A nasty mix of nitric oxide, carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons drifts out of your car, truck or SUV’s tailpipe as you cruise down Route 120 in McHenry on a weekend evening. Unless you have an electric car (and it’s important to remember that the electricity used by your electric vehicle requires the generation of electricity at some kind of an electric plant somewhere), you can’t drive without creating emissions.

Working semi-quietly under your car, truck or SUV is a piece of equipment designed to reduce the amount of emissions the vehicle produces. This piece of equipment is part of your car, truck or SUV’s exhaust system and is called a catalytic converter. It works by breaking down unburned gasses. Unburned gasses are those that escape from the cylinders after the combustion cycle.

The catalytic converter is made of a variety of materials, including ceramic, platinum, palladium and copper. Operating at about 800-degrees Fahrenheit, the converter converts those nasty elements into oxygen, carbon dioxide and water. A catalytic converter can have an extended operational life. However, its long-term survival is not guaranteed.

If a vehicle requires a tune up, fumes can escape into the exhaust system and, under the extreme heat of a catalytic converter, ignite there. This can cause damage to the converter. Other mechanical problems with the engine can also manifest themselves by damaging the catalytic converter. The longer you drive with an existing problem, the more likely it is that you’ll do damage to your catalytic converter. However, it also, therefore, serves as a warning system of engine trouble.

What should you look for if you’re worried that your catalytic converter is in less-than-optimal condition? Here are some indicators that your catalytic converter is failing:

• Your vehicle fails an emissions test
• The Check Engine light comes on and stays on
• Your car, truck or SUV is difficult to start or won’t start
• You notice that your vehicle doesn’t accelerate with the same oomph you’re used to
• You notice a significant drop in the miles per gallon you customarily get from your vehicle
• You notice a sulfur odor – a rotten-eggs smell

McHenry is a great place to live. It’s out of the big city but yet has plenty of shopping, good schools and things to do. But the spaces between your home, stores, school, work and places of interest are generally too far apart to get by without a car, truck or SUV. This means that you probably have a vehicle and you count on it to get you where you need to go.

The catalytic converter is a potential weak link in your car, truck or SUV’s efficient and economical operation. Keep your catalytic converter and engine operating properly and your vehicle is more likely to take you where you want to go in McHenry and beyond.