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The Cooling System
Turn On The Heater To Cool An Over Heating Engine!
Most of us have heard that we should turn the heater and fan on hi if the engine starts to get hot. While it is never advisable to continue to drive a vehicle when the engine heat is in the danger zone, but if the engine starts to run hot, simply turning on the heater and fan may help cool the engine down long enough to make it to a service station.
There are a number of potential causes of engines overheating, everything from a partially clogged radiator to a faulty thermostat. But to understand how turning on the heater can help cool your engine, we need to understand the role of the cooling system, and specifically the role of the heater core.
 The cooling system’s primary job is to regulate engine temperature. Under normal conditions, coolant circulates throughout the engine where heat is absorbed before circulating through the radiator. The radiator’s primary job is to provide a large surface area from which heat can evaporate.
Similarly, the heater core‘s primary job is to heat the passenger compartment on cold days. Designed like a mini radiator, when the heater is turned on, coolant circulates through the heater core and a blower fan helps circulate the heat throughout the vehicle’s interior heater outlets.  In this way, heat is dissipated from the circulating coolant at the heater core, much like the radiator, but instead of the heat being when the heater is turned off, coolant bypasses the heater core through a bypass valve and is circulated back to the radiator.
As a result, turning on the heater when the engine begins to over heat causes the coolant to circulate through more tubing (surface area) and have a fan blow over the heater core, further increasing the amount of heat dissipated. Even on a hot day, turning on the heater and fan on hi can greatly reduce the temperature of coolant and may be just enough to help you get to the next service facility. |
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1. Cooling System
2. Protecting Your Engine
3. Keeping It Cool
4. The Thermostat
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