Hello,

I was getting codes P1166/67 on my Honda accord. I recently replaced the oxygen sensor and had the codes cleared. I now need to take the car for smog test, and was told by the mechanic to drive the car at least 4-5 days for a total of 50-60 miles, before getting smog done. This was because, he mentioned (and I also saw it on the code scanner - after having had the sensor replaced) that for some time we may see several other kind of "warning signs" on the scanner -- these are not any specific codes, but just some signs which show that there could be some potential problems (or not), e.g., related to cat converter etc. He mentioned it would take some driving for these signs to go away.

So I have been driving the car for a few days now (about 100 miles). Unfortunately, the screw on the battery terminal just happened to have become loose now (I guess because I have disconnected the battery sometimes in the past) -- so the battery terminal keeps popping out automatically, probably when the car goes over a bump or something. So I have to open the hood and connect it back. Now, when I took it for smog today, the battery had disconnected again. So I connected it back in front of the smog technician, and he said the test would fail (he quickly connected to some scanner and showed me some warning signs.) He said to fix the screw and drive a few days and then come back.

So my question is : If we take the car for smog immediately after having disconnected and connected the battery, does that mean the smog would necessarily fail ? I f yes, is it simply because we have lost some recent car history or something, and therefore the system cannot make much sense of what is going on ? I'm just trying to understand/make sure -- Especially that there is no problem with the oxygen sensor any longer (or any other major problem), but that I just need to do what the smog technician suggested and that should most likely be it.

Thanks a lot for the help.
Thanks a lot for the help.

 

it has to set the readiness monitors, parts stores have these metal battery terminal caps that you put over the post and it helps you to secure the terminals better

 

thanks a lot. If not too much trouble, could you please share a link to any one such exemplary cap (e.g., from autozone or something)? So I know what you are referring to.