Operating temp takes a long time

[Angrey]

My IQ dropped 18 points just reading this.

This right here tells me you're lying. You've never lived where it get's cold. You're completely and utterly incorrect.

Putting a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator of a parked car isn't going to warm a car up any faster. You simply don't know what you're talking about.

You don't have the IQ to spare, so don't read it again.

I've driven from Fargo to Grand Forks in a Bronco at -49F. I've been on a bus from Minneapolis to Fargo past -60F windchill that was so cold we had to stop twice to let the bus heat and thaw the half in of frost on the insides of the windows. With any car that uses a mechanical fan, putting cardboard in front of the radiator keeps frigid air from cooling the motor. In some cases it's so cold you can leave it in place to keep the motor warmer. I'd have to ask an experienced tuner about the fan logic on our cars, but I know it kicks on prior to full temps. (it definitely does if you're tuner has turned it on sooner for heat management). Point is, despite your IQ challenges, putting anything in front of the single biggest place that the engine bay breathes is going to raise temperatures faster. Sorry to reduce what's likely already a low intelligence quotient for you.

Sponsored

 

[Skye]

Reading this thread reminds me of coming off a 12-hour shift when it is as cold as -10F / -23C and having to hold an older style wheel, one with an internal metal (felt like it anyway!) rim, unheated. Dang that thing was cold. F'n wheel never warmed up, all the way home.

 

[KingKona]

You don't have the IQ to spare, so don't read it again.

I've driven from Fargo to Grand Forks in a Bronco at -49F. I've been on a bus from Minneapolis to Fargo past -60F windchill that was so cold we had to stop twice to let the bus heat and thaw the half in of frost on the insides of the windows. With any car that uses a mechanical fan, putting cardboard in front of the radiator keeps frigid air from cooling the motor. In some cases it's so cold you can leave it in place to keep the motor warmer. I'd have to ask an experienced tuner about the fan logic on our cars, but I know it kicks on prior to full temps. (it definitely does if you're tuner has turned it on sooner for heat management). Point is, despite your IQ challenges, putting anything in front of the single biggest place that the engine bay breathes is going to raise temperatures faster. Sorry to reduce what's likely already a low intelligence quotient for you.

The thermostat regulates the movement of coolant to get an engine up to, and keep it at, a specific temperature range. The fan doesn't regulate coolant or engine temps while an engine warms up, it just adds additional cooling if necessary when the engine is warm. They're not even moving until the engine is warmed up.

And fans don't "cool the motor" directly, they extract heat from the coolant which then cools the engine. These aren't air-cooled engines, they're water-cooled engines.

Cardboard.......it's something that was used 60 years ago by morons that were running a vehicle in cold temps with a thermostat that was stuck wide open. And it's going to serve absolutely no purpose in warming a parked car up faster. Or a moving car for that matter. If the coolant isn't moving through the radiator, the engine isn't going to warm-up any faster regardless of it's carboard content or fan status.

We're talking about a modern, 100% condition S550 Mustang, not some Grey Hound bus from the 1960s that wasn't maintained properly, with it's thermostat stuck wide-open.

 

[sk47]

Hello; Read thru the thread. The OP's question in the first post is should a long warm up be of concern. States the heater works as it should. Also is in Canada and it is winter.
First thing to me is 10 minutes seems reasonable time to warm up. Takes longer in winter as the temps start much lower.
My impression is the thermostat is working. Way I understand is the coolant circulates thru the heads & block and thru the heater core from start up. Only after some heat is absorbed in the coolant does the thermostat start to open up so the radiator is fully involved. So, you can get heat out of the heater before the radiator gets warm/hot.
I also figure no need to worry about a trip to Florida. The thermostat will compensate.

If the thermostat is faulty, it is safer for the engine to have a thermostat to fail open. Some brands have engineered thermostats to fail in the open position.

Last thing is my take on radiator covers. ( cardboard air blockers) Those can help in very cold conditions. I see such covers on the front of over the road tractors during winter. I drove a diesel school bus and learned they do not warm up same as a gasoline bus. Once i got the windows cleared it seemed only driving got the temperature up. Anyway the bus was warm by the time i got to my first pickup.
Last last thing. Also the oil is part of the cooling system of an engine. Takes a while to heat up the oil when starting from a cold outside temp. Also, why it is wise to drive mildly with a cold engine. Keep the RPM's down some, at least for some distance.

 

[KingKona]

....Way I understand is the coolant circulates thru the heads & block and thru the heater core from start up. Only after some heat is absorbed in the coolant does the thermostat start to open up so the radiator is fully involved. So, you can get heat out of the heater before the radiator gets warm/hot.

I think you have it a bit backwards.

What I've read is that the coolant in the heater core is always moving with the rest of the cooling system. So when it's cold, it's cold. When it's hot, it's hot. But the car will bring in air from outside skipping the heater core when it needs to. So when the car is warmed up, the heater core is always hot. It's just that the car's ducting system skips the heater core completely when necessary.

