SES light, p0430 code
04-04-2010, 09:10 PM
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SES light, p0430 code Hey guys, I have a 02 SS camaro, all stock besides an slp catback. the ses light came on and i read the code...came up as a p0430 which is catalyst effeciency below threshold bank 2, as far as i know this means that the passenger side downstream o2 sensor is reading that the cat isnt working properly, also could be the sensor acting up. i cleared it and it came back on within a few hours. any info on this would be greatly appreciated! Thanx in advance.
04-04-2010, 09:22 PM
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i have never seen where is was the o2 and not the cat. if you have an efficence code change the cat. these are warrantied for 8 years or 80000 miles through the dealer. just check production date and see if you are with in the time frame
04-05-2010, 11:23 AM
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the car was manufactured 2/02, and it has 54,000 miles on it. so basically im 2 months over the time period right? and how do i know if my cat just isnt doing its job or if it is clogged? it seems to be running fine...no hesitation, good throttle response. thanx
04-05-2010, 01:55 PM
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I know this sounds weird but when my code came up for bank one, i ignored it because I'm about to install some long tubes. Well I decided to clean my k&n in my slp lid one day and magically the code has never come back.
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04-06-2010, 08:21 PM
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A cat is meant to "outlive" the life of the vehicle. when they go "bad" the way the engine runs or ran, make the cat either get contaminated with coolant, or the engine was rich and burned/melted the cat together from being so hot. Any shop will not be able to touch that converter until it is over the "8 year 80k mile" but before you replace the cat, investigate the engine performance, because there is 100% chance there is a problem or WAS a problem with how the engine is running.
04-07-2010, 01:39 AM
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A cat is meant to "outlive" the life of the vehicle. when they go "bad" the way the engine runs or ran, make the cat either get contaminated with coolant, or the engine was rich and burned/melted the cat together from being so hot. Any shop will not be able to touch that converter until it is over the "8 year 80k mile" but before you replace the cat, investigate the engine performance, because there is 100% chance there is a problem or WAS a problem with how the engine is running.
04-07-2010, 01:47 PM
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It's the cat. You can change the O2 sensor and see if that fixes it, but it probably won't Both cats are a PITA to replace, so it might be better for someone to do it for you if you don't want to spend 2 days doing it like I did 
04-07-2010, 03:52 PM
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The catalyst monitor test involves the PCM manipulating the AFR and measuring the response time of the after-cat O2S wrt to the pre-cat O2S... if the response time is quicker than the threshold then the test fails and the PCM turns on P0420/P0430...
If the rear O2S was bad then its response time would be large, so the catalyst monitor test would pass... (no P0420/P0430).
For a bad rear O2S, the test that would fail is the rear O2 insufficient activity test (P0140/P0160).
If the rear O2S was bad then its response time would be large, so the catalyst monitor test would pass... (no P0420/P0430).
For a bad rear O2S, the test that would fail is the rear O2 insufficient activity test (P0140/P0160).
04-08-2010, 10:09 AM
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yea im thinking its the cat too, well it goes to the dealer tomorrow so we'll see what they say...hopefully its covered under warranty or else it looks like im going to eliminate the cats altogether. is it safe to be driving around with it the way it is?
04-08-2010, 01:14 PM
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Isn't only like 5-6 bolts per cat to replace? How did it take you 2 days?
and joecar is correct, the nuts and studs on the manifold side were rusted as heck. Also, I made the mistake of not putting Liquid Wrench on one of the nuts and just trying to brute force it off. Broke the stud and had to drill it out! @ the OP, if you are going to do this yourself, save yourself a lot of time and Liquid Wrench those nuts before you try to muscle them off! Yes, it should be OK to drive it like that as long as it isn't bogging down or exhibiting any of the other symptoms of a clogged converter.
04-08-2010, 09:22 PM
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Yes sir that is 100% correct. I catalytic converter has no moving parts, and has not purpose but to chemically react to different gasses and convert it into not so harmful gasses. for it to go bad is has to either get contaminated, or get so hot that it melts.
04-09-2010, 02:50 PM
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You're local tunning shop.
The O2 sims are not that reliable. Most people will tell you it's better to have the test eliminated while having a performance tune done. Either way you go, if you leave the rear O2s in place everything will "Look" legal.
The O2 sims are not that reliable. Most people will tell you it's better to have the test eliminated while having a performance tune done. Either way you go, if you leave the rear O2s in place everything will "Look" legal.
