Why Is my engine overheating but the radiator Is cold? An overheating engine is nothing to take lightly. If your vehicle is experiencing an overheated engine, you will want to make sure you take direct action right away to get this resolved.
What is confusing for some people is that they may have an overheated engine, but they also notice that their radiator is cold.
This is very confusing to the average person as they would assume that the radiator would be hot if the engine is also overheating.
Indeed, that is often the case, but we also should consider the fact that there could be issues within your vehicle that are causing both of these things to happen at the same time.
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Why Is My Engine Overheating But The Radiator Is Cold?
The most likely reason why your engine is overheating even as your radiator remains cold is that the thermostat is stuck closed. What you will need to do is take out the lower radiator hose and get the thermostat out. You will then test your thermostat in a pot of boiling water to see if it was responsive to the temperature change at all. If the thermometer does not respond to the boiling water, then you may have an issue with the thermostat. You may be receiving false readings that are of no value to you.
4 Common Reasons Why The Engine Is Overheating But The Radiator Is Cold
1. Water pump issues
Water pumps have a tendency to fail frequently. If water is not actively moving through the water pump as it should be, it may cause your radiator to go cold.
At the same time, a failure of your water pump to circulate water through the system as it is supposed to could cause the engine to begin to overheat.
Interestingly, both things can happen at the same time, and this could be what has resulted in a cold radiator and an overheated engine.
You will want to check to see if water is truly circulating through the water pump as it is supposed to.
In the event that water is not moving through your water pump in the way that it’s supposed to, you may need to get the water pump itself replaced.
A professional mechanic would be more than happy to help you with this service.
2. Thermostat issues
Thermostats don’t necessarily fail at the same rate that water pumps do, but they can still cause some issues if you don’t take care of them.
One of the things that many people have noted is that thermostats are sometimes improperly fitted to your vehicle.
That is to say that the thermostat that you have on your vehicle may be too large or too small for the specific amount of space available in your vehicle.
The danger of an improperly fitted thermostat is that you may get inaccurate readings from this device.
If the thermostat simply needs to be adjusted in order to get it working again on your vehicle, then you may be able to resolve this issue without too many problems.
If the thermostat is completely dysfunctional, then you may need to get it replaced in order to have an accurate reading of the temperature of both your engine and the radiator.
3. Airlock issues
Yet another aspect of your vehicle that could cause your engine to overheat is the airlock. What you can do is try bleeding out the airlock from three different points to see if this helps alleviate the issue.
If you were not certain how to do this yourself, don’t worry. It often takes the skilled hands of a mechanic who has worked with airlocks for a big portion of their career.
Just make sure you take your vehicle to somebody who clearly knows what they are doing and can help. Look at simple fixes like this which may help you get the desired results. As far as getting your vehicle back up to shape.
Oftentimes, the reason why an engine overheats is simply that there is not enough circulation of something critical such as water, air, or some other component that is required for the engine to operate properly.
The danger is if you ignore these problems and allow the engine to continue to overheat, it could pose a risk of damaging the engine completely or even causing a fire.
There are a few components of your vehicle that are as important as the engine, so you will want to keep it protected.
Not only does the engine help keep your vehicle on the road and moving, but it is also something that is rather expensive to replace. If you allow the damage to get too extensive.
Always take your vehicle to a professional mechanic to have a look at it. If there are issues with overheating of the engine.
In fact, you may want to have your vehicle towed into a shop so as not to put further strain on an engine that is already overheating.
Frequently Asked Questions On Why Is My Engine Overheating But The Radiator Cold
What is a temporary fix for my car overheating?
If you need to take a temporary measure when your car is overheating just to get it into a shop, you may want to consider some options. One thing that you can do is to add some coolant to the vehicle as this may be part of the issue if you are continuously losing water. The other thing that you can do is try to start the vehicle at as low of a temperature as possible. In short, the best thing to do is to try to get it to a mechanic as soon as possible.
Why is my car overheating with a new thermostat?
If you have recently installed a new thermostat in your vehicle and it is still overheating, you’re probably wondering what could be the cause of this issue. You may be looking at a faulty water pump, a worn belt, clogged radiator, or even a faulty radiator cap. While it is frustrating to have just installed a new piece of equipment only to find out that something else may be causing the issue, you should take this under advisement and try to do everything that you can to get those other parts replaced.
Why is my car overheating even though the radiator cap is cold?
If the radiator cap is cold but your car is still overheating, you are probably a little confused as to why this is the case. It may be due to a lack of proper coolant in the system. Add some coolant to your vehicle and see if this helps the problem to go away. Also, check for any potential leaks around your vehicle to see if it may be losing coolant and/or other fluids.
Conclusion About Why Is My Engine Overheating But The Radiator Cold
Your engine is overheating but the radiator is cold because your thermostat stopped working. The most likely reason for this is that the thermostat is stuck. You will have to take it out and fix it in order to get correct readings again.