With the hours we spend in traffic nowadays, it’s inevitable that people may get stuck on the side of the road due to a car that has overheated.
“Two most common reasons for overheating are low water and coolant levels in the radiator or a leak in the cooling system,” Les McMaster, chairman of the Motor Industry Workshop Association said.
To prevent overheating, it’s advisable to regularly check that your car has fresh coolant in its radiator, not just water, and also have the radiator checked for corrosion.
However, McMaster cautions that even a well-tuned car may start to sizzle in hot conditions, particularly in stop and go traffic or when climbing a steep incline.
The first sign of overheating will be your dashboard temperature indicator rising or a malfunction indicator coming on.
“The first thing you need to do is shut off the air conditioner and open the windows,” he said. “This will help lessen the load on the engine and help it cool off. If there’s heavy traffic when this occurs, shift into neutral or park and rev the engine a little as this will make the water pump and fan speed up, drawing more liquid and air through the radiator to cool the engine off.”
Brake drag also increases the load on the engine making it heat up.
“Rather crawl along slowly on little more than idle, than move up and brake repeatedly.”
The most serious indication that your car has already overheated, is when the needle hits the red zone or you see steam coming from the engine. If this is the case, find a safe place to stop, pull over and turn off the engine as soon as possible.
Ideally you should then open the hood and wait for at least half an hour for the engine to cool off.
“However be very careful when doing so, as it will be extremely hot underneath and you may need to wait for it to cool off a little first. Only then it’s safe to check the coolant level.”
Details: www.miwa.co.za
