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1997 Chrysler Sebring recently had battery disconnected, failed Smog test due to Malfunction Indicator Lamp. How to Drive it?

I don't drive my car much. Mostly to move it for street cleaning or to bulk shop at store every two weeks. Usually not heating the engine to halfway during the trip. I went to a Test Only Station but did not get a code for the fail. The Tech explained that it was something with computer not having data and asked if the battery had been disconnected. I've been driving heavily the past two days. And can continue to use daily. How many starts or miles should I aim for before retesting? Or should I go to the dealer to get the exact code read? I'd rather not waste time and money, if it's as simple as get the engine hot and letting it cool down..... I live in SF where it's hilly and can get the engine to halfway warm pretty quickly. Do I need to go on an extended trip or is driving it around the city enough? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Answer:

The smog technician asked if your Chrysler's battery had recently been disconnected because he or she apparently noticed that certain "readiness flags" were not set. Readiness Flags are internal emissions computer tests which your Chrysler runs while you are driving your car. Several readiness tests exist which self-check various emissions control systems. Driving your car for 2 to 3 weeks and in various patterns will assist the emission computer to perform these self tests. Rule of thumb is to drive at least 100 miles within 2 to 3 days with at least 6 engine on and off conditions. In this particular case however, we have a greater problem then "readiness flags" not having been set; indicated by the illuminated Malfunction Indicator Lamp on your Chrysler Sebring. If in fact the reason your car failed the smog check was simply due to incomplete readiness tests the MIL (Malfunction Indicator Lamp or Light) would not be on. The MIL being on indicates there is an emissions trouble code in the system. What you must do at this time is have the trouble code extracted using a trouble code scan tool. The trouble code will indicate where the emission failure exists. A smog check repair station or the dealership (though probably more expensive) can then repair the problem and retest your vehicle. The repair station may or may not ask you to drive your vehicle approximately 100 miles depending on whether they are able to manually run the readiness self tests by performing the required parameters to run the tests in a consecutive order. posted by SmogTips Support

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