A radiator cap is not just a cap of your car engine’s radiator. It plays a significant role in cooling your engine as well as controlling your engine’s temperature. Moreover, it keeps your engine cool by sealing and giving pressure to the coolant for being inside.
It is designed to hold the coolant in the radiator of your car engine. A lot of people want to know about the functions of a radiator cap. If you are one of them, you have come to the right place.
Here in this article, we will discuss how does a radiator cap work in detail. Hopefully, this article will help you a lot to know the function of a radiator cap.
How does a Radiator Cap Work?
The cooling system is one of the essential things for automobiles. In almost all vehicles, engines are designed to work at a temperature of 185 degrees to 205 degrees Fahrenheit. But when the temperature of the engine is higher than this range, the engine will not work correctly. That is why every engine needs a cooling system.
In that case, a radiator cap is a small and simple component of the cooling system of an engine. This radiator cap is found directly at the top of the radiator. Some drivers assume that this radiator cap is only a cap that covers the heater, but it is not like that.
It has much more important than it seems. There have many functions of a radiator cap. Here we are giving you some critical features of a radiator cap. These are as follows:
Covering the radiator
The primary and known function of a radiator cap of an engine is to cover the radiator so that anything can not come out from the heater. It keeps the cooling system of an engine covered or sealed from the contaminants outside.
Raising the boiling point
The next task is to raise the boiling point of the coolant. It creates a pressurized system, and this pressurize system raises the boiling point of the coolant of the cooling system of an engine. Without this radiator cap, the refrigerant will be heated and vanish (it means evaporated).
Coolant transfer to the coolant reservoir
A radiator cap helps the coolant of the radiator to transfer from the radiator to the reservoir. When the engine is heated, the refrigerant of the heater expands. In contrast, when the coolant expands, it increases in amount, but the additional coolant has to transfer somewhere.
In that case, a radiator cap helps a lot to transfer the additional coolant to the reservoir. The radiator operates this task.
Coolant returned to the radiator
The final task of a radiator cap is to return the coolant to the radiator again. When the engine of your car or other vehicles will be cold, then the coolant will also be cold. At that time, it needs to return to the radiator from the reservoir. A radiator cap does this task. So we can say that this is the final task of a radiator cap.
Mainly these are functions of a radiator cap. After reading this, I’m sure that you know that a car radiator cap is not only a physical cover or cap. It is much more than that.
How To Identify Why Car Engine’s Radiator Cap is Not Working?
This is also a frequently asked question and a very relevant topic as we are discussing how does a radiator cap work.
Well, as a radiator cap is one of the essential components of the cooling system of an engine when it doesn’t work correctly or it is harmful, you will face a lot of problems.
It will damage your car engine because overheating is too bad for a motor. Anyways, now we will discuss some symptoms of a bad radiator cap. These are as follows:
Leaking coolant
When you notice that coolant is leaking from the radiator, it means there is something wrong with your radiator cap. This is one of the most important and alarming symptoms of a bad radiator cap.
Overheating engine
When you notice that the engine of your car is overheating, then you can check whether the radiator cap is working or not. It is another alarming symptom of a bad radiator cap.
The air inside the cooling system
Sometimes, the radiator cap does not be able to seal properly. Air is making its way so that it can go into the radiator. When you feel air inside the heater, you should take the necessary steps for it to fix the radiator cap.
White streaks on the radiator
When you find some white streaks on the radiator, you will be sure that there have some problems with the radiator cap. So you should take the necessary steps.
Overflowing Reservoir
The additional coolant goes into the reservoir tank when it expands. But sometimes you may find that the extra coolant is overflowing if you notice that you will be sure that there have some problems with the radiator cap.
Radiator hose collapse
Sometimes, the radiator hose can collapse. It can be a symptom of a bad.
Radiator hose burst
You may notice that your car engine’s radiator hose is bursting. It is also a symptom of a bad radiator cap. As soon as you see this symptom, you need to take some necessary steps to fix it.
Final words
Many people think that a radiator cap is only a cap that covers the radiator of an engine but is it much more than that. It has a lot of significance for maintaining the good health of an engine. It plays a crucial role in the cooling system of an engine.
Besides, a lot of functions it has makes it an essential component of the cooling system of an engine. Well, in this article, we have discussed how does a radiator cap work in detail.
Hopefully, this will help you a lot to know about the significance and functions of a car radiator cap.