When shopping for a replacement catalytic converter, you may see "Federal Emissions," "California Emissions," "E.P.A. Compliant," and "C.A.R.B. Compliant" in the RockAuto catalog. Emissions standards and Compliance standards are separate facts to consider when choosing a converter.

Federal Emissions and California Emissions refer to regulations the vehicle was designed to meet: limits set by the US Federal Government or more stringent rules set by the State of California. A sticker on your vehicle (often on the engine or elsewhere under the hood) should identify which applies (important to check since a Federal Emissions car may have been brought to California by a previous owner or the manufacturer may have sold a California Emissions car in another state).

E.P.A. Compliant vs. C.A.R.B. Compliant refer to standards the converter meets. Catalytic converters sold or installed in the US must be certified by either the E.P.A. (Environmental Protection Agency) or C.A.R.B. (California Air Resources Board). States can require either E.P.A. or C.A.R.B. Compliance for converters regardless of the emissions system design on the vehicle. RockAuto cannot ship a converter that is not compliant with your state's regulations into your state, even if it fits the vehicle.

		Vehicles with California Emissions		Vehicles with Federal Emissions
State of Vehicle Registration	Model Year	C.A.R.B. Compliant Converter	E.P.A. Compliant Converter	C.A.R.B. Compliant Converter	E.P.A. Compliant Converter
California	All Years	✔	❌	✔	❌
Colorado	All Years	✔	❌	✔	❌
New York	All Years	✔	❌	✔	❌
Maine	> 2000	✔	❌	✔	✔
Other		✔	✔	✔	✔

While Emissions and Compliance standards may sound confusing, RockAuto makes it easy to order the correct replacement part! Watch for the Compliance and relevant Emissions standards noted in the part listings, and narrow your options using filters for quicker selection. Find Catalytic Converters for your vehicle in the "Exhaust & Emission" category in the RockAuto.com catalog.

When I pushed the button to turn on the cruise control in my 2004 Subaru Forester the cruise light did not come on. "Oh no", I thought the cruise control was broken. I use the cruise control often and really like it. My Subaru repair manual lists several checks to make: fuses, vacuum line and throttle cable. I also tested the on/off button with my multimeter. All checked out OK.

After I thought for a bit, I remembered what I often read in the RockAuto newsletter: "Check the Simple Things First!" That is when the thought came to me, maybe the cruise control works and simply the indicator light on the instrument panel has burned out. With that in mind, I took the car for a drive, pushed the power button and pretended the cruise light came on. When I set the cruise, sure enough, the cruise control took over and worked fine! That was it - the simple thing. I replaced the light bulb for the cruise indicator light. All fixed. Thank you all for your advice, "Check the Simple Things First!"

Jon in Michigan

After repairing front collision damage, a "Hood is Open" warning pops up on the dash display when you attempt to honk the horn. After replacing the knock sensor, the engine has a constant misfire. After installing a new ignition coil, the camshaft sensor stops sending its signal to the computer. Seemingly difficult to diagnose problems like these might just be examples of when you should not put the square peg in the square hole and the round peg in the round hole even if the pegs (electrical connectors) appear to fit nicely.

For the past 50+ years, most car manufacturers have done a great job keying electrical connectors so that it is nearly impossible to mix them up and inadvertently plug an electrical connector into the wrong component. I am careful to use pieces of masking tape or some other type of labels when unplugging sets of identical parts and connectors (fuel injectors, ignition coils, spark plug wires...) but less careful about sticking on labels when unplugging unrelated parts. I incorrectly have been assuming that the electrical connectors for unrelated parts are all different and cannot be mixed up.

For correct re-assembly, it would actually be best to label connectors and their matching parts more often than not. Car manufacturers still usually do a good job using different connectors on nearby parts, but they also try to use the same parts and connectors on as many models/years as possible. The horn and hood ajar switch that use the same electrical connector might have been located far apart on the first model built but located near each other on some new model released ten years later.

Identical connectors for a 2004 Ford F150 Camshaft Position Sensor, Crankshaft Position Sensor & Ignition Coil

Shown above are examples of different parts that have identical electrical connectors. The "Electrical-Connector" section of the RockAuto.com catalog can help you identify, reinstall and/or replace the correct electrical connectors on your specific vehicle.

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

To read more of Tom's articles, click this link and choose from story titles on the Newsletter Archives page.