Hi all,

I have a 2000 A6 2.7T with the engine light on with the following faults:
#16805-catalytic converter B1 efficiency below threshold
#17861/P1453-egt sensor B1 G235 open or short to B+

It's been on for couple years and 2 years ago my mechanic reset the codes and I did a smog check right after, the cats were good enough to pass the test.

Now I need to do another smog test. I've switched mechanics and this time the shop is asking me for $150 to reset the code, run the readiness tests and bring it to a test station before it checks itself and causes the MIL indicator to come back on.

My question is, can I simply reset the faults using a OBB II reader? I think I can get one of those for <$100. If that's doable, which model would you guys recommend?

Thank you so much for your help.

 

Possibly, but may not work. If you live in California, readiness code needs to set before you can pass the smog. If you simply reset the ecu to delete the code, it usually takes certain driving time to reset the code, unless you manually run through the test with VAGcom connected. It is possible that the readiness code set a couple of years back. But it may not.

BTW, the factory had an ECU update that addressed this issue. I know for sure that 2.8 had it. On 2.7 and newer 3.0, one of them had it, and another one didn't. I can't remember which one, but go ask Auditech79.