Heating System (Cooling system 11)

You may have heard the advice that if you car is overheating, open all the windows and run the heater with the fan going at full blast. This is because the heating system is actually a secondary cooling system that mirrors the main cooling system on your car.

Heater plumbing

The heater core, which is located in the dashboard of your car, is really a small radiator. The heater fan blows air through the heater core and into the passenger compartment of your car.

A heater core looks like a small radiator.

The heater core draws its hot coolant from the cylinder head and returns it to the pump -- so the heater works regardless of whether the thermostat is open or closed.

For more information on car cooling systems and related topics, check out the links on the next page.

Fan (Cooling system 10)

Like the thermostat, the cooling fan has to be controlled so that it allows the engine to maintain a constant temperature.

Front-wheel drive cars have electric fans because the engine is usually mounted transversely, meaning the output of the engine points toward the side of the car. The fans are controlled either with a thermostatic switch or by the engine computer, and they turn on when the temperature of the coolant goes above a set point. They turn back off when the temperature drops below that point.

Cooling fan

Rear-wheel drive cars with longitudinal engines usually have engine-driven cooling fans. These fans have a thermostatically controlled viscous clutch. This clutch is positioned at the hub of the fan, in the airflow coming through the radiator. This special viscous clutch is much like the viscous couplingsometimes found in all-wheel drive cars.

Thermostat (Cooling system 9)

The thermostat's main job is to allow the engine to heat up quickly, and then to keep the engine at a constant temperature. It does this by regulating the amount of water that goes through the radiator. At low temperatures, the outlet to the radiator is completely blocked -- all of the coolant is recirculated back through the engine.

Once the temperature of the coolant rises to between 180 and 195 F (82 - 91 C), the thermostat starts to open, allowing fluid to flow through the radiator. By the time the coolant reaches 200 to 218 F (93 - 103 C), the thermostat is open all the way.

The open and closed positions of a thermostat

If you ever have the chance to test one, a thermostat is an amazing thing to watch because what it does seems impossible. You can put one in a pot of boiling water on the stove. As it heats up, its valve opens about an inch, apparently by magic! If you'd like to try this yourself, go to a car parts store and buy one for a couple of bucks.

The secret of the thermostat lies in the small cylinder located on the engine-side of the device. This cylinder is filled with a wax that begins to melt at around 180 F (different thermostats open at different temperatures, but 180 F is a common one). A rod connected to the valve presses into this wax. When the wax melts, it expands significantly, pushing the rod out of the cylinder and opening the valve. If you have read How Thermometers Work and done the experiment with the bottle and the straw, you have seen this process in action -- the wax just expands a good bit more because it is changing from a solid to a liquid in addition to expanding from the heat.

This same technique is used in automatic openers for greenhouse vents and skylights. In these devices, the wax melts at a lower temperature.

Pressure Cap (Cooling system 8)

The radiator cap actually increases the boiling point of your coolant by about 45 F (25 C). How does this simple cap do this? The same way a pressure cooker increases the boiling temperature of water.

The cap is actually a pressure release valve, and on cars it is usually set to 15 psi. The boiling point of water increases when the water is placed under pressure.

When the fluid in the cooling system heats up, it expands, causing the pressure to build up. The cap is the only place where this pressure can escape, so the setting of the spring on the cap determines the maximum pressure in the cooling system. When the pressure reaches 15 psi, the pressure pushes the valve open, allowing coolant to escape from the cooling system. This coolant flows through the overflow tube into the bottom of the overflow tank. This arrangement keeps air out of the system. When the radiator cools back down, a vacuum is created in the cooling system that pulls open another spring loaded valve, sucking water back in from the bottom of the overflow tank to replace the water that was expelled.

Radiator (Cooling system 7)

A radiator is a type of heat exchanger. It is designed to transfer heat from the hot coolant that flows through it to the air blown through it by the fan.

Most modern cars use aluminum radiators. These radiators are made by brazing thin aluminum fins to flattened aluminum tubes. The coolant flows from the inlet to the outlet through many tubes mounted in a parallel arrangement. The fins conduct the heat from the tubes and transfer it to the air flowing through the radiator.

The tubes sometimes have a type of fin inserted into them called a turbulator, which increases the turbulence of the fluid flowing through the tubes. If the fluid flowed very smoothly through the tubes, only the fluid actually touching the tubes would be cooled directly. The amount of heat transferred to the tubes from the fluid running through them depends on the difference in temperature between the tube and the fluid touching it. So if the fluid that is in contact with the tube cools down quickly, less heat will be transferred. By creating turbulence inside the tube, all of the fluid mixes together, keeping the temperature of the fluid touching the tubes up so that more heat can be extracted, and all of the fluid inside the tube is used effectively.

