Re: Portable CO meter

[Eric Maxon <emaxon@megsinet.net>]

Steven Buchholz wrote:

>  # back seat-- "you can't shine shit."  The CO concentration data
> you'll
>  # get out of anything but a good quality infra-red gas analyzer ($750
>
>  # minimum,) will be useless.  If you intend to service more than a
> few
>  # Bosch fuel injected vehicles, the $750 price tag is well worth it--
> I'm
>  # still saving for one myself.  If you do discover a GOOD CO meter
> for a
>  # reasonable price, that is not based upon a tin oxide sensor, I'd
> love to
>  # hear about it.
>  #
> ... actually I see ads for used emissions equipment in the local news-
>
> paper from time to time ... often for much less than $750.  I wish I
> was able to tell what it was simply from the model number, but usually
>
> I have to call the seller to find out if it measures CO.  So far every
>
> time I've found one that did measure CO someone has beaten me to the
> punch ... :(  Good luck! ... very few of these things are self powered
>
> or portable however ...
>

Michigan used to require emissions tests for all vehicles up to 10yoa,
but now no longer requires any emissions tests.  These tests were
performed at most service stations and mechanic shops for $10-$15 a pop
at the time.  Now, there are thousands of these machines gathering dust
in the Detroit area-- I plan to get my hands on one soon. (probably
$400-$600)   The catch is that these machines will not work at all if
the computer portion of the system is non-functional, or if the
passwords are lost, (they were designed to transfer the results via
modem to a state computer somewhere, hence the need to 'log in' to the
machines.)  Repair parts and calibration gasses are still available, but
are expensive.  I haven't played with one yet, but I'm told they are
based around simple embedded x86 machines-- shouldn't be too hard to
keep the computer side running.

Eric.



> I've been off the DIY-EFI digest for a while, but I remember talk
> about
> the UEGO sensor, which was a much more precise device than a standard
> OXS ... and quite a bit more expensive.  If you need to have a meter
> that you can't buy otherwise you might need to build it yourself.
> Per-
> haps a UEGO sensor with some interface circuitry can hook up to your
> laptop.  You might want to pose the question on the diy-efi list
> yourself ...
>
> HTH!
> Steve Buchholz
> San Jose, CA (USA)