Overheating Emergency Tips

Overheating

Emergency Tips

Cars overheat most often in summer. It’s rare with brandnew vehicles, but even a well-tuned automobile can overheat under extreme conditions.  If you find yourself in stop-and-go traffic or climbing a steep grade on an extremely hot day, and your dashboard engine temperature indicator starts to rise or a malfunction indicator light comes on, here’s how to help your vehicle regain its cool:

• At the first sign of overheating, shut off your air conditioner and open your windows. Doing so decreases the load on the engine and helps it cool off.

• If you’re stopped in traffic and the temperature gauge is rising, shift into Neutral  and rev the engine a little. Doing so makes the water  pump  and the fan speed up, which draws more liquid and air through the radiator . The increased air and liquid circulation helps cool things off temporarily.

• Don’t do jerky starts.  In stop-and-go traffic, crawl along slowly, on little more than an idle, rather than moving up and then braking repeatedly. Brake drag increases the load on the engine and makes it heat up. If traffic is crawling, move up only when the gap  between you and the vehicle in front of you gets too large.

• If you are driving in a highway, driving at a constant speed in low revs will help keep overheating at bay by constantly cooling the radiator with incoming air.  Increasing revs will only cause the engine to heat up.

• If you think that your car is nowhere near cooling down, drive to the side of the road, open the hood, and sit there until things cool off. To speed up cooling, pour water on the top and fins of the radiator. Remember, don’t open the radiator cap under these circumstances, the pressure built-up in the cooling system will cause boiling water to escape once the cap is opened and may cause serious burns.

• If you hear a whistling or squirting sound, that may be a sign of a leak in your engine’s cooling system. Squeaky sound usually indicates a busted water pump.  It would be wise to call a mechanic or better yet, a towing service to bring your car to a service center.

• Do not attempt to drive the car once the temperatures have reached the redline.  Serious, not to mention costly, damage can generally occur in overheating.  Extreme heat can cause oil degradation or the ability of the oil to lubricate.  It can also cause high pressure within the engine, bursting gaskets and seals.  Heat can expand metal to intolerable clearances, causing engines to seize or blow up.

A defective cooling system should be fixed without delay not only to reduce the risk of engine overheating but to prevent catastrophic engine failure that will amount to lingering inconvenience and costly repairs.