Ways to tell your car is overheating

The first thing to check in a car that is overheating is to perform a visual check. First, look underneath the car for any visible sign of a coolant leak. A light green, yellow, or orange fluid on the floor is a sign of a leak. A leak can occur anywhere around the engine bay. Check the radiator reservoir and make sure that there is enough fluid. Is there is not enough fluid, add fluid until it reach the full mark.

The quickest way to check for coolant is to perform a pressure test. Hook-up the equipment to the radiator and apply pressure. This will help you determine where the leak is coming from. Set pressure to around 16 pound and if the gauge start dropping, the pressure is not holding then there is a leak somewhere. Now here are seven reasons to look for in an overheating car.

1. A bad radiator cap can cause the engine to overheat. A radiator cap should hold pressure according to the cap specification. If the cap is rusty or looks like it is worn, you will have to replace the cap.

2. A failed cooling fan will not help the radiator to dissipate the heat. Coolant flows from the engine water jacket passage to the radiator. The radiator fan helps remove heat from the radiator. If the cooling fan fails to do its job the car will overheat.

3. A stuck closed thermostat will not allow coolant to circulate around the engine. The coolant will sit in the engine water jacket and in the radiator causing heat to build up. Replace the bad thermostat.

4. A failed water pump will overheat a car. The fins on the water pump have been worn down and are not able to circulate the coolant.

5. A clogged radiator like most of the symptoms above prevents coolant from circulating. Keep in mind that a radiator can look like it is in good condition but in fact clogged.

6. A blown head gasket will allow coolant to seep into the chamber and burn the coolant. The end result is low coolant and an overheating vehicle.

7. Bad hoses or worn hoses are common for a car to overheat. Coolant leaks out of the hoses resulting in loss of coolant, therefore causing a car to overheat.

Cars overheat most often in very hot weather. It’s rare with modern vehicles, but even a well-tuned automobile can overheat. If you find yourself in stop-and-go traffic or climbing a steep grade on an extremely hot day, and your dashboard temperature indicator starts to rise or a malfunction indicator light comes on, here’s how to help your vehicle regain its cool:

At the first sign of overheating, shut off your air conditioner and open your windows: Doing so decreases the load on the engine and helps it cool off.

If it continues to overheat, turn on the heater and blower: Doing so transfers the heat from the engine to the passenger compartment of the vehicle.

If you’re stopped in traffic and the temperature gauge is rising, shift into Neutral or Park and rev the engine a little: Doing so makes the water pump and the fan speed up, which draws more liquid and air through the radiator. The increased air and liquid circulation helps cool things off.

Try not to ride your brakes: In stop-and-go traffic, crawl along slowly, on little more than an idle, rather than moving up and then braking repeatedly. Brake drag increases the load on the engine and makes it heat up. If traffic is crawling, move up only when the gap between you and the vehicle in front of you gets too large.

If you think that your vehicle is about to boil over, drive to the right-hand side of the road, open the hood, and sit there until things cool off. Remember, don’t open the radiator cap under these circumstances, and if your engine has boiled over, don’t add water until the engine is quite cool again.

Source: enginemisfire.com, dummies.com