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Auto Repairs and Servicing

Hello, my name is Walter. Over the past few months, I have been working on my car. I never used to think much about my car. I would just jump into it and hit the road. Things were fine at first, but soon I realised that things were starting to go wrong. Strange white smoke started to appear from the exhaust. Sometimes when I changed gear, I could hear a strange noise. Foolishly, I ignored all of this until my car broke down. When I got to the auto repair shop the mechanic repaired my car and then gave it a full service. As he did so, I began my auto servicing education.

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Common Reasons Your Car Heater Is Blowing Cold Air

by Margie White

Your car's heating system utilises engine coolant to help control temperature and transport heat through the system. As the engine warms up, the temperature of the coolant increases due to its absorbing heat being emitted from the engine. Some of the coolant passes through the thermostat and goes on to regulate the temperature of the radiator and prevent the engine from overheating, and some of the coolant passes through the heater core and the heat from the coolant is transferred to the cabin of the car by a fan.

It can take time for the air coming into the cabin to warm up when you first start driving, as the coolant first needs to be warmed by the engine. However, driving in cold weather with a heating system that's blowing cold air and not heating at all is no fun, so read on to find out about the common reasons your car heater is blowing cold air:

Thermostat Is Stuck Open

The thermostat usually remains closed until the engine reaches a high temperature that requires coolant to be released through the thermostat to cool the radiator down and prevent overheating in the engine. If the thermostat jams in the open position, all of the car's coolant will cycle through the engine cooling process, which will mean there's no warm coolant entering the heater core. A jammed thermostat typically needs to be replaced.

Low Coolant Level

When there's not enough coolant in your car, the amount reaching the heater core will be insufficient for heating the air that's blown into your car's cabin. Coolant does need to be topped up from time to time, but if you discover the coolant level in your car is very low, there's likely a leak somewhere in the cooling or heating system. Your car should be looked over by a mechanic who will check for leaks in the radiator, heater core and connecting hoses.

Air In The Cooling System

Air bubbles can form in the coolant fluid, and trapped air will prevent the coolant heating to the temperature required to transfer heat to the heater core. This cause of cold air coming through the heater is relatively easy to fix. The air bubbles have to be bled out of the coolant in a similar way that air is bled out of the radiators in your home, and you will likely have to top up the coolant levels once the air has been removed.

If you need auto heating repair, have your car checked over by your mechanic to establish the cause.  

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