What causes overheating in a car engine? How can I prevent it?
Many things. If it overheats while stopped, It’s probably just a $15 part. When the car is moving, air flows through the radiator and cools the engine. When it’s stopped at a light or going slow, which happens a lot in city driving, there’s no breeze through the radiator, and the coolant gets hot. This triggers a thermoswitch either in the bottom of the radiator or somewhere along the coolant flow, to turn the fan on and create a breeze through the radiator. That thermoswitch goes bad after so many years, and doesn’t turn on the fan when you are stopped. It’s a very cheap and easy fix. In my 87 Honda Civic, it was a spark-plug-like thing sticking out of the bottom of the radiator. In an Olds Cierra, it was mounted on the top of the engine. If it overheats while moving, it could be many things. At many auto parts stores you can buy a Haynes do-it-yourself manual for your model car, with step-by-step instructions, and basic explanations at the beginning of each chapter. If it is not in s
