Emission testing with CEL on

When I bought my car the cel was on. I got a free warranty with the car to fix this problem, but before I do I wanted to make sure I am able to fix everything on the car at once, so I have been looking it over.

I need to run the car thru emissions before I can get plates and tabs for it. The CEL is something to do with the glow plugs. What I need to know is if the only reason that the CEL is on is because of the glow plugs then is there any reason that it will not pass emissions? I only have one more week to get it licensed.

For all of those in Spokane, is there someone who will do warranty work other than the dealer, or is Appleway decent to deal with? I have never been in there yet. I would rather give this warranty work to someone who will be honest rather than a dealer.

Our OBD inspection here is an automatic failure if the MIL is on, regardless of the reason.

That is something else I was wandering. When we tested our 89 F-150 they ran it on the "wheel of fun" not sure what to call it, but I had to run the truck in drive and at different rpms. When we tested the Expedition they just plugged it in and sent us on our way. Of course the CEL was not on. If they look at the dash and see the light it is an auto fail huh. Well that sucks.

I understand most places will fail it due to any CEL. Glow plug problems are usually not that hard to fix.

OBD testing is typically only done on cars with a standardized OBD2 protocol, which is '96 and newer gasoline cars and '97 and newer diesel cars, and nothing over 8500 GVWR (which is essentially all 3/4 ton and larger trucks and vans).

So an '89 F150 would not get it, but an Expedition would as those are all newer than '96 and less than 8500 GVWR.

CEL Is a failure

The CEL in the ON mode is an automatice failure in Washington - don't even try the test the the Check Engine Light Illuminated.

The test location out in the valley isn't great, but at least they clean thier sensors. They are better than the test locations on the West side of the state.

Appleway VW?? Well, they are the highest price for parts that I know of. I have a bit of experience with thier service department, and I was not impressed. They are in business to make money and they absolutely know that they are are the only game in town.

I don't know of any good independant shops in town. Call your warranty company and ask them for "authorized shops" in the area.

Like other posters said - the Glow Plug issue is fairly easy to fix - often times is as simple as unplugging and replugging to knock corrosion off of the connectors. While you are at it - a multi-meter will tell you if any of the glow plugs are really bad.

Walt in Spokane (I am not avialable right now, or I'd check your glow plugs for you)