The catalytic converter can make your car, truck, or utility vehicle’s engine overheat if it overheats itself. The converter is located underneath your automobile. It lasts about 10 years. When the catalytic converter goes bad, it can begin to generate excess heat under your car. When this happens, the heat rises into the engine and overheats the engine. Getz Automotive advises that this is only one sign that your catalytic converter is going bad. We are going to list the other signs below and recommend you have your catalytic converter replaced as soon as possible.
Performance Lag
The catalytic converter is the first stop for your vehicle’s exhaust before it is routed out of the engine. The converter treats the exhaust to make sure it is no longer harmful to the environment when it flows out of the tailpipe. If the catalytic converter gets clogged, which is the most common problem, your engine’s exhaust will remain in the combustion chamber rather than being routed out of the engine.
This can cause problems with your engine’s performance, including acceleration and performance lag. In other words, your engine will struggle to produce combustion to keep the engine running. When this struggle happens, your vehicle will not pick up speed quickly when you press down on the accelerator and the engine will sputter and hiccup as you drive along.
Dark Engine Exhaust
Another sign that your catalytic converter is going bad is dark exhaust flowing out of the tailpipe. The exhaust in the combustion chamber can cause an imbalance between the fuel and air. If there is too much fuel, the engine will burn the excess fuel away and release black exhaust. The dark exhaust color is also an indication that the exhaust has not been treated properly before being released out of the tailpipe. This can affect your vehicle’s emissions levels, and your automobile may fail any emissions test that it takes until you replace the catalytic converter.
Sulfur Odors
Finally, aside from the dark color of the exhaust you may also smell rotten eggs in the exhaust. It’s never a good idea to smell your exhaust purposely, but if you detect the unpleasant odor, this is an indication that your catalytic converter is malfunctioning. The odor that you are actually smelling is burning sulfur; it just smells like rotten eggs.
Call Getz Automotive in Fuquay-Varina, NC, today if you can smell rotten eggs or have any of the other problems listed above.
