Peter Zimmermann

joey: Have an assistant hold your revs at about 2500 (warm engine) for about a half a minute while you are watching your meter. I can almost guarantee that you will see a voltage spike, maybe as high as 17v...

Stand to the side of your car and look over the fender, never stand in front of the car for this test!!!

Oshin11

Was not private, just too much to type...long story. But at this point everything we talked about has been pretty much covered by numerous posters so no worries.

Edgy01

It's a good idea to check the "new" voltage regulator as well. Occasionally you can get one out of spec and you don't solve your problem. (Ask me how I know,--and how I got a new one AND a new battery!)

joey c

had it checked out by the wrench...everything is fine..he said it was the cat..i plan to put a bypass pipe in anyhow so no worries..thanks guys,j

3.2SLANTNOSE

Gee, it seems like I read that somewhere.

kick7ca

Right you are.

Peter Zimmermann

joey: It's a week of "very unusuals..."! I am aware that cats can smell like rotten eggs, especially after leaded fuel has been introduced to the system, but I've been servicing/repairing 3.2 liter cars since they were new (almost daily from '85-99), and I've never seen a cat from one produce that symptom...

theiceman

put your bypass .. on .. and then when you smell it again ......

3.2SLANTNOSE

This question is just to see if anyone has ever experienced this while driving before.

Have you ever been passed by, or have been driving behind a car that had the "rotten egg smell" or if you like, the hydrogen sulfide odor?

Do you really think that you are smelling their little battery being overcharged, or do you associate the odor with the exhaust being spewed out?

It is true that a battery can "cook off" due to a faulty voltage regulator or
charging circuit.

It is also true that a catalytic can become contaminated or "poisoned" , by several things, fuel mixture too rich, mis-firing spark plugs, fouled gas, burnt exhaust valves, oil burning, the wrong type of fuel additives and sealants, the extensive use of leaded gasoline(this is not one of the chief causes now, being leaded fuel is not normally available for automobiles), a faulty fuel management system, a bad O2 sensor, and a vast number of other problems, including incorrect catalytic converter operating temps.

If you suspect that the battery is getting cooked off, after you smell the odor, you can stop the engine, pop the hood and check to see if the sides of the battery are hotter than normal.

The "rotten egg smell" has been addressed in many TSB from almost all automobile makers, since the cats have been in use.
Just some additional information.

Peter Zimmermann

...and perhaps my personal experience is what it is because CA led the nation in cutting back the sulfur content in gasoline, when those requirements came on the scene. In the mid '90s Los Angeles, my stomping grounds and the location of my shop, led the nation with the lowest fuel sulfur levels, one of the biggest contributors to the rotten egg smell produced by cats. The other leading contributor to the smell is an improperly adjusted fuel/air mixture - something that's quite difficult on a 3.2 liter car without having other symptoms. The combination, or lack of, those two causes is most likely the reason for me to not have had to deal with cats that smell like rotten eggs - I dealt with well tuned cars that used low-sulfer content gasolines. The reality is that the situation might have been quite different in other parts of the country...I can only speak for SoCal. Here, a rotten egg smell noticed while driving means a faulty v. regulator overcharging/cooking the battery.

kabel_Boxster

I know nothing about 911's but could another possibility be transmission fluid or even the clutch. Both of those stink like the OP described.