Check Engine light - code P0420

Replacements are almost never better.

i use alot of after market replacement converters with no issues i just make sure it is for the correct app. i have also found on some asian cars the idle is set to a higher mark at start up so the pre cats get heated up as fast as possible. to get a more accurate 02 readings i have replaced a few iac's that wasn't reaching target idle specs resulting in cat eff. codes

Steve Aust> Noozer wrote:

====== ====== aarcuda69062 wrote: . It's not surprising that you wouldn't know this. . ~~who said.........i didn't know ? !! ?? ~~ . . .

The answer to the first part is; the atmosphere (duh), which is usually around 21% oxygen but it varies depending on how much dope *you're* smoking in proximity. . ~~so......what's the atmosphere like INSIDE a 2000 degree cat that's been running down the road for over an hour? ~~ . . .

You know, that air fuel ratio thing. The answer to the second part is; the Cerium wash coat. Like I said, you need some classes because this stuff is (well) over a decade old.

. ~~yep......and so am I....and tell me.......how MANY googles does it take to git to the center of a tootsie pop? ~~ . . . This has nothing to do with whether or not I am smarter than the OE engineers. Oxygen sensors DO NOT react to raw fuel as you implied in your post, the post cat O2 will not set a efficiency code just because an engine is/was over fueled as your post implied. . ~~well.....you PROVED with yer count to 3 and ck the spark post.....that you're nowhere near as smart as the engineers..... so........we'll jest let that one drop. HOWEVER....... I DID NOT, never, once,ever,nope.....IMPLY...the code was set ""because an engine is/was over fueled""................... nope...didn't. ~~ . ~~go back...ck what i wrote..not what you read.... ~~ . . .

Speaking of other posts, do you want to take another shot at spelling 'definitely'? (hint; there is no "a") . ~~cool...........thanks........now there's some info i kin use~~

:)

. . .

Well, you posted on Sunday and mentioned that you were watching the "4 gass" while fiddling with the throttle body. So, the real case here is; you felt need for a clever buzz word to lend some credibility to your asinine statements. . ~~I NEVER !!!!...........fact not fiction, again...go back... reed whut i writ not whut you red...~ . . .

So, tell me about your "4 gass", what brand is it? Is it a non-dispersive infra red or flame ionization bench? Does it have constant volume sampling? Does it allow for corrected NOx sampling? . ~~It's hooked to a $10,000 Allen scope......whut's yers hooked to? ....~~

~:~ marsh ~takes a toke........hits the spell cheeker button.........don't want no net fuzz....writ'n him no tikets~

========== ==========

NEVER.......I use MOD........

:)

~:~ marsh ~sips his crownroyal~ ~:~

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As to yer 1st two paragraphs........that's bout the nicest way ANYONE has ever told me to fk off.

:)

and.........YES.......the cat may cause the drop.

oh........and........YOU'RE FREEK'N FLUSH CAUSED THE LIGHT TO COME ON.

:)

ok.......so i said it again.......i feel better again.

:)

~:~ marsh ~sips his crownroyal......takes a toke.....farts a big one........ ooooch...........backpreasure~~ ~:~

======= ======= philthy wrote: i use alot of after market replacement converters with no issues i just make sure it is for the correct app.

======= =======

The universal ones cause the most issues.......the OP has yet to say what he PAID for the cat...which would be a GOOD indicator of whether the one installed on his vehicle was a Direct Fit replacement or.....a universal cat....which, price alone isn't a gaurantee that a Direct Fit was used...some, alot, many.....muffler shops......install universals and CHARGE for Direct Fit. FACT, not fiction.

anywhoooooo..........

did i ever mention the time i worked for....... CATCO ???

no......oh......ok.

:)

~:~ marsh ~takes a toke.......mmmmmm.......gooooood stuff~ ~:~

Really?

Where in Mitchell do they instruct tying knots in brake lines? Where in Mitchell do they describe making a bubble flare by using a double flaring tool?

No, but so what? They make crap.

My check engine light came back on. So in a matter of the past 2 weeks, the light came on, then went off and came back on. Someone had mentioned earlier in this post to reset the light and see if it comes back on, which it did without me manually resetting it.

Also someone asked about how much I paid. I paid $250 for the flex pipe + converter, and yes, this is most likely a universal converter and not a direct fit as the mechanic had to weld it in.

I did take my car back to the mechanic (the light was off that time), he inspected and did not find any leaks. He still welded it again just to close any minor leaks that may be present. The light came back on a couple of days later, so don't think the second round of welding did any good. Other than this, he does not see anything wrong in 'his' converter.

What are my options at this point? Do I have to now go and buy a new OEM converter?

That would be my next suggestion, if you don't want to just ignore the error. Personally, if it were me, I'd just ignore it as long as it did not interfere with the engine running or result in excessive emissions.

