As soon as you arrive at your destination, make sure that the air-fuel mixture has
been checked with a code scanner and that both front and rear oxygen sensors are
working as intended.
Next, inspect the exhaust system. If white, black, or blue smoke appears from its
exhaust port(s), an inspection should take place immediately.
Cylinder Malfunction
Your car’s engine relies on its cylinders to generate power when gasoline burns, so
any malfunction in one could lead to high levels of unburnt fuel and carbon
monoxide production resulting in malfunction of its catalytic converter, leading to
engine misfire or other performance issues.
Engine codes like P0420 occur when your car’s oxygen or air/fuel ratio sensors
detect that its catalytic converter has failed to fulfill its duties. These sensors
monitor oxygen levels both before and after the converter to ensure its
effectiveness.
The exhaust system is designed to alternately store and release oxygen. However,
as soon as a catalytic converter wears out it may cease doing this correctly and
cause lean conditions which will trigger emissions tests and eventually trigger the
check engine light. Signs of such problems include unusual vibrations while idling
and an aroma of fuel coming through the exhaust pipe.
Cylinder Misfire
Cylinder misfire occurs when one or more cylinders of an engine fail to ignite their
fuel/air mixture, for any number of reasons, but most commonly is that the ignition
coil has become worn-out and must be replaced as soon as possible.
Misfire can lead to engine power loss and will most likely activate a check engine
light. Furthermore, misfiring wastes gas and damages the catalytic converter‘s
effectiveness making it less effective overall.
As soon as you detect an Error Code P0305, it is critical that it is diagnosed promptly
in order to protect core engine components from further deterioration and misfires
causing difficulties with driving control of your vehicle. Furthermore, delaying
diagnosis increases your odds of permanent engine damage over time.
Cylinder Balance Issue
Clogged converters produce less oxygen in the exhaust stream, altering the signal
sent from the downstream oxygen sensor back to the engine computer and
prompting it to register a fault code and illuminate its check engine light. While this
does not necessarily indicate converter damage or defect, you should investigate
further to pinpoint its source.
Faulty oxygen sensors are another frequent cause of cylinder balance issues, as the
engine computer uses data from upstream and downstream oxygen sensors to
adjust stochiometric ratio. If an oxygen sensor fails, its signal could send to the
computer sending lean codes to memory. Misfiring can also trigger lean codes in
memory; so inspect fuel injectors for corrosion or signs of water entry that can
reduce their function and power output to ensure optimal performance.
Catalytic Converter
Catalytic converters may appear complex at first glance, but in reality it is simply a
metal box filled with honeycomb-shaped ceramic interior lined with rare metals such
as palladium, rhodium and platinum that coat its surfaces to convert harmful gases
such as carbon dioxide and water into less harmful ones.
This device uses two oxygen sensors: one is located upstream for adjusting air/fuel
mixture and another downstream that measures temperature of exhaust gas
emissions. Should either of these sensors malfunction, catalytic converter will no
longer perform optimally.
When this occurs, the computer will display code P0420. A failing catalytic converter
not only causes drivability issues but can also lead to overheating and wear-and-tear
on other engine parts – so it’s essential that this issue be resolved immediately using
a diagnostic scanner such as FIXD in order to ascertain its source and rectify it
accordingly.