The heat in my car isnt working, and i've always been told it comes from the engine, but I don't think that's true. Any help?
Inside your car there is something called a heater core that is connected to your cars cooling system when your car is warmed up the hot coolant passes threw your heater core which takes the heat from the coolant and warms up the inside your car with it. Common problem is low antifreeze. A leaking heater hose, a clogged heater core, or simply someone bypassing the heater core all together.
indirectly. it does. the radiator is used to vent the heat generated with in the engine from the fire in the cylinders not the friction really. for the heater, we just tap into the cooling system and tie the fluid into a smaller radiator behind the dash, and refer to it as a heater core. a fan behind that is the only thing missing. as for the issue of it not working, one of three issues. one, the coolant level can be low and now you just have air in the heater core. there is a heater control valve on some cars and the linkage to that may have come loose. the coolant would not flow and with that, no heat. if you do not hear the fan running, the fuse may have blown to that fan or the resistor trio for the speed control could have failed.
The cabin heat in most vehicles comes from the engine. The heat is released by flowing through a small radiator in the interior of the vehicle called the heater core. If your heat isn't working it's quite likely that you have a clogged heater core or stuck thermostat. You can check to see if this is your problem by feeling the heater hoses where they penetrate the firewall. Both hoses should be hot if the heater core is open and working properly when the heat lever is turned to high inside the vehicle. See videos below for instructions on how to unclog a clogged heater core.
Mechanical heat from the reciprocating engine parts are cooled by engine oil and the water-jackets inside the cylinder head where the most heat is and finally the block in modern reverse cooled engines. The heated coolant first flows through the heater core at start-up (small radiator behind the fire wall) then the large front radiator when the thermostat cracks open. What you heard is true. If you find it hard to believe look at the two heater hoses (one in and one out) of the heater core at the fire wall. Wrap your hands around the heater hoses when the dash temperature reaches 200 degrees which is the normal operating temperature of the engine.
It's true - it comes from the engine. Coolant fluid (water and antifreeze) is circulated through the engine to extract the heat the motor produces. It then goes to the radiator to bring the coolant temp down. When you turn on the heater in the car, some of that hot coolant fluid gets diverted to a small heat exchanger (basically, a little radiator) under the dash. Air is pushed through that heat exchanger and out the vents or defrosters into the car. If you're not getting heat, there are several things that can be wrong. You could be low on coolant. Have this checked at a garage - it's quick and easy and probably free to check. If that's OK, you may have a blockage in they heat exchanger or lines that supply it, or the fan could be broken. Again, have a garage check it for you if you don't know how.
