5th Generation Maxima (2000-2003) Learn more about the 5th Generation Maxima, including the VQ30DE-K and VQ35DE engines.

What does an O2 simulator do?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 01-25-2007, 03:13 PM
  #1  
Member
Thread Starter
 
geenowalker's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 239
What does an O2 simulator do?

Does the o2 simulator just mask the SES light, or does it actually control airflow? I live in PA and just got the 0430 light. If the cat is bad, and I put on an O2 sim, I would still expect to fail emisions. Am I wrong? I would much rather spend the $30 bucks on an O2 sim if I can get by the emissions test.
Should I just spend the bucks on the other O2's that I havent replaced yet (see below)? Any help would be appreciate as I am up for inspection/emmisions next week.


00' SE
149K
Cali spec
replaced two other sensors (black and blue(P0139, P0139)) 6 months ago.
geenowalker is offline  
Old 01-25-2007, 03:34 PM
  #2  
Need A Light?
iTrader: (28)
 
steven88's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: SoCal, CA
Posts: 8,649
i guess you could say it masks the SES...cuz all it's doing is fooling the ECU to think the o2 is "still there" even if it's dead...and it doesn't control air flow...

i would say get the simulator and call it a day....but it also depends on your local smog laws...here in california, they do visual scan, ECU scan and tail sniffer testing...if you have a bad cat but no SES, you might not pass the test....
steven88 is offline  
Old 01-25-2007, 04:15 PM
  #3  
Member
Thread Starter
 
geenowalker's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 239
thanks for the input. In PA, they actually measure the CO coming out of the tailpipe. So I guess I am looking for a used Cat. Any ideas on how to get the old one out?
geenowalker is offline  
Old 01-26-2007, 03:10 AM
  #4  
Supporting Maxima.org Member
iTrader: (48)
 
Puppetmaster's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Fairfax, VA
Posts: 16,555
Some general info on O2 sims here: www.o2sim.com.

Your code is for a pre-cat (front bank, IIRC, its been a while). If your main cat is working fine, you will pass as long as the main cat is fully warmed up and functional by the time you get to the insepction station. The pre-cats are there mainly for when the car (and the main cat) is cold and not warmed up. Of course, you don't want to be driving around with a clogged pre-cat, so replace it with a working pre-cat, do a FED spec conversion, or just get aftermarket headers.

I also know someone in PA who passed emissions with no cats at all, of course, he found the most shady place possible. Post in your regional forums to see if people have thoughts on this.
Puppetmaster is offline  
Old 01-27-2007, 02:13 PM
  #5  
Member
Thread Starter
 
geenowalker's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 239
SES light went out today. Not sure if it is the cat, or the sensor. Goiung to try to go through inspection/emmisions and see what happens.
geenowalker is offline  
Old 01-28-2007, 07:13 AM
  #6  
Senior Member
 
Mynameismcgyver's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Long Island, NY
Posts: 203
Here in nc they just scan the computer... so that would work for me..hmm
Mynameismcgyver is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
MaximaDrvr
7th Generation Maxima (2009-2015)
16
08-19-2015 08:20 PM
1992maximase30
4th Generation Maxima (1995-1999)
3
08-05-2015 09:27 PM
BlackBIRDVQ
5th Generation Maxima (2000-2003)
53
06-04-2007 12:44 PM
NmexMAX
5th Generation Maxima (2000-2003)
7
01-12-2005 09:05 PM



Quick Reply: What does an O2 simulator do?



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 09:54 PM.