Hello everyone
​​​​​​​I moved in a state that requires a smog test and my car won't pass it because the O2 sensor and the catalyst monitors are not ready. I put in a new battery recently and that most likely reset the monitors. I've put more than 300 miles and the two monitors status is still not ready. I bought a small scanner so that I can check whenever I want. What else can I to help them kick in? At the end of the month my registration expires!! I've read about driving cycles but I think for me would be kind of hard to meet the required steps. Thanks!

 

Welcome to the 2nd Gen Neon forum.
I see you don't have any replies, so I'll see if I can get things started.
Does the scan tool indicate the before & after cat O2 sensors working as specified?
Rescan & post up All trouble code Numbers, as they can help focus a trouble shoot.

 

Thank you Paw Paw for your reply. I did solve the problem. I went to a smog/car shop to ask for help. They would do the drive cycle for me (for a fee), but the mechanic also downloaded the correct drive cycle for Dodge Neon, printed it for me and he told me to try that and if I couldn't get it done take the car in and they would do it. I tried the suggested cycle and actually worked, all my monitors were ready after that. I'll post it down here, maybe it'll help somebody with this problem.

1- Let the car cool off for hours, ideally overnight.
2- Start it and idle IN DRIVE for 2.5/3 minutes.
3- Go to nearest highway and drive at 55 mph for 3 minutes. This will activate O2 sensor. Use cruise control to keep speed steady.
4- speed up a bit and drive steady between 55 and 60 for 5 minutes (again use cruise control). This will activate catalyst monitor.

That did it for me. I went at night, otherwise the highway would be too crowded and it would be too hard to complete the process. Actually, after only the 3 minutes at 55 both the monitors were ready. So I drove around for a month for miles and miles, wasting gas and time, when all I needed was a 3 minutes drive at the correct speed!
​​​​​​​
Hope this helps somebody.

 

I solved the issue doing a driving cycle expressly for those two monitors. I was desperate and I went to an auto shop/smog station and asked what I could do. The guy downloaded the right drive cycle for the dodge neon. I did it and the monitors were ready.
for the 02 sensor: turn on the car (vehicle has to be cold, ideally left parked overnight) and idle for 2.5/3 minutes on DRIVE and with AC and rear defrost on. Then go to nearest (or better, less busy I'd add lol) highway and, with the help of the cruise control, drive at 55 for 3 minutes. To kick in the catalyst monitor speed up a little, between 55 and 60 and set cruise control and drive for 5 minutes.
​​​​​​​worked like a charm. Hope this helps somebody.

 

OK, good find, fix, feedback & to hear all still seems well after the Mopar emissions monitor drive cycle reset. Order up something nice for the helpful Tech to let him know he did good!!!!