If you can smell burning sulfur in your car, truck, or utility vehicle’s exhaust, it’s possible that the catalytic converter has gone bad. If you drive an automobile that is 10 years old or older, a decade is about all you will get out of the catalytic converter. Fairfax Auto Repair advises that you bring your vehicle to our shop as soon as possible if you smell rotten eggs in the exhaust. The catalytic converter may be clogged or malfunctioning and this directly affects your emissions levels.
Check Engine Warning
Another sign that your catalytic converter is having problems is a check engine warning. The check engine light will turn on because other system sensors report problems. For example, if your emissions are not being treated, the oxygen sensor may report high levels of oxygen in the vehicle’s exhaust.
Sluggish Engine Performance
A faulty catalytic converter can also affect your engine performance if it is clogged. A clogged catalytic converter pushes the exhaust back into the combustion chamber rather than allowing it to flow through the exhaust system. As the chamber fills with exhaust, fresh air and fuel cannot be ignited. When this happens, your vehicle’s acceleration and engine performance will suffer.
Poor Fuel Economy
Naturally, as the engine struggles to run, it will burn through more gasoline or diesel fuel. As a consequence, a side effect of a malfunctioning catalytic converter can be poor fuel economy. You will find that you need to fill the tank more often in order to keep your vehicle running. This can get frustrating in today’s economy with gas prices being as high as they are.
Flowing Dark Exhaust
Your catalytic converter may also produce dark exhaust out of the tailpipe if it is not treating the exhaust the way it needs to be. Again, the catalytic converter will give you problems if you drive an older automobile. This being said, you may also end up with dark exhaust smoke if the oxygen sensor has malfunctioned and indirectly affected the catalytic converter by pushing too many hydrocarbons through it.
Overheating Engine
Finally, your engine may overheat frequently if the catalytic converter is going bad because the catalytic converter is overheating underneath your automobile. As you know, heat rises. Unfortunately, the excess heat being generated by the catalytic converter will find its way into your engine.
Fairfax Auto Repair is the best auto service shop in Fairfax, VA, so give us a call today to schedule a service appointment for your automobile if you suspect that the catalytic converter is going bad.
