Car Overheating

If you really think about it, car maintenance and repair is a battle against two of the old enemies of all machines, which are heat and friction. What brings down a car engine is excessive heat and friction. Car overheating is a serious issue that needs to be dealt with as soon as possible before it causes excess damage, resulting in a high car repair cost. In this article, I present the prime symptoms of car overheating, along with its prime causes.

It is in the nature of engines that they create a tremendous amount of heat, which is wasted. There is no way you can bring down the heat produced, but it can be driven away by the coolant mechanism. That is because the very laws of thermodynamics state that entropy in the form of heat lost can never decrease. That means, not all the heat created in the internal combustion engine is used for car working. The efficiency of internal combustion engines fall in the range of 22% to 27% only. Every car's internal mechanism is so designed that a coolant fluid continuously keeps circulating around it. If you are a car user and haven't yet dealt with a car overheating problem yet, you must consider yourself lucky!

The consequences of overheating can be ghastly. Not only can it seriously damage the internal mechanism, but it may also cause pre-ignition. The worst damage you can face is a blown head gasket or a total engine failure. In the following lines, I discuss the symptoms of car overheating which you must know, followed by a discussion on the prime causes.

Symptoms of Car Over Heating

One of the prime overheating symptoms is the glowing of the engine coolant light. Another indicator is of course the engine light switched on. When overheating continues for a long time, the engine simply ceases to function at a point and when you open the hood, you are greeted with fumes. An overheated engine will lose power suddenly while driving and will make a lot of noise. Let us now have a look at the causes of engine overheating.

Car Overheating Causes

An engine's coolant system is a complex mechanism and any internal problems may cause a car to overheat. Here are some of the prime causes to take note of.

Engine Coolant Leak
If there is a leak of engine coolant and the levels go down, then the cooling system will not function. Consequently the amount of heat taken away from the engine is lesser and lesser, leading to car overheating. So, if you notice any coolant leak, get it checked immediately from a car service center. Some people report car overheating when stopped because of the leaking engine coolant.

Damaged Head Gasket
A damaged head gasket may cause a leak of coolant, which may mix with the engine oil, bringing down the efficiency of the coolant mechanism. Check for a leaking head gasket if you have persistent car overheating problems.

Radiator Fan Breakdown
Another reason for car engine's overheating can be a breakdown of the car radiator fan which drives the heat towards the radiator. So the radiator fan function needs to be checked. If car overheats when idling, then you may want to get the radiator fan checked. If the car overheats when ac is on, then you need to check the radiator for clogging and also check the thermostat.

Water Pump Failure
Another reason might be the complete failure of the car water pump that drives the coolant around the engine. If this is the case, then you should go for water pump replacement of repair as soon as possible.

Car overheating can be dealt with, by undertaking regular maintenance. It is essential that the engine's coolant system be checked regularly as it directly affects its health. A well functioning coolant system is all you need to ensure that car overheating problems never crop up!