Exhaust emissions

[mcConnell]

Hi , my car failed on missions again this yr, last yr a 2nd hand cat which was aprox 1 month old was put on it with a new part that plugs into pipe and just passed the retest , now again this year car has been serviced 1 month ago, results from test is worse than last yr . could it be the brain of the car or possibly i need a brand new cat this time .is it worth going to get it hooked up to a machine at garage. i dont know where to start can youplease help. car is 99 plate citroen xsara 1.4

[TWR]

Was the car taken for a good run before the test?

[mcConnell]

Hi
no only went about 2 miles and left it at test station collected it 1 hour later then i was told it was worse thn last time to give you a guide mission test results are as follows.
fast idle.
co= 0.892
hc=231
2nd fast idle
co=1.709
hc=1075
lambda=0.928
natural idle
co=2.796
does these test results tell you anything about my emissions.
is there an additive petrol treatment that may help to clear anything do you recomend any make .
thankyou very much for your reply .
kind regards jim

[TWR]

Hi Jim, every car 's difference in the Co to a point, a lot depends on the Mileage, age, what service & how often it has been serviced, my own car is 10yr old has not long been through the test & the readings were spot on, what I do before the test put in a bottle of Red X and go for approx a couple of mile run and get the car really warmed up, A lot of MOT stations tend to race the engine when the sensor is in the exhaust to get the Emission reading, they do not like doing this as, at times they have snapped the Cam Belt in turn costing them a lot of money under claims, my advice is to do what I have suggested by doing that your engine will be at it's normal running temp. The use of Red X help clean the Injectors etc & have never had any problem in its use.