--scott

========= ========= Scott........ hmmmmmmm............. and how do you find out ......IF.........there are excessive emissions ??

. I mean.......the code definition and all that.......and the fact that YOU think the next step should be another converter?? . . anywhoooo......... The FLUSH caused it.............

besides.....i digress.......no one has stated WHY...or ASKED why.... the converter was changed........or the flush was done..

:)

I mean.......did we jest willy nilly decide to run on down to the local exhaust shop and chunk'm a few bucks cuz dey looked like good fellers and their bays were empty??

:)

And then......we happened to notice that the feller across the street looked sad and lonely and all outta sorts cuz he's not get'n his fair share from us ........so's.........we jest drove on in there and chunk'd a few bucks down on a service........jest fer giggles??

:)

or......is it possible that ALL THIS REPAIR WORK was initiated because...............

lol........naw...... he wudda mentioned that......i'm shure.

:)

anywhoooooo..... if...NOTHING WAS WRONG WITH THE CAR ....BEFORE.. all this......then......like i said......THE FLUSH CAUSED THE FREEK'N LIGHT TO COME ON !!!

there......i said it again.....i feel better once more.

:)

but.....if all this work wuz'nt done jest outta the kindest of the heart towards lowely, honest, well trusted, never feared, always believed... auto techs.......and there WAS a problem BEFORE all the work was initiated......THAT DIDN'T GET MENTIONED.......

:)

well then...... fk me..........i mite be wrong.

:)

~:~ marsh ~takes a sip of his shroom juice.......takes a toke...... wonders......is he the only one so fk'd up here that he can see into another realm~ ~:~

I did take my car back to the mechanic (the light was off that time), he inspected and did not find any leaks. He still welded it again just to close any minor leaks that may be present. The light came back on a couple of days later, so don't think the second round of welding did any good. Other than this, he does not see anything wrong in 'his' converter.

What are my options at this point? Do I have to now go and buy a new OEM converter?- >

============= ============= . SapSucker.......a direct question.....dammit.... . i do much more prefer the vague ones. ok......here we go.......YOUR opitons are FEW !! . YOUR FIRST OPTION...that you should utilize should be to GO FIND YERARSE ANOTHER TECHNICIAN !! Because the one you're using either doesn't know what he's doing, doesn't care, doesn't wanna work on it, doesn't like you, or is as dumb as a rock !! (sorry so blunt..but..it was a direct question) Your FIRST OPTION ..to be excercised should be done so with care, understanding, forsight, and a basic knowledge of what you're attempting to acomplish. Namely,, find out if the fk'n O2 sensors are EVEN WORKING AT THIS POINT like THEY ARE SUPPOSE TO! A little more involved than simply hooking up a wave form scanner and seeing a few spikes, or, for the "old school" techs who have'nt upgraded in the last 10 years, using a plane ole code reader with data line acquistion that has a baud rate slower than the ignition circuit AARCUDA jest got through diagnosing.....1 hit every 3 seconds!!! (i make me giggle) Make sure this tech has, can use, can understand what he's reading, on an exhaust gas analyzer. If the assprobe is reading good...then the .....(ooops.....gas probe).....CAT is good.

anywhoooo.........go find yerself a tech that can use a freekin scope to ck the O2 sensors....and one that KNOWS what he's doing instead of guessing.

cuz....my GUESS.....is..that the flush....either contaminated the convertor or the sensors, created an unbalanced fuel mixture.. (and ALL that that entails)........or......you may have, possibly, without malice, untentionally.....LEFT OUT SOME VERY IMPORTANT DIAGNOSTIC INFO.......like ......mmmm......is that flexpipe..... the ONLY ...reason..you went into the shop in the first place??

:)

~:~ marsh ~takes a toke.......sips his crownroyal........drills a hole in his fanger nail........why?...oh...hehehe~

Marsh - I apologize if I left out any information in my earlier posts. The reason I went to the muffler shop was to replace the flex pipe that was broken. I did not intend to replace the cat. But the muffler shop had the part such that the flex pipe and cat were together, and they "sold me" into buying that. If I had known at that time that I would run into such problems, I would have just walked away. But anyway, so I replaced the cat along with the flex pipe.

And the reason I got the flush was because my 90K service was overdue and my transmission oil was very dirty, so I decided to get the service done. As part of my 90K service, I went to Lube express to get the transmission and radiator flushed, oil changed, air filter changed and fuel injector cleaning. The fuel injection was part of the 'package' I bought. If I had done everything individually, it would have cost me more, so I ended up getting the package.

Thank you.

You stick it on the emissions tester. Presumably this was done when the converter was changed, but maybe not.

--scott

RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!

I agree with Marsh Monster. It's time to contact a real technician, not some quick lube or muffler shop jockey.

