Fiat X250 Bad eggs smell

[bobalobs]

We have been suffering from a bad egg smell often but not always after running for five to ten minutes and then disappears after a similar period.

I suspected a faulty cell in the battery but the experts say they are fine and the alternator is not overcharging. We do not have aircon and it is not coming from the grey or black tanks.

Current thinking it may be from too rich a fuel mixture caused by a faulty sensor in the exhaust system if such things exist.

Any thoughts or similar experiences and the costs involved . Should a competent non franchise garage be able to diagnose and repair?

Many thanks for any help you may be able to give . I should say it is a Fiat X250 120bhp with 45K on the clock and that it has just been to Spain and back so it is not clogged up through lack of use.

[aandncaravan]

I would suggest that a bad egg smell from a Diesel exhaust with the fumes then getting back into the vehicle would be very unusual.

 

I would put my money on the Starter or habitation area battery. I assume you have put the 'plugs in the sink/shower' to block fumes from that source just in case?

 

Where is the habitation battery, is it inside the vehicle and does it have vent pipes that have maybe become detached?

Can you give more info about the battery set-up, maybe photos as well?

 

 

 

Strongly suggest you don't have naked flames inside the vehicle until you get this resolved?

 

 

 

[PJay]

Hi Bob

Don't know where you live in Hants. But we have always taken our van to ADAMS MORLEY. in Burrfields road Portsmouth They now do a lot of MH work. We have been going for 10 years, and they are always helpful. They are FIAT commercial , so deal with all kinds of problems. Do you get it serviced regularly?

 

PJay

[Billggski]

Bad egg smell is usually sewage. Check your toilet seal?

(You also may want to check the vehicle battery as well as the habitation one)

[bobalobs]

Thanks for the rapid response.

The two habitation batteries are Varta LFD90 and have been replaced since the smell started about three months ago. The starter battery is the original of about eight years but when checked in France at the equivalent of Kwikfit it read 86 percent performance and the technician said hewould sell me a battery if I insisted but there is nothing wrong with it. The battery is in a compartment under the floor in the passenger footwell and he said he would expect a residue smell of bad eggs in that compartment if that was the source of the problem. Made sense to me.

Similar lack of smell around the habitation batteries.

I am sure it is not from the grey or black tanks and surely that would be a constant smell and not just ten minutes or so after starting.

I have never used Adams Morley but heard good reports of them and if I am forced to pay franchised dealer prices I may give them a go though we are in North Hampshire.

Any further thoughts?

[spospe]

I have had bad eggs smell in the past when driving petrol cars fitted with a catalytic converter I do not know if the same phenomena would apply to a diesel vehicle, but the symptoms could well indicate an exhaust problem which goes when the system gets properly hot.

[Guest Yorkshire Pudding]

Hi,

If you have ruled out exhaust gasses and battery, then it could be sometching quite simple.

 

Eggy smells are usually hydrogen sulphide. This comes sometimes from gasses released by stagnant water containing bacteria or dead matter.

 

You could check for things such as air conditioning condenser for bacterial growth or accumulation of dead leaves, or even daft as it sounds, washer bottle fluid may have gone stagnant in all this heat and little use.

Check pollen filters etc.

 

I hope this helps.

 

 

[aandy]

I've noticed something similar, also with an X250 and only with the driver's side window open. I initially suspected the Thetford cassette, as it is a sulphur like smell, but discounted that on the basis that the cassette is at the rear of the van and sealed and that the smell occurs even when the cassette is empty. I ruled out the grey water tank on similar grounds, as well as the fact that the smell only occurs for the first half hour or so after starting from cold. I hadn't considered the batteries as a possibility, but the fact that it happens only when the window is open would suggest it's not that. My guess would be that it is something to do with the DPF.

[John52]

My only recollection of such a smell was from sinks that people have p*ssed in.

Urine sinks into the limescale on the inside of the wastepipes and nothing - even bleach - will shift it, short of replacing or mechanically cleaning the wastepipes.

Well you did ask..

[Guest pelmetman]

Stick the plugs in then go for a drive ;-) .........

 

Ours whiffs after a few minutes driving, usually after its been parked up for a while, if we're touring then it's not an issue, as the tanks being flushed through regular so the stinky bacteria gets washed daily :D ........

 

 

[yeti]

I am more inclined to think it is from the waste water tank,try chucking some disinfectant,such as Zoflora down the plug holes and then some water>

[tonyishuk]

Bad filli up of diesel ?

 

Roadkill caught on the underside ?

 

Something in the fridge or fridge space ?

 

Smell when static or when mobile ?

 

Just some thoughts

 

Rgds

[aandy]

tonyishuk - 2018-07-15 5:30 PM

 

Bad filli up of diesel ?

 

Roadkill caught on the underside ?

 

Something in the fridge or fridge space ?

 

Smell when static or when mobile ?

 

Just some thoughts

 

Rgds

 

Mine is always the first half hour or so after moving off in the morning, and only with the driver's window open. That's why I've pretty much ruled out anything inside the van. The exhaust is my primary suspect because it is not far from the window, and if it were anything else I would expect it to remain constant for the whole journey. I seem to recall reading some while back that catalytic converters can produce an unpleasant smell, so perhaps cold DPFs can do the same.

