Failed NCT on emisions ... what to do?

[positivenote]

hey there folkes i my car just failed the NCT on exhaust emissions section. looking at the report it gave the following info:

high idle lambda 1.011 pass
CO 0.47 vol% fail/refusal (>0.3% is a fail)
hc 93ppm pass

my mechanic has asked me to get a new lambda to fit and this should sort it. is this correct or am i missing something in thinking that its the CO thats failed and not the Lambda?

sorry if this is extremely ignorant, but when it comes to cars i aint got a clue

 

[RonanC]

Check for a leak in the exhaust first. Cover the exhaust pipe with a towel or similar and listen for hissing..

Also your catalytic converter might be in need of changing

 

[car]

Nightmare. Got hit with that last year myself. Had to get a new lambda, I didnt have change of 600e after the work was done and the car was only worth 2k.
If you know what needs to be done, try and price it with a couple of mechanics first.

 

[Snork Maiden]

high idle lambda 1.011 pass
CO 0.47 vol% fail/refusal (>0.3% is a fail)
hc 93ppm pass

Not a mechanic or a car expect and havent a clue what above means.......but a mechanic friend of mine advised me to take my car for a long spin the day or two before the NCT as this burns off any build up that may cause emission failures. If the word pass is beside 'lambda' then why would you need a new lambda????? the fail is clearly beside the CO output so perhaps take your car for a long spin and then visit an indepenent garage and request an emission test and see what the results are before you spend a small fortunate. If emissions are at passable level resit the NCT.

 

[Berni]

my mechanic has asked me to get a new lambda to fit and this should sort it.

You don't need a new lambda, but you may need a new mechanic!
Lambda is not an object, it is a ratio of the amount of air available for combustion to the amount of air needed. Perfect value is 1, so you seem to be fine on that score.