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Forum > Smog Check Repair > Question

My 1993 Mercury Sable has high HC at idle. Why?

What is the HC (PPM)? My Mercury's readings are max is 100 at idle, i am 473 and at 2500 RPM Max is 130, i am at 237. can you tell my why? I am haveing overheating trouble but no oil in water or vice versa wanting to rule out blow head gasket.
Answer:

HC stands for Hydrocarbon, basicly raw fuel. HC levels so high indicate there is trouble in the combustion chambers... fuel is not being burned properly. The fault can be compression related, ignition related (such as defective timing, sparkplugs, wires, so on...), and/or air/fuel ratio related. We can only recommend having a smog check repair station start by conduct an ignition system test, followed by a compression test, and then a fuel feedback test. posted by SmogTips Support

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