20 ram 1500 won’t pass NYS emissions inspection

[Jako]

Dead Battery Poll

I've been updated with a drain caused by the USB Hub. They have it on order and will be replacing that assembly. Fingers crossed... again. Dealer indicated a short in the USB Hub assembly that was always on, preventing the truck from completely shutting down/sleep mode. Really hoping it is...

5thgenrams.com

 

[Jako]

https://5thgenrams.com/community/threads/how-many-times-have-you-had-a-dead-battery.17149/page-24#post-592983

 

[Jako]

Anyone have battery issues?

Mine is a 2019 Limited - it was sitting for about 4 days in pretty cold temps but battery was dead as a doornail. Jumped it and ran fine but wouldn't keep charge. Wouldn't accept much from a trickle charger either - so just replaced it. That said - at only 2 years old and 35,000 miles...

5thgenrams.com

 

[Mikemac4]

Thanks. Reading through them now

 

[Jako]

Thanks. Reading through them now

I have been on the forum for 3 1/2 years and this is the first I have seen an issue with not passing emissions.

 

[Mikemac4]

Watched some YouTube videos on how to specifically perform a drive cycle. Cold start let idle for 10 minutes. Then drive at 55 mph for 5 miles. Take foot off gas and coast down to complete stop(no brakes). Then back to 55mph for 5 miles. Hooked up my newly purchased amazon scanner and it was good. In 2 years I don’t think I’ve ever driven on highway at 55mph steady for any distance. But it worked. Thank you to everyone for their input.

 

[Amazing93]

$37 a year isn’t that bad. The $175 an hour the dealer wants to diagnose the problem. That’s robbery

Why would they charge you are you not under warranty? Don't forget there's a separate emissions warranty as well. Your issues could be covered under that.

 

[SD Rebel]

That's a good point, emission equipment usually has a extended warranty beyond the 5 yr powertrain for CARB states, which I believe NY is a member. I think EPA also has a mandatory extended warranty on emissions on the Federal level.

Usually is 7 years / 80,000 miles or higher, but you should still be under warranty at the dealership if the failure is emission equipment related.

 

[brian42]

I’m researching what a drive cycle consists of. Some say you must let truck idle from cold start until engine reaches temperature. Then drive 55 mph for 5 miles. Then coast off to shoulder of hwy and let truck sit in gear with foot on brake for 2 minutes. Guess I’ll give that a try. Don’t think I’ve ever driven on hwy at 55mph for any distance. And yes. They charge $37 to inspect your vehicle.

1. Make sure your fuel level is between 1/2 and 3/4 tank.
2. Let the truck sit overnight.
3. Start the truck and let it idle for 5 minutes and with A/C and rear window defrost on.
4. Turn off the A/C (and rear defroster) for the rest of the "cycle".
5. Get on the highway/freeway/open road and hold 55-60 MPH for 5 minutes.
6. Coast down to 20 MPH (don't step on the brake).
7. Accelerate back up to 55-60 MPH and hold that speed for 5 minutes.
8. Pull over and let the truck idle for 5 minutes.
9. When you get back home turn the truck off and let it sit for at least 30 minutes.

I am no professional and don't claim that this is the 'official' cycle but that's the gist of it.

- For the idling parts I've read that the transmission should be in either P, D, or N (depending on what your read).
- Some say to have your headlights on for step #3.
- There are others that also mention driving 25-30 MPH and coming to a complete stop (city/urban driving with stop signs and stop lights). Many don't mention this as you most of us will have to do that anyway going from our house to the freeway.

I will let you Google "OBD drive cycle" and let you decide for yourself what is valid and what is bupkis. One thing I did come across, however, is that FCA has a built-in readiness tester (at least on older models). You can try this out and see if it shows that your flags are not set:

1. Place the ignition to ON, but do not start the engine.
2. The check engine light aka Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) will turn on for 15 seconds.
3. After 15 seconds, one of two things will happen:
......If the MIL flashes for 10 seconds, and then returns to being fully illuminated, the OBDII sensors are NOT READY and you need to complete the drive cycle.
......If the MIL does not flash and remains fully lit, you are ready to go to the smog station.

This was from a web posting several years ago and would be curious to know if the 5th gens have that same built-in function. If your readiness flags are not set your MIL should flash.

Here are some web pages I pulled heavily from:

Chrysler Drive Cycle - ODB2 Readiness Monitors - A Star Smog - Antioch Smog Check

In order to determine if your Jeep, Dodge, or Chrysler vehicle is ready for an emissions test, you can either use an OBDII scanner or, if one is not available, check the MIL (check engine light). At A Star Smog, we will use an OBDII scanner to conduct a smog precheck. Turn on the ignition ...

antiochstarsmogcheck.com

10 Steps To Perform a Basic OBD2 Drive Cycle | nonda

A basic drive cycle is critical to car diagnostics and emission tests. Why is the drive cycle important? How to do a drive cycle by yourself? Read for details!

www.nonda.co

https://www.ohioecheck.info/media/documents/OBDReadinessDriveCycles.pdf

 

[Rlaf75]

I didnt read through all of the comments here but did you have any work done to the truck recently that required the check engine light to be cleared? Drive cycles need to be done because the system monitors have been cleared and need to be reset. Drive cycles can vary and can take many miles to complete.

 

[Richard320]

I shudder to think how many Smog Checks I have performed since I got my first license in 1986. I let t lapse. 75% of the cars on the road aren't required get one any more and the huge majority of failures should probably be crushed rather than fixed. '78 Fairmont, anyone? But I digress.

Winter in New York and monitors not complete makes me think of the EVAP monitor. I'm not sure of the parameters for Ram, but generally the tank has to be between 1/4 and 3/4, air temp and coolant temp within 10 degrees of each other, and air temp between 50 and 80 or so. I forget what Toyota was, but it's a comfortable range. People who live in Palm Springs may not ever get cool enough to run it for several months each summer, and you may never get warm enough in winter. Can you park it in a garage with some heat?

Oxygen sensor tests typically happen at a steady cruise at a moderate speed. Catalyst monitor happens on a long deceleration. Now I'm wondering if I got those backwards. We had a route perfected where we could start from code erasure and get them all to pass. Anyway, point is to drive like your grandma in the right lane of the freeway or on a two lane 45 mph highway and then get off somewhere that has a long offramp so you can decelerate a long way.

 

[KMach]

I’ve seen this a few times. There is a silent emissions code that won’t clear or let the monitors run. I’ve fixed them by over flashing the PCM with the same software on some. Then it has to be driven correctly for the monitors to run. I can normally make enough run in 8-10 miles in nys but sometimes I have to get the garden hose out.