Petrol smell !

bazster

Strider590 wrote: »

Fuel pump will be electric, if the ignition is on, the fuel rail will be pressurised and any leak would be evident.

Erm, I don't suppose the OP typically leaves the ignition on when not using the car! If he felt confident/competent to check for fuel leaks in the pumped part of the system don't you think he'd already have done it with the engine running?

Strider590

bazster wrote: »

Erm, I don't suppose the OP typically leaves the ignition on when not using the car! If he felt confident/competent to check for fuel leaks in the pumped part of the system don't you think he'd already have done it with the engine running?

I don't know, i'm not speculating on what the OP has or has not done.

Turn on the ignition, leave the engine off check for leaks both under the bonnet and under the car itself....... I don't know why something so simple has to become a point of contention.

colino

So, not knowing what car it is, you originally thought a sensor failure would be good to chuck into the mix and then confidently stated it would have an electric fuel pump and just putting the ignition on would allow you to check for leaks. Are you equally sure it doesn't have a fuel return line (that wont leak if the engines not running)?
As already well advised, without mystic meg, the OP needs the car checked over asap.

Strider590

colino wrote: »

So, not knowing what car it is, you originally thought a sensor failure would be good to chuck into the mix and then confidently stated it would have an electric fuel pump and just putting the ignition on would allow you to check for leaks. Are you equally sure it doesn't have a fuel return line (that wont leak if the engines not running)?
As already well advised, without mystic meg, the OP needs the car checked over asap.

Actually I stated it could be running rich and it still could, a lambda sensor failure could cause that, the OP says the exhaust is making more noise, this could indicate a leak. I also stated that people aren't used to the smell of non-cat cars these days, this would smell fuely to most people.

I don't know of any modern car that doesn't require an electric fuel pump, old mechanical pumps just cannot do the job with fuel injection.

Seeing as this is a money saving forum, it makes perfect sense for OP to do as much diagnosis as they are able, for sake of paying through the nose for repairs they may not need.

The fuel return line should be passing fuel even with the engine off, the pump is running and once the fuel rail is pressurised the fuel has nowhere else to go.

Fireflyaway

Thanks everyone. There is no leak visible and strangely enough as the fuel has gone down so has the smell.... its normally worse when I change down into 3rd gear as well... very weird.

Its a vauxhall astra by the way.

Trying to see if I can take it to get looked at sooner rather than later.

colino

So you think that once the ignition is on, the fuel rail pressurises and leaks it back to the tank where it can start all over again? Let me know where you are, I think your crystal ball is cracked and needs replacing.

Richard53

droopsnoot wrote: »

If the problem was at the tank end (presuming the tank is in the rear as most are), wouldn't it get fainter as the OP drives along?

Not always. I had a 1973 Triumph Dolomite which had its tank in a well in the boot. When the well drain got blocked, the tank sat in a bath of water. Eventually, the metal rusted, not enough to leak but enough to become porous. The boot filled with fumes, but these were not apparent in the cabin until you rolled a window down and the slight vacuum pulled the fumes forward. Took me ages to diagnose because a) I was clueless in those days, and b) having petrol smell only with the windows open led me to look externally rather than internally. A new tank (no used ones available, as they all did it, ha ha) cured it.