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hey Ya'll,

So Im a 27yo female, who lives in FL, has always been a HUGE fan of Civic's, and who owns an '02 civic Lx Sedan. I've owned this fun little gem for a yr now. It currently has 234,628 miles on it, and it has been religiously babied/cared for, garage kept, and maintained its whole life, and I have been caring for it the same way since I bought it a yr ago. but now i have a little issue... :-(

As of last night, i got a bit of a surprise. I went to go return my redbox rental up the road from me, but when i started it up in the driveway, the engine started rumbling/vibrating so hard that it shook the car, its idling between 1100-1200 rpm's(it normally purrs and idles @ around 700 rpm's), the malfunction indicator light keeps blinking, and it all of a sudden has a strong sulfur smell.(all are which a first for this car). what could be the issue? catalytic converter?? emissions?? fuse??

any help would be greatly appreciated!! :-)
Thanks Boys!

 
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did you pull the code ? it should points you to where the problem is

 
Rep Power: 0

no i did not. i didnt end up driving at all last night. i just shut it off and left it parked. ive been very hesitant on driving anywhere, for fear of doing any further damage. and the exhaust has gotten quite smelly too.. like a mix of fuel and sulfer. is there a good reliable smartphone app i can download to check the codes myself??

 
Rep Power: 0

there is a Bluetooth connector that u can purchase so u can utilize an app that your're talking about. Ive seen on ebay that theyre as cheap as $10 but, there is also a code reader that u can purchase on there called
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Car-Diagnostic-Auto-Scanner-Tool-U480-CAN-OBDII-OBD2-Engine-Fault-Code-Reader-/380986740301?hash=item58b4944e4d for a lil over $16. I purchased one and theyre very user friendly. requires no batteries. just plug it in and that's how it gets power. as far as the smell goes, did u recently stop for fuel before or after u dropped off ur redbox? usually the catalytic converter and the water in your exhaust react with the sulfer in the fuel, causing a bad smell

 
Rep Power: 0

there is a Bluetooth connector that u can purchase so u can utilize an app that your're talking about. Ive seen on ebay that theyre as cheap as $10 but, there is also a code reader that u can purchase on there called
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Car-Diagnostic-Auto-Scanner-Tool-U480-CAN-OBDII-OBD2-Engine-Fault-Code-Reader-/380986740301?hash=item58b4944e4d for a lil over $16. I purchased one and theyre very user friendly. requires no batteries. just plug it in and that's how it gets power. as far as the smell goes, did u recently stop for fuel before or after u dropped off ur redbox? usually the catalytic converter and the water in your exhaust react with the sulfer in the fuel, causing a bad smell

 
Rep Power: 517

Flashing check engine light means there is a misfire that is bad enough to damage the catalytic converter ($$$), and it should not be driven in this condition.


The sulfur smell is due to raw fuel (from the misfiring cylinder) being dumped into the catalytic converter, and the cat is attempting to burn that raw fuel.