When it's cold, these cars take forever to warm up. It's very frustrating on a cold day to sit there freezing for 10-15, while driving on the freeway, waiting for the damn car to get warm. And you only barely get any heat before the temp needle starts moving.

And then, the "hot" air from the HVAC isn't really that hot. Just barely warm. You gotta bury the throttle for a few seconds to get some real heat.

I'm pretty sure that's why the OP is asking these questions.

 

[sk47]

I think you have it a bit backwards.

What I've read is that the coolant in the heater core is always moving with the rest of the cooling system. So when it's cold, it's cold. When it's hot, it's hot. But the car will bring in air from outside skipping the heater core when it needs to. So when the car is warmed up, the heater core is always hot. It's just that the car's ducting system skips the heater core completely when necessary.

When it's cold, these cars take forever to warm up. It's very frustrating on a cold day to sit there freezing for 10-15, while driving on the freeway, waiting for the damn car to get warm. And you only barely get any heat before the temp needle starts moving.

And then, the "hot" air from the HVAC isn't really that hot. Just barely warm. You gotta bury the throttle for a few seconds to get some real heat.

I'm pretty sure that's why the OP is asking these questions.

Hello; I agree that the heated air is controled by doors opening and closing to send the air from around the heater core to somewhere else. When we want heated air inside the car the doors open in one pattern. In some warm weather the doors arrange to shunt the hot air to the outside of the car. ( often in the cowl area near the wipers.)
I do think I am correct in that the coolant circulates thru the heater hoses and heater core from startup. Then as the coolant warms up it opens the thermostat bit by bit to allow coolant to circulate thru the radiator. There have been small openings in systems i have worked on in the past which allow some small amounts of coolant to bypass the thermostat all the time. These openings are not usually large enough to make a lot of difference as say a fully open thermostat will. To be fair it is probably over fifteen model years since I dug deep into a cooling system. Modern systems may have some tweaks I do not know of.

Back to getting heat out of a normally functioning late model Mustang. This is beyond my practical experience so will take your word for it. My 2004 chevy pickup takes some miles (5 to 6) to warm up and throw good heat from a below freezing temp start up. The Fords I have owned over time were also coldblooded to a degree and took a while to warm up.

 

[Slopoke]

Looking at the System Operation page of the cooling system. The engine and heater coolant are separete. The quote below is from the Service Manual. Like SK47 stated, the heater is getting warmer coolant before the rest of the cooling system does.


"Engine coolant flows primarily from the engine to the radiator circuit and back to the coolant pump. Coolant is sent
from the coolant pump through the engine block and cylinder heads. A separate circuit from the engine also feeds
the heater core with coolant"

.

 

[KingKona]

Looking at the System Operation page of the cooling system. The engine and heater coolant are separete. The quote below is from the Service Manual. Like SK47 stated, the heater is getting warmer coolant before the rest of the cooling system does.


"Engine coolant flows primarily from the engine to the radiator circuit and back to the coolant pump. Coolant is sent
from the coolant pump through the engine block and cylinder heads. A separate circuit from the engine also feeds
the heater core with coolant"

.

Yeah, AFAIK they're always separate. The question is if the coolant in the main radiator and the heater core are temperature regulated differently, and I don't think they are.

I think they're the same temp all the time, especially since there's only one thermostat.

 

[sk47]

Looking at the System Operation page of the cooling system. The engine and heater coolant are separete. The quote below is from the Service Manual.

"Engine coolant flows primarily from the engine to the radiator circuit and back to the coolant pump. Coolant is sent
from the coolant pump through the engine block and cylinder heads. A separate circuit from the engine also feeds
the heater core with coolant"

.

Hello; Yes two somewhat separate circuits of coolant flow. They do share some common components such as the water pump and coolant.
It is my understanding the thermostat is the gateway between the two circuits as both circuits share the same coolant. On a hot summer day the thermostat will be wide open, and both the radiator and the heater core will be doing the same job of shunting excess heat to the outside air.
My guess is engineering for hot weather with the added load of an AC is the harder thing to do. So, taking longer to warm up in winter may be a partial price to pay in order to have decent cooling during hot weather?

Back in my first car a 1957 Chevy. Straight six with a three on the tree. Four door and no AC. It had actual valves to open and close on the heater hoses to control the coolant flow. The valves started leaking and i did not have the extra funds to replace them. So, I ran the heater hoses without the valves for a while. In winter the heater hoses were connected to the engine and i had full heat all the time. In summer I had to run one hose in a U back to the engine with nothing going to the heater at all. Made spring and fall interesting.

 

[Slopoke]

Yeah, AFAIK they're always separate. The question is if the coolant in the main radiator and the heater core are temperature regulated differently, and I don't think they are.

I think they're the same temp all the time, especially since there's only one thermostat.

Looking at the diagram, it seems as though the heater core gets coolant directly from the R/H cylinder head. So, I would assume that the heater core would get warmer coolant faster than the normal cooling system. The diagram is from a PDF copy and doesn't show the fine lines connecting the arrows. Heater hose 12 gets coolant from 22, which is the discharge from the R/H cylinder head.

 

[cadbane5.0]

i like turtles

Sponsored