Keeping Your Temperature Right

Your Heating and Cooling System

Having cool air in the summer blowing on your face, and having the heat of your vehicle's air system blowing onto your cold hands in the winter are some of the most comfortable and enticing reasons to get into a vehicle in the morning. At Olympia Auto Repair we understand that being comfortable in your vehicle is a top priority. This is why the heating and cooling in your vehicle is such an important thing to understand.

Before anything, the ‘antifreeze’ in your vehicle must heat up enough to allow in to pass through into the passenger compartment. Next would be the heater core, which is essential to heating up and warming the air that flows through your car. Much like a radiator,iIt is mounted inside the heater housing inside your car’s dash, and pulls warm are into the passenger compartment using the blower motor, removing heat from the antifreeze circulating through it. The antifreeze carries on to the water pump.

Most cooling systems work by sending a liquid coolant through passages in the engine. As this liquid passes through the hot engine it absorbs heat, cooling the engine. The fluid then leaves the engine and passes through a heat exchanger, or radiator, which converts the heat from the fluid to the air blowing through an exchanger. However, some older model vehicles, and a few modern vehicles don’t use this method. Instead of the classic liquid cooling system they use Air Cooling. Opposed to circulating fluid through the engine, the engine block is covered in aluminum fins that conduct the heat away from the cylinder. Forceful fans blow air over these fins, cooling the engine by transferring the heat to the air.

There are a few key components that are important to your heating and cooling system function.
• Antifreeze
• Heater Core
• Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Control
• Blower Motor
• Thermostat
• Water Pump

If you are having any issues with this components, or would like to have them looked at to ensure status, come into Olympia Auto Repair today.