Renault Clio 1 Petrol (1991 - 1998) - 94 1.4 Emissions Test Failure Causes

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Mon 19 Oct 2009 14:13
94 1.4 Emissions Test Failure Causes - Nibbles
Hello everyone!

Some time ago my Clio failed it MOT (reasonably spectacularly!) and ive finally got round to sorting it out.

The largest potential expense, which will determine basically whether i scrap the car or find a new one is the failed emissions test, with a new cat costing well over £100. That isnt the only worry, as i could go and replace it to find out that it hasnt been fixed.

Ive just had a hunt and saw this post which seems similar with some interesting advice. My values are different however, so i would be interested if the same suggestions apply to my car;

www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=63031

The emissions report is as follows;

Description Min Max Actual P/F

FAST IDLE TEST

RPM 2450 2850 -
CO 0.3 2.223 F
HC 200 105 P
Lambda 0.970 1.030 0.971 P

SECOND FAST IDLE TEST

RPM 2450 2850 -
CO 0.3 2.712 F
HC 200 118 P
Lambda 0.970 1.030 0.926 F

NATURAL IDLE TEST

RPM 750 900 - -
CO 0.5 0.498 P

Now, some things about the car. There are no holes or anything on the exhaust as far as i know, certainly no blowing noises. There is however some corrosion around the distributor cap/plug lead connection, caused by water. This may or may not have anything to do with the car, just after starting (i.e. cold) having a tendency to bog down when accelerating. That is presumably a result of a weak/non-existent spark or something. I had read somewhere that this can contribute to emissions going through the roof. I should point out that all of the spark plugs looked fine and were recently changed, along with filters and oil. They wernt torqued properly, through lack of a torque wrench, but they were about the same tightness as when they came off!

If anyone has any suggestions i would be glad to hear them. I suppose changing the distrubutor cap and sticking some new plug leads on wont hurt. Any questions, feel free to ask.
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Mon 19 Oct 2009 14:57
94 1.4 Emissions Test Failure Causes - macavity
Have you changed the air filter?
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Mon 19 Oct 2009 15:38
94 1.4 Emissions Test Failure Causes - Nibbles
The air filter was changed in March, MOT was in May. Havnt changed it since, i dont have any way of getting the emissions tested at home!
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Mon 19 Oct 2009 16:22
94 1.4 Emissions Test Failure Causes - bell boy
faulty lambda
or the earth to it is poor
4 wire?
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