In case you’re asking ‘what temperature does antifreeze freeze, water freezes at 0° C, or 32° F. As the name suggests, antifreeze prevents the coolant inside your engine from freezing under normal winter conditions. The chemicals in antifreeze have huge benefits, and not only in winter. Antifreeze has many benefits to the engine cooling system.

Ethylene glycol, or a more recent, less hazardous additive, but far more expensive propylene glycol can also be used. Typical colour of engine coolant / antifreezeĪntifreeze is a combination of distilled water and a type of alcohol. The colour of the engine coolant does not necessarily indicate a specific type. Engine coolant or antifreeze does in fact come in a variety of colours from green, yellow, pink, red, or orange. Commonly seen as a green colour as the bottle to the right suggests, engine coolant is a mixture of water and antifreeze.

To ensure the engine is kept at an optimal running temperature, engine coolant is used. Veins in the radiator contain the hot coolant which air cools as the vehicle moves forward.Īirflow through the veins is maintained by a fan if the vehicle becomes hot due to being stationary for long periods.Ī significant number of engine failures are attributed in some way to engine cooling problems. The engine coolant becomes hot itself and so is transferred to a radiator located at the front of the car. Around half of this heat goes out of the exhaust, whilst the remaining heat remains inside the engine block.Ĭar engines need a way of cooling down else they will continue to increase in temperature until the working metal components inside will begin to literally melt, fuse together and the engine will seize. Engine coolant is a water based liquid that absorbs the heat from the engine. Some of this energy is used to move the vehicle forward (around one third), the other two thirds of the energy produced is converted to heat. If you are not able to fix the car yourself, call your breakdown provider and the experts at Eden will be able to diagnose the problem easily.Car engines create a great deal of energy by burning petrol or diesel. It’s important that you don’t open the cap while the engine is hot, or you risk being burned by the escaping coolant. If the level looks OK, it may be a sensor which is at fault. There will be maximum and minimum markings on the side. It’s important that you don’t get it confused with the brake fluid reservoir – the coolant tank is generally going to be bigger and should have symbols and warnings on it to help guide you. If there is no sign of a leak, have a look at the coolant tank – it will usually have a bright yellow cap and a picture of the radiator. You might be able to see, hear of even smell this when you open the bonnet. The light could be caused by several factors, but the most likely is either a loss of coolant or a fault with the sensor.Ī coolant loss could be caused by a leak somewhere in the system, such as a split hose or a hole in the radiator. What causes the engine coolant warning light to come on? Then you can do some basic checks yourself or call for help. If the coolant level is low or there is another problem with your cooling system, you could cause serious damage by continuing to drive. If the light is red, you should pull over as soon as it is safe to do so and switch off the engine. Is it safe to keep driving if my engine coolant light comes on? If you are not confident to do this yourself, then call your breakdown provider for help. In any of these cases you should pull over as soon as it is safe to do so and check the level of the coolant manually. The light may also show amber, which means the coolant level is low, or red, which means it is below the minimum or the car is overheating. When it shows, it is good practice not to put the engine under too much strain as the oil will not be able to offer the maximum protection and you may use more fuel. This is nothing to worry about – it merely shows the engine is warming up and is not yet at its ideal working temperature. Some cars and vans which do not have a separate engine temperature gauge will show the symbol lit up in blue when the car is cold. Generally, it will look like a thermometer floating in water, or possibly like a radiator. Most cars will also flash up all of the warning lights briefly when you turn on the ignition as part of a test cycle, so you may be able to spot it then too. Individual car manufacturers will use different symbols for the coolant warning light, so it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with the car’s manual or ask a member of Eden’s staff to show you when you take delivery of your new car or are next in for a service. What does the engine coolant warning light mean?

Engine coolant symbol under bonnet