IVA Test (almost) successful

NigelB · #1 23rd May 2013, 15:26

Well, the day has arrived and at 6.00am this morning (to beat the traffic) I was hacking up the M4 to the West London IVA test station. 6 hours later the car had almost sailed through the IVA test.

It failed on metered emissions, CO and Lambda at fast idle, which was the thing I was concerned about after a dummy MOT test. I hoped that a good run along the motorway to get the cat well up to temperature would sort the emissions out, but sadly not. Given that all the normal service items are new I need to look a bit closer at some of the original bits - coolant temp sensor, MAF, 02 sensor. I seem to remember the guy I bought the donor from saying he thought the engine was running rich and when I replaced the plugs they were all well sooted. So it seems like there is an engine management problem there somewhere that needs investigating.

But otherwise, the build itself seem to meet all the requirements with flying colours. The guy put his orbs of doom away very quickly after seeing that any sharp edges and projections were covered. The only panel he asked me to remove was the access panel to the "boot" so he could see the seat belt anchorages and the earthing strap for the tank, and that was it. Everything else he inspected and measured, he didn't ask me for any documentary evidence (fuel lines, brakelines, etc) and just kept making complimentary comments about the car.

So I'm chuffed to bits (apart from having to pay a re-test fee for another emissions test). It's a big hurdle, very nearly crossed and its a stage nearer being on the road for the summer. And just to remind me it's not quite summer yet, it chucked it down on the way home and I ended up absolutely soaked............................

GreatOldOne · #2 23rd May 2013, 15:46

Well done!

if I where you, I'd just change the coolant sensor first, as it seems to be the cure of most ills on BMW engines (according to the chaps on e30zone)

MartinClan · #3 23rd May 2013, 16:51

Well done that man. You must have been very thorough with your pre-test check! Strange about the emissions but should be easily fixed (I guess).

My Sportster almost failed the MOT this year. But the tester was being a bit silly and was testing the emissions according to the year and not the engine age. He passed me in the end....

Robin

morris · #4 23rd May 2013, 16:59

well done Nigel. Shame it didn't go through first time but at least you know it was not because he thought your build skills weren't up to it.

What scheme did he use to test the emissions against in the end, with or without mandatory CAT?

If I were you I'd also stick a new O2 sensor in just to be sure. I think your CATs are in the original position too so it shouldn't be an issue with them not getting hot enough though the closer to the engine the better.

If it's running rich I guess that means it thinks there's more air coming in than there actually is. There's an air temp sensor in the underside rear of the intake manifold that is probably cheaper than a new MAF so may be worth swapping that.

Mike · #5 23rd May 2013, 18:47

Congratulations (almost)!

Well done.
That's a very short list to resolve.

So , its off up Prescott Hill after all........... just shows what a target can do.

peterux · #6 23rd May 2013, 20:26

Well done Nigel, you must be chuffed about your build quality passing with flying colours.
Did you enjoy the drive or were you too nervous?

I think emissions are one of the few things you can't really check yourself at home. What a shame. Have you still got the OBD II socket wired in?

Good luck getting it fixed!!

Chris Cussen · #7 24th May 2013, 06:52

Congratulations (nearly!). Seriously well done, where are so many things to get right.

BTW my cabrio (2.0 DOHC Ford, on carbs) failed its first MOT because the tester didn't know what test to apply, so he just failed it. I had to get VOSA involved to tell him the right test to apply.

