Does your car smell like rotten eggs!

If you haven't had boiled eggs for lunch in your car lately, then the smell of rotten eggs could be caused by the burning of sulfur found in gasoline. Some gasoline contains sulfur leftover after refining process.

In a normal engine most gasoline gets burned off, but not completely. There is always a tiny amount of unburned fuel remaining after the combustion cycle. Any remaining fuel should get burned off by the catalytic converter.

The catalytic converter is a part of the exhaust system. It is usually mounted close to the engine. Its sole purpose is to burn off any remaining gasoline to reduce pollution. It burns any remaining fuel by a chemical change called thermal reaction.

Catalytic Converter

Catalytic Converter Mounting

When gasoline contains high amount of sulfur, rotten eggs smell could be the effect of the chemical reaction of the catalytic converter. The chemical reaction causes sulfur to oxidize. Sulfur dioxide smells really bad.

Here are simple items to try:

• Switch gasoline stations or brands.
• Try higher octane gasoline.
• Replace your air filter.
• Have your ignition system tuned up.
• Have the catalytic converter inspected.