2003 inspection sticker after battery replacement | Ford Thunderbird forum club group 1955-2005 models

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2003 inspection sticker after battery replacement

  • Thread starter Thread starter Speedle
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Speedle

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Thunderbird Year
2003
2003 - Has anyone replaced the battery on their 2003 Bird, but been unable to get a state inspection sticker without "resetting the computer"?

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Ask your DMV this question. Obviously you cannot reset everything right before you take the car in. You have to drive a certain number of miles after a reset.
 
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The system is setup to keep folks from resetting a failure code just before the test should the vehicle have a real issue. Take it for a nice highway drive to make sure the sensors all reach a reset point. Mine typically takes over 125 miles. You can verify with a code reader, just don’t use the reader to reset or you have to start all over again. If the check engine light comes on you have a problem!
 
Srmert has it right. If your local inspection process is like the one we have here, the inspector is required to use a code reader to see if the powertrain control module (“computer”) has recorded any emissions-related problems. Whenever you disconnect the battery, the PCM loses it’s previous record and any attempt to ‘read’ the history will receive what amounts to a ‘not-ready’ response, which shows up as a “P1000" on the inspector’s code reader but does _not_ trigger the check engine light. You don’t have to ‘reset’ the PCM – the car does that on its own, after you’ve completed a range of driving cycles, basically at different speeds and conditions that allow the PCM to verify that all of the emissions systems are responding as intended. Ford actually documents a driving sequence that’s supposed to speed the process (less than 100 miles), but the easier method is to just drive around town for a day or two. Unfortunately, there’s no way to determine whether the process has completed without using a code reader, as it all happens without triggering the CEL, or anything else you'd see from the driver's seat.
 
Assuming there are no actual problems, most of the emissions monitors will respond "ready" within a couple short drives, which include both freeway and stop and go. The tricky one, and the one that takes the longest is the evap monitor which checks for vapor leaks in the fuel system, charcoal canister etc. That requires the right amount of fuel to be in the tank, correct ambient temperature and other factors that are not always accomplished in the same drive. try this link: https://www.totalcardiagnostics.com...cle/View/41/7/ford-motor-obd-ii-driving-cycle.
 
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