Exhaust smells of strong petrol.

19th May 2011, 20:42

As title really...

Really strong smell comming from it. Its a powerflow exhaust with decat.

Any suggestions?

Cheers

19th May 2011, 20:51

Generally a car with a decat will smell pretty strongly of petrol as theres nothing in the way to "filter" it anymore if you get me?

19th May 2011, 20:52

maybe it could be overfuelling has it only just started smelling or have you only just put the exhaust on

19th May 2011, 20:52

Yea i get you. I did think that but a friend told me it shouldnt be.

Thought id ask the question though just to be sure.

Cheers

19th May 2011, 20:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by carlsmith715

maybe it could be overfuelling has it only just started smelling or have you only just put the exhaust on

Pretty sure the exhaust is comming up couple years now, cant remember if it was like it when it first was on but definently did the same thing this time last year.

19th May 2011, 20:56

No problem mate, thats what the sites for!

19th May 2011, 21:01

Would i notice any decrease in performance or sounds differences with the cat back on? Kinda like the noise

just without the smell lol

20th May 2011, 11:28

Reset the ecu and see if it helps. Mine was like that just after fitting a full new exhaust system. has it ever been reset while exhausts been on?

20th May 2011, 13:10

Thats how cars were/smelt before cat convertors were fitted but if even then they would not smell of petrol unless overfueling or the carb choke was on. Used to be able to tell how the car was running (roughly I admit) from the smell of the exhaust!
If it is bothering you though there is always an option of a sports cat but i believe these are quite costly unfortunately.

20th May 2011, 17:52

Its how my mini exhaust smells...i personally quite like it haha

20th May 2011, 17:57

As said - Reset the ECU (Unplug negative from battery for 30mins)

Do you have any engine management lights on? Could be a faulty lambda giving the engine a false reading..

Any lack in performance at all?

They do smell a bit, my decat smells a bit of petrol but wouldn't say its overly noticeably? With the cat back on, you'll stop the popping and banging that the exhaust does at the minute, will also be a bit less grumbly.

20th May 2011, 22:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by MunkyBoy

As said - Reset the ECU (Unplug negative from battery for 30mins)

Do you have any engine management lights on? Could be a faulty lambda giving the engine a false reading..

Any lack in performance at all?

They do smell a bit, my decat smells a bit of petrol but wouldn't say its overly noticeably? With the cat back on, you'll stop the popping and banging that the exhaust does at the minute, will also be a bit less grumbly.

Yes i do have engine management light on, to be honest its a right pain in the arse so yea could be the sensor. Would i need to replace the lambda sensor or is it something i can fix?

I had citroen look at it last year and they said it could be something to do with the injectors? They reset the ECU and it stopped for a bit but didnt really think it would have anything to do with the petrol smell.

Thanks for the reply.

20th May 2011, 22:22

why are you sniffing your exhaust?

21st May 2011, 14:40

Depends on the car and where the lambda is. My engine management light is off with my decat, but I know other people's who are on due to the decat.

On my last car, I ran with a faulty lambda for a while, it drank petrol and overfueled, is yours doing this?

Best thing is get someone close to you with a ODB reader and read the fault code from the engine, then can look at the problems that way. Alternatively, you can buy them off eBay for £10, and do it yourself!

21st May 2011, 14:53

And at the end of the day powerflow exhausts are made quite poorly, i remember i had one similar it had no back pressure due to centre pipe diameter too large, it stank of petrol also but a faulty lambda or decat wont help either.

21st May 2011, 17:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by MunkyBoy

Depends on the car and where the lambda is. My engine management light is off with my decat, but I know other people's who are on due to the decat.

On my last car, I ran with a faulty lambda for a while, it drank petrol and overfueled, is yours doing this?

Best thing is get someone close to you with a ODB reader and read the fault code from the engine, then can look at the problems that way. Alternatively, you can buy them off eBay for £10, and do it yourself!

Tried unhooking the negative on the battery to reset the ECU... and no luck with that either. Its strange as it comes on now and then, like yesterday it didnt come on atall yet its was on most of today.

