How It Works
The internal combustion engine in most cars and trucks is cooled by a water and antifreeze mixture that is circulated through the engine and radiator by a water pump to enable the radiator to give off engine heat to the atmosphere. Some of that water can be diverted through the heater core to give some engine heat to the cabin.
A heater core is a small radiator, located under the dashboard of the vehicle and consists of conductive aluminium or brass tubing with cooling fins to increase surface area. Hot coolant passing through the heater core gives off heat before returning to the engine cooling circuit.
The fan for the vehicle's ventilation system forces air through the heater core to transfer heat from the coolant to the cabin air, which is directed into the vehicle through vents at various points.
Read more about this topic: Heater Core
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