i have a 2000 3.8 camaro. and i went to work yesterday and when i went to leave i started it up and it was ideling REALLY rough and shaking and stuff. it was kinda acting like it was miss firing. well i drove it home anyway. and on my way home the service engine soon light started blinking.and when i got home when i got out the exhaust smelled really funny. but i didnt c anything out of he ordinary, until i looked at the cat. converter is was glowing red! it was REALLY hot! does anyone knw whats going on and can help me?

 

Funny smelling exhaust and a glowing cat? Sounds like you're running rich. Could be a fuel delivery problem, bad sensor, etc. Since your SES is on, take the car to AutoZone, they'll scan it for free. Otherwise you're just stabbing in the dark. (no wise-cracks)!

 

Definately dont drive it agian. If that cat is glowing you have fuel management problems. Sadly, once you get those fixed, you probably will have to replace the cat.

 

what do u man fuel management probs? how do i fix that?

 

The fuel pump in the tank pumps fuel forward, up through a pressure regulator and into the fuel injectors. That's the simple explanation. The cars computer controls "fuel management" and is altered by the signals it receives from all the different sensors on the engine, the intake, and exhaust. If any of those sensors are dirty, or have just plain gone bad, your computer will be receiving the wrong info and will screw up your fuel delivery (too rich or too lean). And it should throw an error code giving you the service engine soon light.
One thing you could try is to remove your intake plenum and clean the sensors. Don't physically touch any of the sensors with anything, some are very delicate. You can get a spray MAF cleaner (works like carb cleaner) and is safe to use on the intake sensors. Clean the heck out of it, and you might be lucky enough to have fixed the problem. Otherwise, get the thing scanned.

 

The cat is getting red hot because there is too much raw fuel in the exhaust and it is getting lit up in the cat. This can cause all the gunk under the car to get hot enough to go on fire and get the the rest of the car burning. If the engine misfires due to ignition problems, it will send a slug of raw fuel down the exhaust everytime a cylinder misfires. When the fuel raches the cat it will burn in the cat causing the problem you are seeing.

 

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