1985 Dodge B250 v8 318 Running Rich, Catalytic Converter glows red
#1
04-05-2017, 05:37 PM
Join Date: May 2015
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1985 Dodge B250 v8 318 Running Rich, Catalytic Converter glows red
Good afternoon,
So during our one year restoration project on our 1985 Dodge B250 Van, we never had issues with the Catalytic converter glowing red. It wasn't until we replaced many parts (most by the mechanic) that this started to happen where the vehicle runs rich.
It's hard for me to diagnose it since we replaced so many parts at one given time. Here's a list of parts we replaced.
Spark Plugs
Spark Plug Wires
Distributor Cap
Catalytic Converter
Magnaflow Muffler
O2 Oxygen Sensor
New 2BBL Carburetor (not sure what brand my mechanic gave us)
*The first sign of cat glowing and engine huffing and puffing after turning it off was when I added Free-on to the vehicle, not sure if this is was just coincidence but I did notice that when the AC is on after a long 2 hr drive, the engine idle will go up once I put the car in Park.
After these replacements, the car used to stall a lot and the cat would glow red to the point the honeycomb inside would melt and break causing a clog in the exhaust system. The stalling stopped when my mechanic adjusted the idle speed.
The car also had a hard time starting before but now that's fixed after replacing the Carb again.
Today, what continues to occur even though the van doesn't stall anymore is that the Catalytic Converter glows towards the end of the cat (the last 30%).
My mechanic believes it could be misfiring. I also do notice that there is always a fuel smell coming from the exhaust.
The vehicle has the original 139,000 miles since 1985 and we were able to drive it out 3 hours out from the LA City area with no issues, other than the red cat glowing! I am scared the Cat would overheat again.
Any direction would be great! I will attach a pic of the glowing.
Thanks,
Joseph
So during our one year restoration project on our 1985 Dodge B250 Van, we never had issues with the Catalytic converter glowing red. It wasn't until we replaced many parts (most by the mechanic) that this started to happen where the vehicle runs rich.
It's hard for me to diagnose it since we replaced so many parts at one given time. Here's a list of parts we replaced.
Spark Plugs
Spark Plug Wires
Distributor Cap
Catalytic Converter
Magnaflow Muffler
O2 Oxygen Sensor
New 2BBL Carburetor (not sure what brand my mechanic gave us)
*The first sign of cat glowing and engine huffing and puffing after turning it off was when I added Free-on to the vehicle, not sure if this is was just coincidence but I did notice that when the AC is on after a long 2 hr drive, the engine idle will go up once I put the car in Park.
After these replacements, the car used to stall a lot and the cat would glow red to the point the honeycomb inside would melt and break causing a clog in the exhaust system. The stalling stopped when my mechanic adjusted the idle speed.
The car also had a hard time starting before but now that's fixed after replacing the Carb again.
Today, what continues to occur even though the van doesn't stall anymore is that the Catalytic Converter glows towards the end of the cat (the last 30%).
My mechanic believes it could be misfiring. I also do notice that there is always a fuel smell coming from the exhaust.
The vehicle has the original 139,000 miles since 1985 and we were able to drive it out 3 hours out from the LA City area with no issues, other than the red cat glowing! I am scared the Cat would overheat again.
Any direction would be great! I will attach a pic of the glowing.
Thanks,
Joseph
#2
04-06-2017, 06:43 PM
What a understatement when you say running rich, be very careful and check your exhaust manifolds to see if they are glowing as well. You are probably aware vans have pretty high engine compartment temps in normal operation and I think you at risk of having a engine compartment fire.
It does seem as though you have a miss fire of some sort, I would think the miss fire would be very noticeable because you have quite a bit of fuel in the exhaust.Your replacement carburetor may be suspect, if you still have the original maybe try reinstalling it and see if it makes any difference.
It does seem as though you have a miss fire of some sort, I would think the miss fire would be very noticeable because you have quite a bit of fuel in the exhaust.Your replacement carburetor may be suspect, if you still have the original maybe try reinstalling it and see if it makes any difference.