![]() It is important to stop your engine or your car immediately, wait for some time before popping your hood and check on it. So naturally, your engine might not get the desired cooling effects that it needs to operate properly thus, overheating. When a radiator cap is faulty it impedes the flow of the coolant fluid throughout your cooling system. Lastly, when you notice sudden spikes of temperatures from your engine or when maybe it’s quick to overheat. These components won’t be able to do their jobs properly, as they can’t sustain the temperature in the desired levels because the air is just going to throw them off. ![]() This, in turn, will create air pockets and will mess everything up, from your heater core to your thermostat to your radiator hoses. So in this case when it is damaged or malfunctioning it can let air in the radiator cooling system. This happens when your cap is not letting coolant from the expansion go right back into the cooling system, leading to your radiator hose collapsing from an internal suction because of an improper vacuum being created.Ĭheck if the hose is flattened or kinked so you can be sure that it’s your radiator cap’s return seal that’s failing.īeing a valve, when it malfunctions, the radiator cap would either let stuff in or stuff out erroneously. Naturally, your expansion tank or reservoir will definitely overflow. It’s simply because the radiator cap keeps on releasing coolant over to it even if the pressure is still not on the desired levels. So one faulty radiator cap symptom is when your expansion tank is always or very easily gets full. We discussed what the expansion tank is for and as we already know it’s where the coolant goes when necessary. These are definitely signs of a bad radiator cap losing coolant. Also, take note if your radiator cap is stuck, it may be the coolant that’s dried up. ![]() It’s because the cap isn’t functioning properly and not doing what it’s supposed to. That’s why you always will have low coolant levels. When the pressure is too much then it’ll leak out in all the possible places, the cap, the hose, the radiator or the water pump. Look for coolant residues or dried up the coolant that’s surrounding your radiator or radiator cap, when it’s leaking then it should be evident enough. Your coolant is the primary element of your cooling system so it’s the most telltale sign you have to look out for when determining the problem. We’re getting to the meat of our discussion and the following are the symptoms of a bad radiator cap: That’s why it’s important to identify whether it’s the radiator cap that’s the culprit, it might save you a lot of time, effort and all that hassle, imagine finding out when you’re on a vacation or going somewhere really important. But then it does it again, you’re confused and irritated, what’s going on? So your car overheats, but that’s okay, you tinker on your engine a little bit, and voila it’s running back to normal again. The pressure valve makes sure to protect your radiator at all times and would protect it from accidentally overflowing. We mentioned that a radiator cap’s pressure rating is at 15 psi, it actually ranges from 13 psi to 16 psi with high performance ranging from 19 psi – 32 psi.Īs the coolant in your system heats up and expands the spring mechanism compresses and your coolant flows into your expansion tank. The radiator cap has 2 essential parts, the pressure valve, and the spring mechanism. So now that we pretty much have the idea of how the cooling system in your car works, we’ll move on to discussing different aspects of the radiator cap, especially bad radiator cap signs. It’s like an extra container for the fluid and is used accordingly either until the pressure goes down or when there’s an excessive amount of it. It’s where the overflowed coolant goes when necessary. It sits between your engine and your radiator and only allows coolant to flow to the radiator as needed for it gets rid of the excess heat. It circulates fluid whenever your engine is up and running, from the pump, coolant leaves to the engine block then off to the cylinder head and into the radiator and back to the pump.Ī valve that regulates the flow of the coolant, and helps maintain the proper operating temperature. In the case of your car, it transfers heat from your coolant fluid to the air.īasically the heart of the car’s cooling system as it pumps coolant throughout. It is employed to transfer thermal energy from one thing to another for cooling purposes. Image: A7N8XĪ radiator is a heat exchanger. ![]() Think of it as a release valve that at 15 pounds per square inch or psi, it opens to allow heat escape and the coolant fluid to overflow into the expansion tank to continue the cooling cycle. The radiator cap is actually a pressure valve that task is to capture overflowing coolant fluid.
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