A catalytic converter is a vital part of recent cars, as it purifies your vehicle’s exhaust fumes and thus suits modern pollution specifications. However, it is possible that it may become clogged or malfunction, in which circumstance a replace or cleaning is necessary. Today we are going to check out how to clean a catalytic converter on Volkswagen Up!? To do this, to begin with, we will describe the scenarios in which it may be interesting to clean the catalytic converter of your Volkswagen Up!, then, how to carry out this cleaning to retrieve the effectiveness of the catalytic converter of your car.
Why would you want to clean up the catalytic converter of your Volkswagen Up!?
In this first section we will show you why it may be important to clean the catalyst of your Volkswagen Up! . In fact for some of you it may seem logical but the majority of you do not know how it functions and the outcomes dirty catalytic converter .
Role and functioning of the catalytic converter of a Volkswagen Up!
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The catalytic converter of your Volkswagen Up! has the task to get rid of harmful exhaust fumes related to the operation of your engine. In fact, it is one of the most important elements that fight against the pollution discharged by your Volkswagen Up!. It will convert these harmful gases into water or non-polluting fumes. In order to convert these gases, the catalyst of your Volkswagen Up! a mesh of precious metals which, when the gases pass at high temperature, will break them down by chemical reaction . A catalytic converter can only work from 400°, it is consequently essential to avoid clogging the catalytic converter of your Volkswagen Up!. If you are thinking of making adequately long travels to heat it up repeatedly (count more than 10 kilometres for the catalyst to reach the right temperature), this will allow you to optimise the life of this part and preserve best engine performance.
Outcomes of a dirty or defective catalytic converter on Volkswagen Up!
We will now discover what can be the outcomes of a dirty or failing catalytic converter on Volkswagen Up! . This will allow you to identify the signs of illness that should notify you to a breakdown of your catalytic converter, here is the list of symptoms of a defective catalytic converter:
- The catalytic converter of your Volkswagen Up! is clogged: As we stated earlier, 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 Volkswagen Up! may come on, do not think twice to consult 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 analyze the air flowing inside it, if it is clogged the sensors will quite often as well have complications.
- A metallic noise caused by the exhaust: In case 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 Volkswagen Up!
Before we accomplish with the step you are likely most enthusiastic about, how to clean the catalytic converter of a Volkswagen Up!? We will show you why it may be relevant for you to execute this cleaning. In fact, a catalytic converter is a very expensive part (about 500 euros with the set up, the price can vary depending to the engines). Furthermore to being no longer good for passing the technical control , you may be at risk of over-consumption of fuel . At last, the last benefit 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 Volkswagen Up!?
Finally here is the step that you are probably most enthusiastic about in this guideline, how to clean the catalytic converter of your Volkswagen Up!? Know that this process is very basic, and that there are two techniques to do it:
- Scrubbing the catalytic converter from your Volkswagen Up! on a regular basis: This strategy is especially valuable for people who mainly do short trips . To do this, 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 verify that you have recovered healthier exhaust fumes after the process. You can execute this process every 15 000km.
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In the event that you have any additional questions about the Volkswagen Up!, do not hesitate to consult our Volkswagen Up! category.
