I think the hydrocarbon reading is a sign of a rich mixture/fuel not being
fully burnt. I had this on an older, carb-equipped car that did not have
fancy electronics or a cat, and it was casued by a faulty needle valve in
the carburettor. Dirty air filter, misfire, improperly tuned engine, not
very well serviced etc. could all be causes.

Not sure about the Carbon Monoxide thought

"pramide" <andrew.buenaventura (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

"pramide" <andrew.buenaventura (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

Right, firstly we need more info, whats the mileage on the car, and is it
the lean burn 1.8 or not?

The emissions you give show the car is running slightly rich or very rich,
depending on whether the cat is working or not, but the engine is in
fundementally good order (CO and HC's are balanced)

My guess would be either the engine wasnt warmed up, the o2 sensor is dead
(in the go rich state) or the ecu doesnt know the engine is warmed up (CTS
fault)

Was the car properly hot when tested, and is it capable of reaching proper
operating temp?

On the Carina E, the leanburn engine uses a special o2 sensor which is
vastly expensive, but has a long lifespan (usually)

If you could tell us if the car runs well, warms up correctly, what the mpg
is like, and if the MIL has been on or not it will help.

Tim..

The car has a 1.6 engine. Mileage is 79,000 miles, but I don't trust
it since this could have been tampered with before I bought this last
year (around 68K when I first bought it)

In my opinion, the car runs well and has not caused me any major
problems. The only thing that I noticed is that I seem to be burning
engine oil. After 3 months of use, my engine oil would almost be
empty. After it happened the first time, I make it a point to top up
the engine oil once every two months. I had the oil filter replaced 6
months ago.

A full tank is good for an average of 310 miles in this car.

I know next to nothing about cars so apologies if my response seem to
be vague.

So you never thought to check it?

Why not just check it regularly, and top up as required? Checking your oil
once a week only takes a minute a week.

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"pramide" <andrew.buenaventura (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

310 miles doesnt sound very far to me?! How many gallons / pounds does it
take to fill it?

Tim..

Around 40 pounds per full tank

"pramide" <andrew.buenaventura (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

Mileage and pounds to fill seem inline with each other, so either you dont
drive til its empty, or the tank is pretty small!

Anyhow, given your lower knowledge, it would seem best to send the car into
a trusted garage with decent diagnostic equipment, familiar with the Carina
E.

You have a fairly simple problem either with the Coolant temp sensor, the
thermostat, the o2 sensor, or the MOT garage failing to warm the car up
properly.

A decent garage looking at the car for the first time will check the running
temperature and re-test the emissions before doing any work.

Tim..

Thank you Tim. You have been very helpful. I will tell the owner of
the garage to check the running temperatute before doing a retest.
Although I remember that the emission test was one of the last things
that he did and it took 15 minutes to finish. DO you think the car has
already reached the operating temperature by then?

"pramide" <andrew.buenaventura (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

Merely idling the car in the garage is NOT enough to maintain the cat at
proper working temperature.

The Emissions test should always be done immediately on arrival, preferably
after a high speed run to make sure its as hot as it gets.

Tim..