Two Common Faults That Can Stop a Car From Running

Whilst a lot of faults will simply make a vehicle harder to drive, there are certain ones that can stop it from running altogether and leave you in need of help from a vehicle repair specialist. Here are two such faults.

A radiator fault that affects its cap

Any serious problems with your car's radiator could potentially stop your car from functioning and leave you in need of the assistance of a vehicle repair service. The radiator contains the coolant that helps to keep the engine's temperature within a safe range. As such, if it malfunctions and this leads to it failing to deliver the coolant, the engine will get too hot and will stop functioning.

For example, if your radiator cap (which is a type of pressure valve) develops a defect that affects its ability to regulate the pressure levels inside the radiator and this fault goes unrepaired for a quite a while, the radiator hoses (that are designed to transport the coolant that is housed in the radiator to the engine) could collapse as a result of the change in pressure.

If this happens, the coolant will not be transferred via these hoses to the engine, and the engine will subsequently overheat. This extreme heat could alter the shape of the engine's components to such an extent that the engine cannot function, which will then lead to the car itself no longer running.

If your car develops this problem, you will need to get an auto service specialist to replace the radiator cap and to repair any engine damage the malfunctioning cap caused.

Damaged battery cables

A car battery's electrical cables can be damaged surprisingly easily; sometimes, this damage is caused by mice or rats climbing into the internal areas of a vehicle and gnawing through these cables. Other times, this issue is the result of the car owner being too rough when handling the battery whilst they are recharging or cleaning it.

If the electrical cables on your car battery sustain any type of damage, you will probably find it very difficult to start your car. The reason for this is that it is the wires in these cables that help to transfer the electrical current from the battery to your vehicle's starter motor, which then turns on the engine. If the connections are damaged, the electrical current generated by the battery might not pass through them and the car will not start.

If you encounter this type of issue, the auto service specialist should be able to resolve it by extracting the damaged cables and replacing them with new ones.


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