I have a 2010 F 150 Is 5.4 I kept throwing codes P0420 and codes P0430 Repairs have been made but now the codes are reading permanent I have 3 different scanners and neither of them will let me clear them even with the key on engine not running how do I get around this and let it perform its drive cycle

 

The only way to clear permanent codes is to fix the issue. Sometimes it requires driving the truck for a bit to get them to clear. Drive it around for a couple of days and see if it clears, if not, you may still have an issue. In your case, did you replace the cats?

 

hard to say without knowing what scanners you have - typically there is a "clear DTCs" command. Autozone and such wont clear them anymore because people would get the codes cleared then sell/trade the car to some unsuspecting victim. I believe both Torque app and Forscan for your phone (and laptop) can clear codes

with codes for catalytic converter performance once cleared they usually take a little time to reappear.

codes will NOT clear on their own once they've tripped the CEL. The only thing that goes away is when you have something like a severe misfire that gives you a flashing light - it will stop flashing but you'll definitely still have codes.

 

I have a pretty sophisticated Autel Bidirectional Scanner as well as another cheap brand BOTH won't let me clear the code even with key on and engine not running

 

id be looking that up or reaching out to autel in that case.

 

https://www.bar.ca.gov/industry/pdtc...20scan%20tool.

It sounds like the truck believes the issue still exists.

 

i had one of those two codes (whichever is driver side) off and on for years before replacing my cats, my Xcal4 would clear them no problem at all. Sometimes it came back in a couple of days, sometimes it took a couple of months.

 

Why do you need to clear the Permanent code? Do you have to pass a state emissions test?

With only a Permanent code present and no check engine light there is no reason to clear it aside from a state emissions inspection and even then not all of them require them to be gone.
There is nothing wrong with your trunk and there is nothing to fix.

Just turn off your OCD and let it sit in there. Its not hurtin anyone.

 

The truck will continue to display permanent DTCs until it detects that the condition that set the DTC has been corrected. If the condition has actually been corrected, as far as I know, you have to do some drive cycles that would trigger the computer to run the diagnostic routines that check for the conditions that would trigger those DTCs. From what I recall, P0420 and P0430 codes are cat related. I had a Chevy Cruze that sometimes threw a P0420 code and my code scanner could not clear it either. Those cars were VERY sensitive about cats in a couple ways. One was that it wants OEM cats. Aftermarket cats weren't actually good enough. The other was that the code would be thrown if cat efficiency was even a LITTLE bit low and tailpipe emissions weren't actually bad yet. So, I could reset the code by making sure my cats were VERY hot, to the point where they'd cook off most of what was in there. My car's engine was just starting to have problems back then so a replacement or rebuild was on the horizon. I suspected that the problem was from engine oil so I elected to go the route that I did. Yes, that was only a temporary fix but it got me through a smog check or two. As near as I could figure, getting the cats HOT for a bit temporarily got their efficiency to improve just enough to satisfy the computer that the cats were back within spec.

With the Cruze, if you replaced the cats with an aftermarket unit, the actual tailpipe emissions would actually be reasonably good but the computer would actually detect that the cats weren't as efficient as they "should" be (expecting OEM good) and they'd keep the CEL lit. That's a well known issue for the Gen 1 Cruze (which I had). I had about 140k miles on mine before it died (prematurely) but I suspect it would have only gone another 20k before I would have needed to do significant repairs.

Anyway, I'm nowhere near an expert on these codes... not on the Cruze and not on Ford F150 platform. This is just what my experience with this has shown me.

Hopefully the F150 isn't as picky about cats as the Gen 1 Cruze is. I have to say this again: if the repairs have been made and they're good, you'll have to get the computer to run the routines it needs to verify the fix. Diagnostic tools will help tell you what's going on but they won't clear the permanent DTCs.