The Defection of Emission Related Defects on Future Vehicles - Which Assembly Line Test Is Most Effective?

A test program using thirty production 1980 California “X” cars equipped with Computer Command Control emission control systems was run to compare the emission-related defect detection ability of end-of-line short emission tests and non-emission (or functional) tests. In this comparison, the non-emission tests detected 91% of the defects implanted, while the short emission tests detected only 64% of the defects. Further development of non-emission tests would further improve their defect detection capability, while little can be done to improve the defect detection capability of short emission tests.