Saturday, September 21, 2013
Can a Heater Work in a Car Before It Is Warm
As the weather starts to cool, the dials on the temperature controls in your car will inevitably start to migrate toward the "red" end of the dial. As you furiously rub your hands together after hopping in your car and starting the engine on a cold morning, you wonder why the heater doesnt work until the car is warmed. Unfortunately, it cant.
Your Resting Car
There is a typical temperature range within which the engines of most cars are designed to operate, usually around 200 degrees. When your car is at rest, the mechanical components and fluids are allowed to cool to ambient temperature.
Your Car as it Warms
You turn the key in the ignition, and the belts begin to turn the pulleys on the engine. Coolant is stored and cooled in the radiator, where it is pulled out by the water pump and circulated through the engine. The coolant then passes through an opening in the firewall (the sheet metal panel separating the engine compartment from the cabin of the vehicle) into the heater core. Similar to the radiator, the heater core has small fins through which the heated coolant passes to dissipate heat. This heat is pulled away from the heater core, using fans, and blown into the cars interior.
Your Car After Reaching Operating Temperature
When you have driven your car for a few minutes, the engine has reached normal temperature. The coolant from the radiator is keeping the extreme heat of the engine in check. The fluid circulates through the engine and through the heater core. The fans pull hot air from the heater core into the cabin, which heats your cars interior. Until the engine heats, the coolant remains cool. Until the coolant heats, your heater core remains cool. When your heater core heats, so does your cars interior.
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