Removing chip to pass California emission inspection

Guys,

California is making us smog our diesels. I am pretty sure my 03 tdi golf has a chip. How do check to see if I do and can I simply remove it for the test or do I need to replace it with a stock one?

Thanks in advance,

Mike

Find someone with a VAG-COM (or get one yourself - www.ross-tech.com) and check that readiness is OK.

Some aftermarket programs maintain all of the emission control functionality, others don't.

If you have your emisions equipment still on the car (Cat, EGR) and you don't have any codes and the car doesn't have any other issues like too much rust (body, exhaust) then I would say you are good to go. Some people sent there cars computer to a tuner while others rent/barrow a tune box to plug into the car while other buy the tune box to get the tunes. Seeing as your car is an 03 it could just have nozzles and injection pump upgraded and you wouldn't have the tune but it would feel like it.

MKP said:

Guys,
California is making us smog our diesels. I am pretty sure my 03 tdi golf has a chip. How do check to see if I do and can I simply remove it for the test or do I need to replace it with a stock one?
Thanks in advance,
Mike

Click to expand...

Mike,
As long as the emissions parts are still on, check engine light is off and your car doesn't smoke much, you're good to go. The CA smog test for diesels is a complete joke. Don't even sweat it.

coalminer16 said:

If you have your emisions equipment still on the car (Cat, EGR) and you don't have any codes and the car doesn't have any other issues like too much rust (body, exhaust) then I would say you are good to go. Some people sent there cars computer to a tuner while others rent/barrow a tune box to plug into the car while other buy the tune box to get the tunes. Seeing as your car is an 03 it could just have nozzles and injection pump upgraded and you wouldn't have the tune but it would feel like it.

Click to expand...

Coal... we don't have safety inspections... nor rust.

No problem passing smog with RC3 and big nozzles

As stated, as long as no CEL and no heavy smoke you should be fine. Just had mine smogged with the above mod's with no issue. Read elsewhere that if you're concerned or have trouble passing - just fill it up with bio and it will take care of getting it through smog (if you're not already a bio user then beware of it cleaning out your tank and plugging up your fuel filter).

In my case I was only running B5 when smogged as that's the only bio I have available in close proximity.

Should be a piece of cake!

Don't know about California, but in Washington state, they have this ridiculous test called a "Snap Test" and my 06 failed miserably. Something like a 45 is the limit and my car registered a 79.

I found out that If I unplugged the MAP sensor fueling is severely reduced and even though I had a check engine light on, my car passed with flying colors with a reading of 9.

MKP said:

Guys,
California is making us smog our diesels. I am pretty sure my 03 tdi golf has a chip. How do check to see if I do and can I simply remove it for the test or do I need to replace it with a stock one?
Thanks in advance,
Mike

Click to expand...

Mike,
When is your registration due? I have a chip and the car passed with no issues.
The smog center will do a visual inspection to make sure all the equipment is on the car and then they will check for readiness compliance. Unless you have a CEL you should have no problems at all. If you want you can come by the gtg I am hosting next month and we can check the car for readiness.
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=342335

" Unless you have a CEL you should have no problems at all."

Not always true. If you have a tune that has the egr turned off, your car will not have a cel but it will not pass the readiness test and will fail the smog test. In that case, you will have to have your ecu returned to stock or have a spare ecu on hand that is otherwise stock.

dlai said:

" Unless you have a CEL you should have no problems at all."

Not always true. If you have a tune that has the egr turned off, your car will not have a cel but it will not pass the readiness test and will fail the smog test. In that case, you will have to have your ecu returned to stock or have a spare ecu on hand that is otherwise stock.

Click to expand...

Sorry but you're wrong.

I would ask around and try to find a SMOG place that's known for being lenient, take the car in and see if it passes as is (making sure the engine's nice and hot first) then go from there?

Got Bearings? said:

Sorry but you're wrong.

Click to expand...

I meant have the tuner re-enable the egr, sorry.

LA_VW said:

I would ask around and try to find a SMOG place that's known for being lenient, take the car in and see if it passes as is (making sure the engine's nice and hot first) then go from there?

Click to expand...

Not necessary. It's not a tailpipe emissions test. All you need is the following:

1. No CEL
2. All emissions equip hooked up
3. Readiness monitors set to "ready" (use VCDS to check)
4. Little to no visual smoke.

It's a complete joke of a test. Don't even sweat it.

dlai said:

I meant have the tuner re-enable the egr, sorry.

Click to expand...

Incorrect also. Some tuners can turn off the EGR but still have readiness monitor work and can be set to "ready" through normal driving.

Got Bearings? said:

Incorrect also. Some tuners can turn off the EGR but still have readiness monitor work and can be set to "ready" through normal driving.

Click to expand...

Just responding based on my limited experience. I have RC2 with the egr turned off, and of course the car did not pass smog. I have a spare stock ecu which I used for my smog. Was not aware that some tuners could turn off the egr and still have the readiness work. There are a few folks who are attending NewTDI's gtg so they can get their existing RC tunes "adjusted" so they can pass smog. There are a few here locally who have failed their smog tests due to the egr being turned off. That's what I was responding to based on what I knew. Thanks for the info.

Are you sure that's an RC tune?

RC + EGR delete should pass readiness. I know my RC3+ always has...I don't even have the EGR parts anymore.

If you KNOW your tune to be RC I would contact Jeff and see if you might have a corrupted flash.

My understanding is that the RC+ and not the RC have an EGR delete written in the code which is why it passes the readiness check!