what is a thermostat and how does it work and if knowen were is it on a car
2007-02-26 16:02:16 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
a thermostat is a control valve in the coolant system. Spring pressure holds it shut when it is cold. This allows coolant to stay in the engine, so it can warm up faster than if it were flowing to the radiator. When the coolant warms up to the temperature that the thermostat is designed to open, a wax inside the thermostat expands against the spring pressure, opening the valve to allow coolant flow. Heat DOES NOT cause the spring to get weaker, the spring pressure is just overcome by the expanding wax material. It is usually located near the coolant outlet, but can be anywhere in the coolant system, it all depends on where the manufacturer chose to put them.
2007-02-26 16:20:33 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It depends on which type of thermostat. Those types commonly found in a car are the aircon refrigerant thermostat & the coolant thermostat. A thermostat is a flow control device to base on the required temperature.
Take the coolant thermostat as an example. It consist of a wax controlled expansion valve. When the coolant temperature is cold(during cold engine), the thermostatic control valve will be fully closed to restrict coolant flow to the radiator(which cools down the coolant). Once the coolant gets hot by absorbing the heat from the engine, the wax element will start to expand & open the control valve. How much the control opens depends on how hot the temperature is. Part of the coolant will flow to the radiator & cool down depending on the radiator cooling efficiency.After heat exchange at the radiator, the coolant flows back to engine.
2007-02-27 00:22:13 · answer #2 · answered by Howard Teo 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a thermostat is a small valve between the engine and the radiator that regulates the flow of water into the radiator to cool the engine. it closes when the temperature drops below running temps and opens when it gets above.it helps not to try to heat all that water when you first start a car.
2007-02-27 00:14:49 · answer #3 · answered by ruthlessworthy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a thermostat is the thing that controls the temp of you heater or ac
2007-02-27 00:09:38 · answer #4 · answered by mad dawg 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