Can I Drive a Car If the Radiator Fan is Not Working?
YES! You can drive a car with a broken or malfunctioned radiator Fan, but you never should. Your car does not require a radiator fan to start or work. Instead, it is necessary to keep it healthy & operative. Are you wondering, How? Well! Let us discuss the reasons why the radiator fan is not working.
What is a Radiator Fan & How does it Operate?
It is an electrical fan that works as an intrinsic part of the cooling system, helping lower the damaging temperatures of the car’s engine.
When you drive a car, the engine is the component that produces horsepower to run with the help of combustion. The combustion process with friction inside the engine eventually generates heat. When the befitted thermostat detects high temperatures, the radiator starts working.
Its fan, positioned between the engine and the radiator, blows the cold air through the heated fluid. It then diverts this heat elsewhere, making space for cold airflow. It eventually cools the radiator fluid, further reducing the engine temperature.
Addressing the Radiator fan issues within time can evade tremendous damages to your car, ultimately saving your money.
Reasons Why Radiator Fan is Not Working
The radiator is one of the essential components of the car’s cooling system, keeping the engine from overheating. It aids in maintaining healthy temperatures to keep the engine operating flawlessly without any problems. Here are some measures to check why the radiator fan is not working on your car.
- The first sign can be when your car starts overheating, and you see the heat-meter, present in your car’s display, rise abnormally. Hence, it is perceptible that there is a problem with the radiator.
- Also, you can start the car and let the engine temperature increase. The radiator fan will kick in after some time if it is working fine. There might be a problem with the radiator if the temperature rise is not under control.
- Another radiator problem is when the radiator coolant starts leaking, that’s a green, red, or yellow fluid. This leaking problem simply indicates that the radiator is in bad shape & needs fixing.
- Open the Bonnet and find the radiator, which has the hoses connected to it. You need to check for the temperature change in these hoses with an infrared gun. You can consider the radiator broken if there is no change in the temperature while the engine is running.
- Radiator problem also causes overheating issues when it has clogged pipes or sludge in the coolant. You can open the radiator cap to ensure that no debris or sludge is obstructing the passage for coolant. (Perform when the car is cooled off for safety purposes)
These small checks should be enough to check if your car’s radiator is operational.
How do I know if my Radiator Fan is in Bad Shape?
A radiator fan is a significant part of the cooling system that keeps your car’s engine at ideal temperatures while you drive it in traffic or at lower speeds.
Let us discuss the symptoms that imply the potential malfunctioning of the Radiator fan.
Sign 1: High Temperatures Alerts
There is a small section near the speedometer, which indicates the engine temperature. You need to be aware at all times if that section shows a red signal or that needle is reaching the red line.
It is highly likely that the radiator fan is not working properly, unable to cool down the temperature. Resolve it as early as possible because it can lead to costly repairs or even an undrivable car at worst.
Sign 2: Whirring Noise while Driving
It is probable that the Radiator fan assembly has malfunctioned, which engenders annoying loud noises from the fan. Rush to the mechanic or fix it while you can if you hear a whirring noise in the course of driving your car.
Note that you have to be attentive to notice such anomalies (like odd noises, smoke) whenever you take your car for a ride. The noise from the radiator fan can cripple the cooling system, leading to other uninvited damages.
Sign 3: Air Conditioning System becomes Ineffective
It could be the broken Radiator fan when you switch on the AC to alleviate the sizzling hot weather but feel something is off. It is likely that the AC fan is not working to its full potential or not at all.
Your radiator fan can struggle to compensate for the high temperatures outside and drain the power of the AC fan as a consequence.
Radiator Fan Is Not Working, but No Overheating Issues. Why?
As mentioned above, the car getting overheated can be because of the Radiator fan as it circulates the air around the radiator.
It helps in lowering the engine temperature of a car that is running at a slow speed or coming to a halt. However, there are times when you do not experience any overheating problems despite the fact that the Radiator fan is failing.
There can be two viable causes.
- First, if you drive your car at fairly high speeds, the air will circulate no matter what, cooling the fluid in the radiator and engine. It, in turn, keeps the engine cool and prevents the temperature from reaching damaging levels.
- Second, the weather outside is cold enough that it compensates and neutralizes the heat from the engine.
All things considered, you should be very well acquainted by now with the potential causes and indications of the Radiator fan. Take the required action, get it fixed before it costs you a fortune!
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