Six automotive facts that may change your preconceptions (Part one)

Many systems, functions or components of a car can be easily identified by their appearance and their intended use. But the funny thing is, a lot of the components in cars don’t function the way we think they do. Some things you assume to be simple are in fact difficult. And some of the items you consider to be high tech are not as sophisticated as you might think. We’re going to look at a few aspects of cars today that might challenge some of your preconceptions.

1. Many people believe that the generator is always connected to the engine and producing electricity.

Many people believe that the generator is permanently producing electricity because it is connected to the engine. They drive at night with all the headlights on because it would be wasteful to not use the electricity.

In actuality, the more car lights you turn on, the more fuel you get. A car generator is smart enough to automatically adjust its output because it doesn’t always produce as much electricity as you might think. The generator contains a coil known as the excitation coil. When electricity is applied, it’s duty is to produce a magnetic field, taking the place of the generator’s magnet. In order to adjust the amount of electricity produced, the generator’s regulator adjusts the magnetic force by adjusting the current flowing through the excitation coil. When there is a high demand for electricity from automobiles, the field current will be high, the generator’s power output will rise, the engine will work harder to drive the generator, and fuel consumption will rise naturally.

2. Which direction is radiator fan of the front of the car blowing?

The car has a radiator in the head and one or two fans behind it. Many people assume that coolant flows through the radiator and then the fan blows on the radiator to cool it.

The fan actually draws air into the engine compartment, drawing air in front of the radiator and carrying the heat away as it passes by, as opposed to blowing against the radiator. In fact, if you give it some careful thought, this idea is simple to grasp. The hot air in the engine room will blow past and the heat dissipation effect will be worse if the fans blow against the radiator. Additionally, the fan is powerless to stop the powerful airflow coming from the front of the car. The fan blowing inward, on the other hand, is different, and the cooler air outside the car can be used to dissipate heat when driving slowly or stopping in place. The fan hardly ever needs to operate during middle and high speed driving, and the front’s high-speed airflow is the only source of energy available to dissipate heat.

3. Does the car’s throttle have a water pipe for heat dissipation?

If you have ever cleaned the valve by hand, you will notice that the throttle has numerous black tubes connecting it to the cooling system, which circulates coolant. We would assume that it was cooling the throttle without question.

And in reality, that isn’t the case because the throttle doesn’t produce heat on its own. And It also sits on the intake manifold, far from the hot area of the engine, and is said to not require heat dissipation. Then why is it connected to so many cooling pipes?

In actuality, these pipes are used to heat the throttle because outside air continues to flow through the throttle while the engine is running, and this air cools it as it passes through the throttle. When air passes through the throttle, water vapor in the air may liquefy and produce water droplets, especially in the winter. The throttle may freeze as a result of the cold air flowing through it, which could cause the water to freeze. At that point, your accelerator pedal is locked, and the engine retains power even if you release it, which is extremely dangerous. So you must apply hot coolant to the throttle to prevent it from freezing. Other older engines must also adjust idle compensation by controlling the idle valve via coolant temperature.

Click here for Part two