Should my Cat smell part 2 ... votes
 

So many different opinions..

Should I be able to smell the Cat on my exhuast after a blast every now and then??

Very strong smell !!

Yes you should. An eggy or cabbagey smell is quite common.

No u shouldnt at all, its failing to do its job.

get a emisions report, anything over 65hc means theres a missfire and its why the cat is smelling,,,,, its really that simple !!!!

it should not smell, its either blocked of worn out, either way theres a issue as the cat converts the fumes into a noble gas,,,,,, and that smell aint a noble gas !!!

When you say you smell your cat, where are you when you smell it? Are you on your hands and knees with your nose up the exhaust or are you in your house and you can smell it?

lamest cat joke ever!

huh?

What? you weren't trying to make a joke? oh even worse then :lol1:

As I understand it it could be a faulty cat or a faulty sensor or even just running way to rich. Any of them can cause the smell.
Give it a long hot run to see if it clears it out.

rbaz, the run is if the cat is blocked but tbh its generally dead anyway once your at that time,,,,, a little like turning off the engine once it starts knocking its arse off then start it up the next day,,,,,, still knocking aint it

4 - 4 you having a laugh ...

listen to what you are being told !!!

get the emissions checked then decide !!!

i do warranty work on cats,,, 90% of the time the emissions is wrong,,, garages fit another cat and dont fix the issue,,,, this kills the new cat and people think the aftermarket ones are ****e....... get the emmisions checked !!!

Problem is ginge ure a woman right? He's probably one of these guys who ignores any advice from a woman :)

what !!

im a bloke with a wife and 5 year old daughter

oh :lol1: always thought u were a bird hah

nope im a old git, do i moan that much pmsl

I could of sworn I saw a post where u were moaning about a sexist remark towards women, obviously a different Ginge, anyway going OT :)

Yes and no!

On start up especially on a cold day (and we have had a few recently) before the cat has reached operating temperature the car will be running rich so you can easily have the eggy smell with no problems. If it is doing it when the engine is hot then it could be anything that causes it to run rich such as dirty spark plugs, or getting a bit clogged up, have you done a lot of short or slow journeys recently? Or is it due for a service?

some info on cats
Catalytic Converter

cars dont run "rich" when cold,,, they run richer but the cold map still needs to be legal, anyway a cat dont actually work till 400 degrees so when its cold it aint gonna work !!!

theres alot of wrong info on the net,,, thats a classic example

short journeys also wont cause a cat issues,,,,, a long journey will clear it out but it will still smell towards the end

i had a bloke ask for " cat cleaner" at work,said you pour it in the fuel and it fixes the cat so you dont have to change it......told him it wont work but he wouldnt have it saying i need to learn my job

its people like this who dont understand that cause the issues

Listen to what I'm being told ... I'm being told two different things .. I don't have the time or money to "get things checked" unless it is really necessary !

Thanks for replying though :D

I think it's a valid question to ask where about he is when he smells his cat-convertor. If he's under the car at the time I would say not to worry about it. If the car reeks of the stuff and he can smell it at distance from the car then I'd tell him to worry about it and get the fueling checked.

I was in the car all three times..

Set the a/c to recirc, problem sorted. :p

Seriously, if you "think" its that much of an issue to start a poll; take it up a garage!! Stick it on a gas analyser (with a hot engine), and get the readings for natural idle and fast idle.

As Ginge says, pay close attention to the HC (basically, unburnt fuel), ideally watch the HC level whilst doing the test; at fixed revs, it should stabilse in about 30seconds, and not flucutate once its settled. Same with fast idle, should take 30seconds then settle to a nice low figure.

If its fluctuating, or high then something isn't right - and thats where the real fun begins, as I could list over 100 possible causes :lol1:

Yes because making a thread is the same as spending £25 I dont have spare on testing the car ...