aschneider9

I would normally do a thorough search before posting so i don't waste the community's time, but considering my inspection has already expired, i figured i would double down and post first and research as (hopefully) the suggestions flow in.

My 1999.5 A4 1.8T won't pas my NC state inspection due to the following 4 "not ready"s on the "Summary of the OBDII readiness monitors";
-Catalytic Converter Efficiency
-Heated O2 Sensor
-Evaporative Emissions Control System
-O2 Sensors

This was at a Firestone Tire and they told me that it would pass with 2 "not ready"s or less so drive it a few hundred miles and try again since nothing came back "Failed". I drove a few days and took it to an Advance Auto to see what their plug and play machine said and it read the following 2 codes;
-P1565
-P1250
In the hopes this meant something cleared in the system and i was down to 2 "not ready"s, I went back to Firestone but the report came back with the same 4 "not ready"s.

Here is what i think is relevant information;
-car has approx 215,000 miles but i have always been superb about routine maintenance and the time belt and all the major 200,000 mile stuff was done with in the past 6 months by a trusted audi/VW shop. aka my car is in great shape and well maintained for her age.
-my check engine light IS NOT on nor has it been anytime recently (apparently the "not ready" should have triggered my check engine from what i gathered and, just to be thorough in my details, the bulb is not blown as it does flash on as it should when turning the ignition)
-within the past year, since my last inspection, i swapped out my stock ECU for an APR chipped ECU(figured the old cougar deserved a face lift for her 200,000).
-I had a mechanic friend of mine change my front breaks a few days before my inspection attempt and as he was just checking various things, the battery was disconnected at one point.

Anybody have any insight to offer? I still have my stock ECU if that's the issue and can swap them out but i can't imagine there isn't a fix for that so i don't have to swap ECUs once a year. My plan is to research and if nothing comes of it take it to my mechanic in a few days to have him take a look at the codes and tell me if they are indications of an actual issue or just something he can reset (that's why i said trusted mechanic, he will reset if possible and not just try to push any unnecessary maintenance).

Thanks for any help!

mrchicken

You can't diagnose from the readiness codes, you can only diagnose from the fault codes and try to fix what's causing the fault codes. Here's your P1565:

http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index...3/P1565/005477

That site doesn't have P1250, but googling that turns up a bunch of hits.

See if you can find an Audi shop that can scan your car with a VCDS (aka "VAG-COM") Audi/VW specific scanner. It might give additional, more specific codes.

uberwgn

Yeah, see if you can find someone in your local area that will scan the car with VCDS so you can get detailed info not provided by the generic scanners.

FWIW, whenever codes are cleared, it resets the readiness status and you won't be able to make it thru inspection. It can take a week's worth of driving to get the status back to "ready".

aschneider9

I went to my mechanic who used the VCDS to run,reset or whatever it does. He said that all "not ready"s are good to go except one but it shouldn't be an issue (bacause NC can pass with 2 or less). I didn't get the chance to get my car inspected until 2 days later and it fails again with the same "not ready"s.

Do i need to put my stock ECU back in or just keep driving? I'm at a loss and don't want to start trying stuff as i assume every time i do anything to the battery or ECU it will just put my system into another diagnostic mode. HELP HELP HELP!!!

mrchicken

Honestly, you need to get a VCDS setup going. Just buy a $20 cable on ebay and use the free version of "VCDS Lite". (You of course need a laptop capable of running Windows, too.) You can check the readiness codes with it. Then your best bet is to check the readiness codes once a day every day for a few weeks, including after resetting the faults. It'll give you a sense for how long they're taking to become ready (or not) after the reset. It may be that you only have a window of a day or less with 6/7 ready bits before some start failing again. If the window is too small then indeed you'll have to address the problem. If you are swapping ECUs then I *highly* recommend having VCDS anyway.

4Driver4

Or you could buy the full version and force whatever readiness you like.

maxiwoofus

I used this for my 2005 Audi TT 3.2 DSG. I installed Magnaflow OEM replacement cats and could not get it to reset the ECM. I installed the restrictors and used the "small" restrictor as first recommended by the manufacturer (if they provided instructions it would be helpful) and after driving the car for 25 miles...all values were reset. The "C" clips are tight and I highly recommend having a tool (which I had) to install them. I tried without them and could not get to reset after 200 miles. The Audi dealer could not get to reset either. After we called private shops I was told of these restrictors and they do just what they say! Very pleased

Tha-Noob

I had 4 systems not ready and didn't fail but didn't pass: Evap, Secondary air, o2 sensors and catalytic converter.

I drove for 100 miles and nothing changed. I reset the DTCs, used Cataclean and completed 2 drive cycles and all monitors came back ready. I've been wrestling with this problem for over a month and it took 2 hours with the above knowledge to get it to pass.

I attached drive cycle chart I followed and it has info on every Audi and Volkswagen!

Hope this helps!!