Like the AC, does the engine have to be running for the heater to work in a car or can it operate just with the ignition on?
2006-09-16 10:06:51 · 12 answers · asked by audiguy 41 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
The blower will work, but without the engine running to heat up your coolant, you will get no heat.
2006-09-16 10:08:40 · answer #1 · answered by Papa John 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes. The water pump cycles the engine coolant (not to be confused with a/c refrigerant) through hoses into a heater core inside the dash. The heater core looks like an A/C condenser. The fan blows air over the heater core to transfer the heat into the car. If the engine isn't running, the water isn't cycling through the cooling system and the heater core. This means that you will only get heat if the coolant inside the heater core is still hot. That is also why the engine has to warm up on cold mornings before you get any heat.
2006-09-16 17:17:25 · answer #2 · answered by lj1 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes the heater will only produce heat with the engine running. The heater takes the heat from the engine running, hence it takes some time depending on engine size until warm air comes from the heater. It is not like AC were it can work independently.
2006-09-16 17:16:20 · answer #3 · answered by KCD 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
most water cooled engines provide heat to the heater core with engine coolant, so yes ... although you can get some residual heat from the heater after the engine has been running a while and is turned off ... keep in mind this drains the battery by operating the heater fan and you may not be able to start the car if you do this for any length of time
some aircooled engines also have an optional gas operated heater for the passenger compartment
2006-09-16 17:16:52 · answer #4 · answered by casurfwatcher 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
unless your heater uses an electric core yes, The motor heats the water as it cools the engine, the water, driven by the waterpump, circulates through the heatercore. The fan, mounted behind the heatercore blows the hot air into the cabin of the car.
2006-09-16 22:38:04 · answer #5 · answered by artistformerlyknownasloader 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes the heat comes from the warm coolant from the engine so the engine has to be runnig and if the enging is allready hot it still needs to be running so the hot coolant gets to the heater core and the batery don die due to the fan beeing on.
2006-09-20 14:32:30 · answer #6 · answered by slick 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you need the engine to run to produce heat for the heater
2006-09-16 17:14:53 · answer #7 · answered by waplambadoobatawhopbamboo 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the heater operates with circulating hot water the car has to run to circulate the water. so the answer is yes
2006-09-16 17:11:03 · answer #8 · answered by natallbad 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes.
2006-09-16 17:11:04 · answer #9 · answered by thetdw 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sure. if it's 100 degrees outside
2006-09-16 17:41:24 · answer #10 · answered by dirtmerchant_12b 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