In the last few days we've been smelling a natural gas smell.

I know that rich fuel hitting the cat. conv. can cause this.

One strange thing is that the smell is strong in the engine compartment.

I'm looking for troubleshooting or ways to look for the source of the problem.

 

This is a '97 XJ i6 AW4 4x4...

 

Sometimes gear oil can smell like that .

 

over charging the battery?

 

You can get a live ODB2 monitoring tool to monitor your fuel management and determine if it's running too rich. You can get one on Amazon for $25 USD - BAFX OBD2 Bluetooth is reportedly a good choice.

 

Cat. conv. is fairly new... couple years... Battery looks good, doesn't smell... I notice the smell in the engine compartment over on the pass. side mostly... could the charcoal filter thing (technical term) be involved???

How would I track down rich fuel condition? vacuum leak???

Thanks!