I could buy one of those ODB reader - could you point one out for me? There all pretty much from china or USA, so many on there, cheers

Quote:

Originally Posted by Krys_23

And at the end of the day powerflow exhausts are made quite poorly, i remember i had one similar it had no back pressure due to centre pipe diameter too large, it stank of petrol also but a faulty lambda or decat wont help either.

Where is the lambda sensor located on the MK1's?

21st May 2011, 17:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by machevelli7777

Tried unhooking the negative on the battery to reset the ECU... and no luck with that either. Its strange as it comes on now and then, like yesterday it didnt come on atall yet its was on most of today.

I could buy one of those ODB reader - could you point one out for me? There all pretty much from china or USA, so many on there, cheers

Where is the lambda sensor located on the MK1's?

PM Bikekid450 on here, I know he bought one a while ago and has helped a few people out - he should be able to advise which one to get.

My lambda on my MK1 VTS is in the manifold, you'll see it quite easily. Get under the car and just have a look.

Your best bet is getting the engine light checked, and see what error it is reporting. Otherwise you've got a million things it could be.

21st May 2011, 19:18

My feeling is that the decat has happened there is likely no lambda connected hence the strong smell of petrol and eml light on the dash.

22nd May 2011, 09:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by MunkyBoy

PM Bikekid450 on here, I know he bought one a while ago and has helped a few people out - he should be able to advise which one to get.

My lambda on my MK1 VTS is in the manifold, you'll see it quite easily. Get under the car and just have a look.

Your best bet is getting the engine light checked, and see what error it is reporting. Otherwise you've got a million things it could be.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Krys_23

My feeling is that the decat has happened there is likely no lambda connected hence the strong smell of petrol and eml light on the dash.

Ok thanks for the advice guys

22nd May 2011, 11:55

When you fit a De-Cat the engine light is likely to come on anyway, because the CAT is no longer there, the ECU things the CAT is fucked, so it throws the light on.

I had to turn my light off a few times. Also, as said above because the CAT is no longer there you will get a lot more smells from the Exhaust, mine often smalls of neat petrol, Then again mine over fuels like no tomorrow haha.

You can buy a new Lambda Sensor from eBay and this may fix your problem. (Please make sure the link I added is the right one for your car! It'll either be heated or non-heated.)

Although you'll need to have the light turned off, if you was close I'd have done it for you haha.

I wouldn't worry about it though, I think it's because of the De-Cat the light has come on, and you just noticed the smells

22nd May 2011, 13:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bikekid450

When you fit a De-Cat the engine light is likely to come on anyway, because the CAT is no longer there, the ECU things the CAT is fucked, so it throws the light on.

I had to turn my light off a few times. Also, as said above because the CAT is no longer there you will get a lot more smells from the Exhaust, mine often smalls of neat petrol, Then again mine over fuels like no tomorrow haha.

You can buy a new Lambda Sensor from eBay and this may fix your problem. (Please make sure the link I added is the right one for your car! It'll either be heated or non-heated.)

Although you'll need to have the light turned off, if you was close I'd have done it for you haha.

I wouldn't worry about it though, I think it's because of the De-Cat the light has come on, and you just noticed the smells

Ok thanks buddy, would you know where the lambda sensor is located?

22nd May 2011, 13:14

On your Exhaust Manifold, it'll look like this.

22nd May 2011, 14:33

Thanks for the pic mate, but what I'm seeing now is, the fumes go through the manifold out through the exhaust. My question is how would the sensor know wether you have a cat or not? If the sensor was on after the decat then I would understand why the lights comming on as the fumes are different if that makes sense.

Cheers

22nd May 2011, 17:42

MK1's have only one sensor, the CO2 in the gas should be at a level, the ECU knows what level it is, when the CO2 levels get too high the light comes on telling you the CAT is now dead.

MK2's have one before the CAT and one after and they work together.

22nd May 2011, 20:17

I just thought if the CO2 in the gas hits the sensor wether it has a cat or not its still will sense the same levels of CO2. If the sensor was after the cat then i could understand how the ECU is bringing the light on. Or am i missing something?