5 Common Engine Running Rich Symptoms

In the combustion process fuel mixture refers to the ratio of the fuel and Air, when this mixture has too much fuel as compared to the Air it means that the vehicle is running rich. However when your vehicle has too much air and doesn’t enough fuel then it is considered as vehicle running lean. The main computer of the vehicle gets information from the oxygen sensor, airflow sensor, and emission sensor, and maintains the ratio of the fuel and air. If your vehicle has a mixture with rich fuel then there are specific signs you will observe.

Top 5 Symptoms of an Engine Running Rich:

1 Check Engine Light On:

When the engine light on, use the auto diagnostic tool to scan the vehicle trouble code then it will show P0172, it means that the exhaust gases produced due to the combustion have a high quantity of gasoline. The engine control unit uses many components to maintain the ratio of the air-fuel ratio including mass airflow sensors, oxygen sensors. These sensors give a signal to the main ECU that there is a problem then it turns on the engine light on the infotainment system.

2 Smell:

The main symptom of the engine running too rich is that you may smell the intense smell of rotten egg or smell of fuel from the exhaust. It happens because gasoline doesn’t burn properly in the combustion chamber, catalytic converter burns extra fumes but if the mixture is too rich then even the catalytic converter failed to burn extra fuel in exhaust gases.

3 Bad Fuel Efficiency:

If you notice a decrease in mileage, it could be a sign that the engine is running rich. It means that your vehicle is burning more fuel than the requirement of the vehicle to run normally. Condition of Weather also affects the ratio of air-fuel mixture like in cold weather temperature of the atmosphere decreases and engine run bit richer as compared to the summer season which is a normal thing mileage of vehicle get reduced in winter.

4 Poor Engine Performance:

Power of engine produced from the compression of gasses produced as a result of the burning of fuel with the help of the spark. Without these requirements, the engine failed to produce power which takes the load of the vehicle. So weak power generation of the engine means that there are some sorts of issues in the combustion chamber.

5 High Carbon Monoxide Emissions:

The exhaust normally expels a certain volume of carbon monoxide, but if the engine of the vehicle is running too rich then the vehicle fails to pass emission test. In addition, too much carbon monoxide expelled which is a serious issue because it is very harmful to your health.