my car starting acting funny once it got really really cold. No heat comes into my car and after a drive for 20 minutes my temp. gauge goes into the red! What should i do to make it stop! I live in Minnesota, so you can imagine how cold it gets up here, i need heat!
2007-01-17 13:37:47 · 17 answers · asked by demons320 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
Well, the temperature going into the red suggests a few things.
1) You are low on coolant, they will cause no heat inside the car and your temperature to rise. But I'm pretty sure you've already check that, because that is the obvious.
2) If your radiator cooling fan (if electric) was not working, then it would go into the red when you are sitting still idling (like in a fast food drive thru line). But normally if you drive it, the air from outside rushing past the radiator is enough from keeping it going to the red.
But 2 would not apply since you have no heat in the car. You'd have plenty of heat if that condition was true.
The last thing that can cause that is the thermostat. When they go bad, they usually get stuck fully open or full closed. It sounds like yours got stuck fully closed. The thermostat acts like the water handle on your sink. When the car is cold, it closes completely to prevent the coolant from circulating in your car. This causes the coolant thats inside the engine block passages to heat up very quickly and get your car to operating temperature quickly. But once the car starts warming up, then the valve opens a little allow just a little bit of the radiator coolant to start circulating. When you car starts getting real hot, then the valve opens all the way to allow the maximum amount of coolant to flow (pass the radiator) and cools it back down the quickest. While driving the thermostat constantly adjusts but attempt to keep your temperature to about 150-180 degrees.
So if you made sure your coolant is full, then theres a way to sort of test the thermostat. Once the car reaches operating temperature (temp guage in middle I guess) then try grabbing a hold of the large radiator hose on the top of the car and squeeze it a little. It should be hot too the touch (you shouldn't be able to hold it more than 2 seconds) and you should sort of be able to feel/hear the coolant running through it. If its not hot, then that means no coolant is running through it and thus its not running past your radiator to get cooled down. This means your thermostat is stuck closed.
Its a 5-10 dollar part and you can do it yourself. It should come with a gasket. You need to buy some sort of sealant. I forget the name, but I think its ATV sealant. The best kind is the one thats has the gel with a blue color. Ask the autoparts guy for a tube of the sealant you need, he should know what you're talking about.
Follow the upper radiator hose to where it ends (not in the radiator, but on the engine, towards top). The piece of metal that it ends at is the thermostat cover. It is inside of there. Just remove the two bolts that hold it on. Scrape off the old gasket until is shiny and clean. Put some of the sealant on your finger and rub it on both sides of the gasket. Dont gunk it on there, but dont be too sparingly either. Pull the thermostat out with your fingers and pay attention to which way the cone shaped thing is pointing. It does make a difference, if you put it upside down, it wont work correctly.
2007-01-17 13:58:31 · answer #1 · answered by SharpGuy 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Heat Gauge
2016-12-26 06:25:55 · answer #2 · answered by atwater 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The first place I would check is the thermostat. Sounds classic, and if it doesn't open the car will heat up and you won't get any flow through the system. To check it remove it from the car and with a string attached place it in boiling water to see if it opens. If it does have your system flushed. I would replace it anyway when you have it out, they are cheap.
2007-01-17 14:58:16 · answer #3 · answered by kar183402 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Check the thermostat, even a brand new one, by putting in a pan of hot water and verifying that it opens with a thermometer- I have seen brand new ones that are bad. Heater core may be plugged up- take it out and take to radiator shop and have it checked out. Water pump not circulating water. If everything else checks out- replace the water pump- may be the problem if car has over 100,000 miles. Radiator plugged up. Take to radiator shop same as heater core.
2016-03-18 00:07:32 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Check the thermostat it probally is stuck closed and needs to be replaced also check the radiator for water flow when car is running but do not open while hot.
2007-01-17 13:47:39 · answer #5 · answered by hcranmore69 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No Heat In My Car
2016-11-12 06:59:17 · answer #6 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You probably have the answer already, but you thermostat could be stuck shut. This prevents coolant flow making the heater not work and the engine overheat.
2007-01-17 14:51:13 · answer #7 · answered by wincupfan 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i would not guess t-stat. if the engine is getting hot too soon, it may be low on coolant, if the heater blows air but the air never gets hot, you engine may be low on coolant. 2 outta 2... i would top the antifreeze off before you even ask another question.
the reason for this is that the heater core is the highest point from the ground of your cooling system, if its low it wont make it to the core.
2007-01-17 13:47:12 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
You can check the rad. My rad had a leak. There was NO heat in the car. Once the rad was replaced & the air pockets gone, the heat came back & all was well.
2007-01-17 14:35:40 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
sounds like you don't have anti-freeze in it.. check the radiator and over flow bottle if they are full.. then you need a new thermostat.... it is probably stuck in the closed position and won't allow the coolant to flow through the engine to get hot, and then to flow into the heater core to provide heat.
2007-01-17 13:44:51 · answer #10 · answered by Strafer987 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