Radiators usually have a tank on each side, and inside the tank is a transmission cooler. In the picture above, you can see the inlet and outlet where the oil from the transmission enters the cooler. The transmission cooler is like a radiator within a radiator, except instead of exchanging heat with the air, the oil exchanges heat with the coolant in the radiator.

source http://auto.howstuffworks.com

Engine (Cooling system 6)

The engine block and cylinder head have many passageways cast or mach ined in them to allow for fluid flow. These passageways direct the coolant to the most critical areas of the engine.

Temperatures in the combustion chamber of the engine can reach 4,500 F (2,500 C), so cooling the area around the cylinders is critical. Areas around the exhaust valves are especially crucial, and almost all of the space inside the cylinder head around the valves that is not needed for structure is filled with coolant. If the engine goes without cooling for very long, it can seize. When this happens, the metal has actually gotten hot enough for the piston to weld itself to the cylinder. This usually means the complete destruction of the engine.

One interesting way to reduce the demands on the cooling system is to reduce the amount of heat that is transferred from the combustion chamber to the metal parts of the engine. Some engines do this by coating the inside of the top of the cylinder head with a thin layer of ceramic. Ceramic is a poor conductor of heat, so less heat is conducted through to the metal and more passes out of the exhaust.

 

source: http://auto.howstuffworks.com

Water pump (cooling system 5)

A water pump is an important part of the engine cooling system. It provides circulation of the engine coolant (antifreeze) through the cooling system (see the top picture).

A water pump pushes the coolant through the passages (water jackets) in the engine cylinder block and cylinder head and then out into the radiator. This helps to keep the engine from overheating; the hot coolant passes through the radiator where it cools down and then returns back to the engine.

A water pump is usually driven by the engine through the drive belt. Sometimes it's driven by a timing belt. A water pump consists of the housing with the shaft rotating on the bearing pressed inside.

At the outer side there is a pulley mounted on the shaft. At the inner side there is a seal to keep the coolant from leaking out and the impeller that acts like a centrifugal pump (see the lower picture).

Fluid (Cooling System 4)

Cars operate in a wide variety of temperatures, from well below freezing to we ll over 100 F (38 C). So whatever fluid is used to cool the engine has to have a very low freezing point, a high boiling point, and it has to have the capacity to hold a lot of heat.

Water is one of the most effective fluids for holding heat, but water freezes at too high a temperature to be used in car engines. The fluid that most cars use is a mixture of water and ethylene glycol (C₂H₆O₂), also known as antifreeze. By adding ethylene glycol to water, the boiling and freezing points are improved significantly.

	Pure Water	50/50 C2H6O2/Water	70/30 C2H6O2/Water
Freezing Point	0 C / 32 F	-37 C / -35 F	-55 C / -67 F
Boiling Point	100 C / 212 F	106 C / 223 F	113 C / 235 F

The temperature of the coolant can sometimes reach 250 to 275 F (121 to 135 C). Even with ethylene glycol added, these temperatures would boil the coolant, so something additional must be done to raise its boiling point.

The cooling system uses pressure to further raise the boiling point of the coolant. Just as the boiling temperature of water is higher in a pressure cooker, the boiling temperature of coolant is higher if you pressurize the system. Most cars have a pressure limit of 14 to 15 pounds per square inch (psi), which raises the boiling point another 45 F (25 C) so the coolant can withstand the high temperatures.

Antifreeze also contains additives to resist corrosion.

source: http://www.howstuffworks.com

Car Cooling System

An efficient cooling system is very essential in order to protect the engine from overheating. Use good quality coolant for your car engine. The coolant level should be checked at least once a fortnight and preferably at more frequent intervals during summers.

Special attention should be given to the pressure cap over the radiator. When the coolant reaches very high temperature, it forces its way through a valve in the pressure cap and the overflow is then collected into coolant reservoir. When the engine is cool, the vacuum created in the radiator draws the overflow back. If the pressure cap is defective, the coolant evaporates through the pressure cap when it reaches high temperature, instead of flowing into the coolant reservoir. This reduces the level of coolant and can harm the engine.

Cooling system hoses should be checked regularly, especially before summer. Any hose that is cracked, and feels hard or spongy when squeezed should be replaced immediately. Ensure that the fan belt is working properly since it plays a vital part in cooling the engine. Get the cooling system serviced at the onset of the summer.