You’re driving along and it’s cold inside your automobile. You flip on the heater and the windows start to fog. You switch the airflow to the defroster but this doesn’t help. What’s going on? Guaranteed Auto Air & Repair explains that your heater core is leaking and the air flowing through the vents is filled with wet coolant. When this meets the dry air in your car, truck, or utility vehicle, the windows fog. This is just one sign that your heater core is bad. Here are other signs.
Cold or Lukewarm Air
The heater core is the auto part that heats the air before it blows through the vents. If the heater core is leaking or clogged, you will end up with cold or lukewarm air instead of hot air. No matter how many times you adjust the temperature in your automobile, the air temperature will not change. A leaking or clogged heater core must be replaced in order to restore the hot air blowing through the vents.
Musty, Sweet Odors
Aside from the foggy windows, another sign that your heater core is leaking is musty and sweet odors in the air that blows out of the vents. This odor is caused by the coolant that is in the air. Coolant smells musty and sweet; in fact, many people say that it smells like maple syrup or candy. Unfortunately, as we mentioned above, there’s no way to repair the leaking heater core. It must be replaced.
Wet Floorboard
If you were looking for the heater core, you would find it underneath the dashboard on the passenger side of your automobile. If the core is hemorrhaging coolant, you will end up with a wet floorboard on that side. This is a sign that directly points to the heater core. One way to test the core is to dry up the fluid and see if the floorboard ends up wet again. It will if the heater core is leaking.
Overheating Engine
Finally, this might seem strange but even though you have cold air blowing through the vents, your engine will overheat if the core is leaking or clogged. This is because the coolant is being lost or stopped at the core. Consequently, you have no coolant flow in the engine. Naturally, the engine will overheat.
Guaranteed Auto Air & Repair is the best auto service shop in Rockledge, FL, so call us today if you suspect your car, truck, or utility vehicle needs a new heater core.