[spospe]

aandy - 2018-07-15 6:09 PM

 

I seem to recall reading some while back that catalytic converters can produce an unpleasant smell, so perhaps cold DPFs can do the same.

 

You have a cat don't you?

[tonyg3nwl]

Hi, my bet is that it is coming from battery, overcharging and gassing like mad.

Could be either battery, so suggest yo check terminal voltage of each in turn, with engine running, and again with engine off.. on of them will show a dodgy cell.

 

Could be caused by faulty alternator..

 

Alternative suggestion, do you have a gas leak..there is a deliberate odour in with the gas, to alert you to leaks. Disconnect gas bottles, and remove from van. The in open air, and clear of all source of naked flame, jjust give a short burst of gas and have a sniff.. is it the smell that you are getting..if so the you have to hunt down the leak.

 

Third option is that waste tank need a thorough cleanout. Contents stink in this hot weather if not emptied completely.get a bottle of tank cleaner, and give it a good cleanout.

 

Tonyg3nwl

[bobalobs]

Thanks for all your ideas but sadly they have all been investigated without success. Interesting no one mentions the possibility of a failed fuel/exhaust/Lamda sensor but this is listed on a Google search as a likely cause of a "bad egg smell". From this it would appear not to be a Fiat failing unless someone knows better.

[aandy]

spospe - 2018-07-15 6:16 PM

 

aandy - 2018-07-15 6:09 PM

 

I seem to recall reading some while back that catalytic converters can produce an unpleasant smell, so perhaps cold DPFs can do the same.

 

You have a cat don't you?

 

Just had a look on Google and it seems I do. I had previously understood that a DPF was an alternative to a CAT, with CATs being fitted to petrol engines and DPFs to diesels.

 

I've messed around with engines for most of my life, but anything built in the last 20 years is a complete mystery to me.

[C610]

Screenwash..................

[tonyishuk]

A passing thought ;

 

Using a supermarket or similar fuel ? Maybe changing a tankfull of fuel might change something ? Such as sensor readings, or fueling ratios?

 

Rgds

[aandy]

tonyishuk - 2018-07-17 7:33 PM

 

A passing thought ;

 

Using a supermarket or similar fuel ? Maybe changing a tankfull of fuel might change something ? Such as sensor readings, or fueling ratios?

 

Rgds

 

 

The same thought had occurred to me. I don't recall noticing the smell except when in France, so wondered whether their fuel contains an additive that ours doesn't. I have to say it seems unlikely, but then I've already demonstrated on this very thread how little I know about these things.

[bobalobs]

Latest development is two garages said they could find no obvious cause of the smell which had settled down to a five or so minutes period after driving for five minutes. It then reduced from this but then dashboard warning light indicating " Injection system failure" comes on.

A hundred miles on and the next day the light goes out and the smell has not come back! Tempting to close my mind to the problem but I fear it will come back to haunt me when I am a thousand miles from the UK. Have arranged for an autoelectrician to read the codes but has anyone else any thoughts or experience. Thanks.

[John52]

If it was 'supermarket fuel' I think there would be a few others experiencing it, don't you *-)

My understanding is that supermarket fuel is the same as any other fuel - made to meet British Standard Spec and no more.

But when supermarkets were undercutting garages and putting them out of business, the only way they could 'justify' their higher prices to the customer was to put about these rumours that supermarket fuel was inferior *-)

[bobalobs]

Well nearly a thousand miles clocked since last post and the smell still shows about five minutes after start and lasts for a similar period. No loss of power hesitation or smoke and no repeat of the dashboard warning.

Automotive electrical engineer has plugged in and says it looks like the throttle valve but at £37o + vat I would not like to spend that sort of money unless I was sure the problem would be solved.

Historic posts from Nick of Euroserve say with a 2010 van apart from mice ( ! ) the EGR control solenoid valve is the more likely culprit and I believe it is cheaper!

Any further ideas as I am tempted to leave it alone and see what happens unless it could be causing further damage. Thanks to all.

[aandy]

Having experienced a similar problem I had, in light of some of the comments on here, suspected the batteries, particularly as my engine and habitation batteries are a probably past their best. Though I had originally ruled them out on the grounds that the smell was coming from outside, it subsequently occurred to me that although the batteries are inside the van they all vent to the outside.

 

However, I have just spent a week off hook-up, at the end of which the habitation batteries were down to 12v. On leaving the site there was no smell, so I guess the batteries can be ruled out as a source.

[stevec176]

First you have to decide if the smell is inside or out. If all doors and windows are closed and aircon and cooling/ heating fan is turned off and engine is running can you still smell it. If not go outside and have a walk around the van to check for smell. If still nothing try turning cooling / heating fan on and check again abd then try air con, if its fitted. I've had bad smells coming in from damp leaves stuck in the grills and heating filters. You need to know if its coming from inside or out before you can cure the problem. Good hunting.