A catalytic converter is a vital component of recent cars, as it purifies your vehicle’s exhaust fumes and thus suits modern pollution specifications. Nevertheless, it is possible that it may become clogged or malfunction, in which case a replace or cleaning is necessary. In this article we are going to look at how to clean a catalytic converter on Fiat 500 L? To get this done, to begin with, we will describe the situations in which it might be interesting to clean the catalytic converter of your Fiat 500 L, then, how to perform this cleaning to retrieve the efficiency of the catalytic converter of your car.
Why would you want to clean up the catalytic converter of your Fiat 500 L?
In this first section we will describe why it might be valuable to clean the catalyst of your Fiat 500 L . In actual fact for some of you it may seem obvious but most of you do not understand how it works and the consequences dirty catalytic converter .
Function and functioning of the catalytic converter of a Fiat 500 L
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The catalytic converter of your Fiat 500 L has the task to eliminate harmful exhaust fumes associated with the process of your engine. In actual fact, it is one of the main parts that fight against the pollution discharged by your Fiat 500 L. It will transform these harmful gases into water or non-polluting fumes. In order to transform these gases, the catalyst of your Fiat 500 L a mesh of precious metals which, when the gases pass at high temperature, will break them down by chemical reaction . A catalytic converter can just work from 400°, it is therefore essential to avoid clogging the catalytic converter of your Fiat 500 L. If you are thinking of making adequately long travels to heat it up frequently (count more than 10 kilometres for the catalyst to reach the right temperature), this will allow you to optimize the life of this element and keep best engine efficiency.
Outcomes of a dirty or defective catalytic converter on Fiat 500 L
We will now discover what can be the consequences of a dirty or failing catalytic converter on Fiat 500 L . This will allow you to distinguish the symptoms that should notify you to a breakdown of your catalytic converter, here is the list of signs of illness of a defective catalytic converter:
- The catalytic converter of your Fiat 500 L is blocked: As we stated above, if you make too short travels like 50% of people, it will not have the time to start functioning and the catalytic converter will clog up with exhaust fumes.
- Switching on the engine light: : Following a clogged catalytic converter, engine light of your Fiat 500 L may come on, do not hesitate to seek advice from our article to find out how to switch it off.
- A defective lambda sensor : The catalyst works in close connection with the lambda sensors downstream and upstream of it, they will review the air flowing inside it, if it is clogged the sensors will generally also have complications.
- A metallic noise originating from the exhaust: In the event that the catalyst is dead you should hear this noise which results in that the ceramic is damaged.
Why you should clean the catalytic converter of your Fiat 500 L
Before we accomplish with the step you are almost certainly most interested in, how to clean the catalytic converter of a Fiat 500 L? We will describe why it might be relevant for you to conduct this cleaning. In actual fact, a catalytic converter is a very expensive component (about 500 euros with the installation, the price can vary depending to the engines). In addition to being no longer good for passing the technical control , you might be at risk of over-consumption of fuel . Finally, the last interest is that cleaning a catalytic converter is not that expensive and doing it frequently will save you a lot of money.
How do you clean the catalytic converter from its Fiat 500 L?
Finally here is the step that you are likely most interested in in this article, how to clean the catalytic converter of your Fiat 500 L? Know that this procedure is very basic, and that there are two techniques to do it:
- Scrubbing the catalytic converter from your Fiat 500 L regularly: This strategy is specifically valuable for persons who principally do short trips . To do this, nothing could be easier, from time to time, make a long trip (about 30 minutes to optimize the efficiency of the process), thinking of making your engine go up in revs so that the temperature in the catalyst increases and it can be cleaned.
- To use a catalyst cleaner: You can find some in a motor vehicle center for about 20 euros. All you have to do is add it to your fuel directly in your tank with about half a full tank. Afterwards you will have to drive on a long distance for at least 1 hour at mid-range by trying to go frequently at high rpm . If you can before and afterwards do an exhaust gas analysis to check that you have recovered healthier exhaust fumes after the process. You can conduct this process every 15 000km.
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To find more tips on the Fiat 500 L, take a look at the Fiat 500 L category.
