Jul 5, 2019
If you’re getting into your car and having to cover your nose due to the smell of rotten eggs, take it as a sign that your car’s catalytic converter is starting to fail. Many people don’t know what to look out for when their catalytic converter breaks, so we are here to give you some tips!
Firstly, a catalytic converter is a component of your car that works to reduce your vehicle’s emissions and pollution and is installed in the exhaust system. The converter is filled with a chemical catalyst that is usually a platinum and palladium mixture. This helps to convert the vehicle’s emissions into non-harmful gasses. There are 5 symptoms that will alert you that a replacement is needed.
If you notice a rattling noise coming from under the vehicle, this is a symptom of a bad or failing converter. If the catalytic converter is old or becomes damaged internally from rich fuel mixtures, the catalyst coated honeycomb on the inside of the converter will collapse or break apart, which results in the rattling noise. This will be more obvious when starting the vehicle.
Exhaust can become trapped in the front of the catalytic converter which will result in a latent reduction in your car’s performance. This is a result of back pressure which will affect the running of the engine and stops it from breathing. With a sudden increase in back pressure, you may notice your engine stalling while you’re driving. The car will jerk, or it will feel like there is no fuel reaching the engine when you push the accelerator.
During engine combustion, sulphur containing gasoline becomes hydrogen sulphide. When your catalytic converter is in full working order, it will convert the hydrogen sulphide into odourless sulphur dioxide. If your catalytic converter is failing, this is what the rotten egg smell is that is coming from your exhaust.
If your catalytic converter is bad or failing, you may see the ‘Check Engine Light’ appear on your dashboard. If the computer in your car detects that there is something wrong with your catalytic converter, it will set off the check engine light to alert you of the problem.
If the chemical mechanisms inside the catalytic converter are contaminated by oil or coolant, this can prevent it from performing correctly. There will be a raised level of carbon emissions coming from your exhaust if that’s the case. This means you need to replace the failing converter and fix the source of the problem before it emits an illegal amount of emissions or does damage to the entire exhaust system.
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms and need to find someone to fix your catalytic converter, enter your reg number with us today and we will gather quotes from garages in your local area!