Patrick · #8 24th May 2013, 20:34

Well done on getting passed almost all of it

I've read using higher octane fuel can also help emissions, but that might be total rubbish.

jeremy · #9 25th May 2013, 09:24

hi nigel,the car looks great, and well done on your iva presentation...soon be on the road.Can I ask, on your flickr pics, you had the mud-guard extentions but on the lorry they had gone...did you have them on for IVA? Also, did you need to radius the dash on the passenger side? thanks jeremy

NigelB · #10 25th May 2013, 10:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeremy

hi nigel,the car looks great, and well done on your iva presentation...soon be on the road.Can I ask, on your flickr pics, you had the mud-guard extentions but on the lorry they had gone...did you have them on for IVA? Also, did you need to radius the dash on the passenger side? thanks jeremy

Thanks Jeremy.
The extensions were fitted for the IVA. The trip on the truck was prior to the IVA when I had the suspension set up.
I didn't have the 19mm radius on the underside of the dash. The manual gives an alternative of a 5mm radius covered with a semi crushable material. I (kinda) went for that approach. My dashboard is 12mm walnut so I used a router to reduce the bottom edge thickness to about 6mm and then put CBS's largest size edging strip on it.
I was a bit concerned whether I would get away with it but the tester simply ran his hand along the bottom edge and was happy.

NigelB · #11 5th June 2013, 17:33

In fact, it passed first time around.

They had used the wrong emission standards. I Emailed VOSA after the original test with a copy of the print out from "sniffer" and asked if the correct criteria were used. They responded that if I could prove the age of the engine, the car should be tested against the Non Cat standard.

So I took it back for a retest today after getting a local Engine Management Specialist to check that there was nothing fundamentally wrong, and the Test Station issued me with my IVA certificate on the original results. No request to prove the age of the engine (although I had the V5 with me) No emissions retest and no retest fee. Result.

Many thanks to Mike for pointing me in the right direction with regard to emission standards and for his encouragement this morning, when after yet another read of the emissions standards flow chart in the IVA manual, I had a crisis and was convinced the car was doomed to failure.......................!!

Interestingly, the Engine Management guys, reckon that the reason the emissions don't meet the Cat standard is because my Cats are next to useless. They had a very dim view of after market Cats (particularly cheap one like mine) and told me that their recycling guys wouldn't take them away any more because there's so little precious metal in them.

You live and you learn.

Next stage is registration and as Mike says, it's important for future MOTs to get the emissions standard recorded on the V5.

But for now I've got a big grin on my face. It's been a good day................

Patrick · #12 5th June 2013, 18:09

Brilliant news

Can ask which cats you've got?

peterux · #13 5th June 2013, 18:20

Ditto ^^^^^that! Well done, fantastic result!!

Mike · #14 5th June 2013, 18:44

First Time IVA Pass

Brilliant news.
Well done Nigel

jeremy · #15 5th June 2013, 19:15

Thats fantastic news, just in time for this great weather! Well done on a fantastic build.

GreatOldOne · #16 5th June 2013, 20:41

Huzzah!

NigelB · #17 5th June 2013, 22:31

Many thanks to you all.

I'm chuffed to bits. And to make things even better my cooling system survived some very heavy traffic on the way back to the M4 this afternoon. I think its a bit marginal and am looking at a larger radiator (Ian's looks good) but the temp gauge sat at about 98 degrees in traffic with a 22/23 degree air temp. I'm running my cooling system at about 1.3 bar with a 40% approx. anti freeze so I would imagine the boiling point will be up to about 107/108 degrees. So I've got a bit to go but I need to watch it carefully over the summer.

Patrick, I don't know what Cats I'm using. And you certainly wouldn't want them. My route to a quick and in expensive exhaust system, prior to getting a full stainless one was to use the standard BMW front section, including Cats, fitted with some Jetex boxes at the back. The front section was something really cheap and cheerful off Ebay. The Cats are hopeless and if the pipe itself last more than a year I'll be surprised.!! But the system has achieved a very acceptable 91dBs against an IVA max of 99dBs.

MartinClan · #18 6th June 2013, 07:23

Well done that man.

Vosa seem to be having some issues with emissions tests at the moment. My local garage tried to fail my car on its MOT emissions test (having passed with flying colours previous years). It seems they were using the emissions test based on the age of the car - not what was in the log book.

Just can't get the staff...

Robin

Chris Cussen · #19 6th June 2013, 12:50

I had the same problem as Robin, except the tested didn't even know what tests to apply so he failed it without testing it. H didn't seem to understand the test was related to the age of the engine and not the date of registration.