One day, you’re driving your car down the road. Nothing bad seems to happen, when suddenly, a strange smoke comes out of the front of the vehicle. What are you afraid of? The temperature dial of the car goes up without stopping. You stop the vehicle, you get down, you open the hood and you see the engine of your car boil like an erupting volcano.

What happened? In this article, we list the reasons why a car can overheat and how to act in case you happen to a scene like the previous one.

Refrigeration system

The first thing to know is that any engine has a limit. Regardless of the fuel used or the vehicle’s production model, it can, at some point, stop working optimally, causing what we know colloquially as engine overheating.

Engine overheating is mainly caused by two reasons: damage to the various components of the cooling system of the vehicle or problems with the engine lubrication system.

The cooling system exists precisely to maintain the balance in the temperature levels in the engine (which essentially depends on the engine design, but in general must be between 80 and 100 ° C).

Only between 20 and 30 percent of the energy released from the fuel during the time of explosion in an engine becomes useful energy; the other 70 or 80 percent is almost lost as heat. The inner walls of the cylinder or jacket of a motor can reach temperatures around 800 ° C. Therefore, all engines require a cooling system to help dissipate that excess heat.

How does the cooling system work?

An engine can be cooled by water or air (depending on whether it is a car or a motorcycle). When it works by air cooling, the motor consists of dissipation fins that evacuate the heat from the motor and thus reduce its temperature. Bikes are the main vehicles that use this type of cooling, in addition to the boats (outboard motor).

Water or coolant are the elements most used to control the temperature of an engine and fulfills this function through a complex system composed of the following elements:

Radiator: radiator is a device that connects to the engine and performs the function of heat sink. A liquid is pumped into the engine, typically a mixture of water with alcohols with a high capacity to absorb heat. The idea is that the fluid circulates through the engine, absorbing the heat and then going to the radiator, so that it cools there. A leak can lead to engine overheating.

Hoses: they are responsible for transporting water or coolant enters and leaves the motor in order to cool it. Their breakage or poor condition are the most common causes of the temperature of a car to rise disproportionately.

Water pump: its purpose is to maintain the necessary circulation of the coolant. The service life of this element is very long and can only be damaged when the liquid deposits are left without this element.

Jar of deposit: the typical failure of this element is that the cap loses seal ability, making there the liquid from escaping.

Thermostat: if this valve, responsible for allowing the passage of coolant to the engine to absorb the heat generated in this, breaks down, can lead to several incidents: to not open and close properly, there may be an increase in fuel consumption and overheating of the system.

Cooling fan: without a good job of this element radiator may not receive enough air to reduce the temperature of the coolant stored there.

Consequences

If the engine runs above its optimum temperature, oil viscosity can be reduced, engine wear can increase and parts can be soldered by increasing temperature.

On the other hand, if the engine works below its optimum temperature, fuel consumption increases, as the engine needs a specific temperature necessary for its proper operation. Engine parts can also wear out prematurely, as they are designed to dilate by the effect of heat to a certain size. In addition, the power is reduced by not having the right conditions for a correct combustion.

Any damage to one of these components can cause the vehicle to overheat. That is why it is important that you follow the following recommendations to avoid further damage to the engine and its different components (from breakage and damage to parts to total engine failure).

Periodically reviews the status of the belts, coolant, leakage points and patches or hose coupling to the engine as they may be signs of rust (sign that the liquid is filtered at this point).

Check that the fan is activated when the car is turned on.

If smoke comes out, stop the vehicle, do not open the coolant reservoir jar as you can burn yourself. Check carefully where the leak occurs and call for an assistance vehicle to assist you in this situation.

It is not advisable to put water or coolant to the tank when it is hot, because at that moment there is pressure on this element and you can burn it. Never move the car when the vehicle presents a failure in its cooling.

Staying too long with the vehicle on and stopping may cause engine overheating. If you’re in a traffic jam and you must stay long in it, it is better to turn off the car.