--scott

Irrelevant. The trouble code is for catalytic converter efficiency. Efficiency is measured by how well the catalyst stores oxygen.

Good place to base the diagnostics at.

You think those cheap shit universal convertors are anywhere as efficient as OEM?

Maybe, maybe not.

The OP stated why in his first post. Leaking flex pipe. You're not familiar with Toyota flex pipes?

Didn't need doing. Explained in the OPs first post.

What difference does it make.

Marsh can't read.

He did. leaking flex pipe.

Or the cheap shit aftermarket converter is causing it.

Did get mentioned. Leaking flex pipe.

Obviously.

Yes, you're the only one.

I vote for dumb as a rock for installing converters that are known to be half as efficient as OEM.

They'd be coding if they weren't.

"A wave form scanner?"

What in gods name is a wave form scanner? (this ought to be good)

That Stratus' ignition system has a baud rate? You're a bigger moron than I suspected.

Doesn't work that way. It might make sense to take pre-cat and post cat readings and compare the results, paying particular attention to the oxygen readings.

Scope might help, but one is certainly not necessary for this failure.

Awww.. didja get a boo-boo?

On Dec 11, 11:16 pm, Mark wrote:

======== ========

I understand.......sounds logical to me.

anywhoo.........

You should have those sensors checked for GOOD wave form readings. A SLUGGISH sensor WILL set THAT code. Any good tech with a good digital meter can check it for you in short order. AND......in my opinion, the ones you've been using are NOT good techs, based on the fact that they very evidently have'nt even suggested doing it in order to verify the performance of the sensors, much less checked the exhaust gas's. You should be made aware that the code you are getting can be set by ANYTHING that "leads" the computer to "believe" that exhaust gas's are not being controlled effectively. If a sensor is sluggish, not working, or otherwise sending eroneous info to the computer and the computer isn't "seeing" a fast reaction time on the exhaust gas's being emitted......then......you have an efficiency code. If the convertor is a "freeflow" type, then it IS possible that the convertor is the cause. The convertor may not be appropriate for the powertrain system, this is true, however......you WILL NOT be sure unless someone.....runs an exhaust gas analyzer on the vehicle to monitor what's going on, and THEN you can't be sure that IF the readings ARE bad, that the failed converter should be blamed FIRST and FOREMOST before anything else that has been done. . FACT..........N O T F I C T I O N !!!! . . now........with all that said.........here's why.......... . You should know a few more things. First, it's against Federal Law to install ANY convertor that doesn't meet or exceed OEM design for functionablilty. Fact, not fiction. I don't know the shop you used....but..you CAN judge a shop by it's appearance. So...let your own personal reasoning figure that one out for you. But know that EVERY exhaust shop i've worked for......and i've worked for Meineke, Midas, and an independent 12 store chain......and..THEY KNOW the hefty fines involved if they're caught sticking on a unit that doesn't do the job, and leaving it there. Again, fact not fiction. I managed a shop for an independent 12 shop outfit that was started by the OWNERS.......of CATCO Converters. Do a google. The COST of just getting a new design converter to market is more than what most of the guys typing in YOUR thread make in a year !! FACT..not fiction. FLUSHING INJECTORS LEAVES ........CAN...LEAVE A COATING ON THE INSIDE OF THE CONVERTERS SUBSTRATE.....INHIBITING IT'S ABILITY TO FUNCTION AS DESIGNED !!! This holds true for the O2 sensors also. I can tell you for FACT that it cost a couple of Greek brothers $50,000 a pop to to have ONE design tested before it could go to market, before the company could sell ONE converter !! The reeeeely knee slapp'n part of it is......when it failed the test......they had to pay AGAIN to get it retested after making design changes. These dudes KNOW converters. These dudes made SURE....their managers KNEW converters. These dudes....likely own the company that made that flex-pipe you jest put on the car. They most likely own the converter company. I tell you all this, because i want you to understand that although I have a BAAAD habit of NOT answering questions that are NOT asked........i also understand the system, and what CAN and WILL make it fail.

and trust me on this one.......a coating.......on a sensor, or a converter, can, will, and HAS....caused efficiency codes to set AFTER ..... CHEMICALS....have been chunked downt he engines throat in an attempt to DISLODGE varnish, carbon, and scum.!!!

:)

where you rectom......that stuff leaves the engine through?

FACT..........NOT FICTION.

so........anyone.....in THIS thread...that tells you different...... has nowhere.......

:)

near the experience, hands on, as i do on this one.

fact...not fiction !

:)

so.........when did the light come on again ?

:)

~:~ marsh ~pours you a crown-n-coke.......wish's you well, hopes it all works out economically~ ~:~

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First rule of mechanics........

never assume to presume anything......!!

and......

my monies on probly NOT.....and ...probly not since!

:)

~:~ marsh ~takes a toke~ ~:~