Temp Controls Keep Things Cool

When we talk about the temp control in your vehicle we can actually be talking about two different car parts. In an internal combustion engine there is a cooling thermostat, sometime called a temp control, and there is also a temp control that is used to control the amount of heat entering the cabin of your vehicle. Let’s take a look at both.

Internal combustion engines need to operate at an optimum temperature in order to run efficiently and not leave you stranded on the side of the road. They do this by regulating the amount of coolant that flows to and from the radiator. This is purely a mechanical procedure that happens time and time again, a little valve that opens and shuts over and over again as you drive. The larger the opening of the valve the more coolant is allowed to flow; when the temperature is at the right level the valve is closed, and on and on it continues to operate.

In the case of the temp control on your heater, this is maintained manually on many cars but on the newer makes and models this is an automatic function that is done electronically. The driver or passenger just sets the optimum temperature for the cabin and then sensors take over, measure the internal temperature, and allow warm air into the cabin as needed. In effect the warm air is nothing more than warm air from the engine as funneled in from the radiator as it heats.

This may all see terribly complicated but in fact, if you saw a diagram, you would see it for what it is, a fairly simple mechanical function.

How about replacing a temp control? Is it difficult? The answer to that question lies in the make and model of your vehicle. No matter whether we are talking about the temp control in your engine or the temp control in your heater, it all depends on the make and model. Some units are easy to get to and some are not.

Are they expensive? The temp control in the engine is more expensive than the temp control in the heater, but both are relatively inexpensive if you buy them at a You Pull It salvage yard; heck, all replacement parts whether we are talking about a distributor or a transmission or a bumper are cheaper at salvage yards. Keep that in mind the next time you need to buy some used auto parts.