A catalytic converter is a vital part of contemporary cars, as it purifies your vehicle’s exhaust fumes and thus fulfills modern pollution specifications. Nevertheless, it is possible that it may turned out to be clogged or malfunction, in which case a change or cleaning is fundamental. In this article we are going to check out how to clean a catalytic converter on Fiat 500? To do this, to begin with, we will show you the circumstances in which it may be interesting to clean the catalytic converter of your Fiat 500, then, how to execute this cleaning to retrieve the overall performance of the catalytic converter of your car.

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Why would you want to clean up the catalytic converter of your Fiat 500?

In this first section we will show you why it may be beneficial to clean the catalyst of your Fiat 500 . Obviously for some of you it may seem obvious but the majority of you do not know how it functions and the results dirty catalytic converter .

Purpose and functioning of the catalytic converter of a Fiat 500

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The catalytic converter of your Fiat 500 has the function to eliminate harmful exhaust fumes related to the procedure of your engine unit. Obviously, it is one of the most important parts that fight against the pollution discharged by your Fiat 500. It will transform these harmful gases into water or nonpolluting fumes. In order to transform these gases, the catalyst of your Fiat 500 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 consequently essential to avoid clogging the catalytic converter of your Fiat 500. If you are thinking of making enough long journeys to heat it up repeatedly (count more than 10 kilometres for the catalyst to reach the right temperature), this will enable you to optimize the life of this part and keep best engine unit efficiency.

Consequences of a dirty or defective catalytic converter on Fiat 500

We will now discover what can be the results of a dirty or failing catalytic converter on Fiat 500 . This will enable you to discover the symptoms that should notify you to a failure of your catalytic converter, here is the list of signs of illness of a defective catalytic converter:

  • The catalytic converter of your Fiat 500 is blocked: As we said above, if you make too short journeys 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 may come on, do not think twice to seek advice from our content page to identify how to switch it off.
  • A defective lambda sensor : The catalyst functions 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 often times also have complications.
  • A metallic noise originating from the exhaust: In the event that the catalyst is dead you should notice this noise which results in that the ceramic is damaged.

Why you should clean the catalytic converter of your Fiat 500

Before we accomplish with the step you are most likely most enthusiastic about, how to clean the catalytic converter of a Fiat 500? We will show you why it may be important for you to execute this cleaning. Obviously, a catalytic converter is a very expensive part (about 500 euros with the installation, the price can differ according to the engines). In addition to being no longer good for passing the technical control , you may 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 repeatedly will save you quite a lot of money.

How do you clean the catalytic converter from its Fiat 500?

Finally here is the stage that you are most certainly most interested in in this guideline, how to clean the catalytic converter of your Fiat 500? Know that this process is very basic, and that there are two approaches to do it:

  • Scrubbing the catalytic converter from your Fiat 500 frequently: This approach is especially practical for persons who specifically do short trips . To do so, nothing could be less complicated, 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 car 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 repeatedly at high rpm . If you can before and afterwards do an exhaust gas analysis to examine that you have recovered healthier exhaust fumes after the procedure. You can execute this procedure every 15 000km.

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If you wish more guides on the Fiat 500, go to our Fiat 500 category.