for forty miles from tracy to los banos on route 33 and back again on interstate 5 at 50-54mph (no cruise control was used. just in case that was the trouble), again no luck.

after all SCANs on my Foxwell 520 i ALWAYS get 7 completed tests, 2 N/A (i assume that means "not available") and 2 INC (i assume that means "incomplete". they are the same 2 tests, the NA's and the INC's each and every time. the "secondary air pump" test and the "evap" test. it never changes. if i clear everything and drive the car i'll get the same seven "complete" and the same N/A and INC tests within five to 10 miles of driving, no matter how or how far i drive. i've now driven about 300 miles.

anyone have any other ideas?

 

BMW factory tech here: I don't have a lot to add other than with E Chassis BMW's, activating cruise control interrupts the cycle monitoring. Not sure if Ford/Volvo/Aston has set it up the same way or not, but food for thought.

 

I believe that I also read the same here not to use the Cruse Control for those test

 

thanks for the info,

it crossed my mind after a previous drive. so last time out i didn't use it. ...drove another 100 miles with no cruise at about 50mph...no difference. evap and secondary air pump are always listed as "N/A" and "INC". ive cleared all the monitoring test flags a number of times before running a test and seven of them will be set as "complete" within a few miles, but, like i said before, the EVAP and SAP tests remain in a state of "N/A" and "INC".

i'm curious as to why they should be marked as "N/A" and as to whether they are in some way dependent on one another. BTW, the smog guy (the CALIFORNIA smog guy, that is) told me he doesn't need the EVAP (small consolation...).

 

Well "N/A" indicates that particular monitor is not applicable for that vehicle. In California, if there are no permanent set codes, you can still pass emissions testing without a set evap monitor.
Source: I'm a smog tech in San Diego.

 

so if i'm reading you right, and i hope to GOD i am, the "N/A" means that my 2007 aston does not have the monitiroing software or possibly hardware to do a Secondary Air pump test? and if so, does it fall upon me to convince the DMV and/or a smog tech to pass me without it? ...please say "yes".

BTW, the smog tech told me he doesn't need the EVAP test so that is not an issue and i put another 200 miles on the car today without success. seven "OKs" and an EVAP and SAP with the same old "N/A" and "INC". and no CEL.

 

....

 

The V8V does have a secondary air injection pump, so it *should* be applicable. The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is if you have an aftermarket tune, where that function is disabled. My old M3, I had the downstream oxygen sensors tuned out because I was running cat-less downpipes.

 

no tune, i bought it with 11,000 miles on it and it was completely original including the fifteen year old tires. i've put a thermostat and brake pads on it, and an indy shop recently removed the intake manifold $o that they could $imply plug the coolant $ensor back in.

and yes, i agree, i have no reason to believe that it does not have a SAP on it.

i'm beginning to wonder what the Aston dealership in Walnut Creek, did two years ago to set the SAP test as being run. they were reluctant to tell me. hmmmm...