Have you ever experienced unpleasant strong sulfur- or rotten egg-like smell when driving? In most cases, this issue results from a faulty exhaust system. The exhaust system's catalytic converter converts hydrogen sulfide into odorless sulfur dioxide. However, when your vehicle's exhaust or fuel system breaks down or one of its components, it can inhibit the conversion process, thus producing a rotten egg-like smell.
With that said, here are the three common reasons your automobile smells like rotten eggs.
Worn Out Fuel Filter or Failing Fuel Pressure Sensor
The work of a fuel pressure sensor is regulating the use of fuel in an automobile. Therefore, when the fuel pressure regulator fails, there tends to be much clogging in the catalytic convertor with excess oil. This phenomenon prevents it from processing exhaust byproducts completely, thus exiting your car via the tailpipe and generating a rotten egg-like smell. These byproducts can also accumulate in excess within the catalytic converter, causing it to overheat and contributing to the odor—a worn-out fuel filter results in similar problems that a bad fuel pressure sensor causes.
Broken Catalytic Converter
A failing or broken catalytic convertor is the primary cause of a rotten egg-like odor in your car. The central role of the catalytic converter is to convert hydrogen sulfide trace amounts to odorless sulfur dioxide from gasoline. A catalytic converter typically reduces harmful emissions by converting hydrogen sulfide and other exhaust gases to harmless gases. But when broken or malfunctioning, it cannot correctly process these sulfur gases, causing your vehicle to generate a rotten egg-like smell.
Old Transmission Fluid
Leaking of fluid into other systems due to too many missed transmission flushes often leads to a rotten egg-like smell. Usually, you can solve the old transmission fluid problem by changing the transmission fluid as your car's manufacturer suggests. However, this solution only applies to manual vehicles.
Final Word
If your car smells like rotten eggs, the perfect solution is to replace the defective part producing the odor. It could be your fuel pressure regulator, old transmission fluid, fuel filter, or catalytic converter. The smell should immediately disappear upon replacement of the right parts. If you need catalytic converter repair, call German Motorworks today!