Patent ID: 7421984

Claim:
A method for adjusting the coolant flow from the cooling ducts of an internal combustion engine into a heating heat exchanger with a cut-off valve, with the cooling ducts are additionally connected to an engine cooler via a three-way thermostat, including the steps of interrupting the coolant flow into the heating heat exchanger by the cut-off valve if the temperature of the coolant is below a predefined reference temperature (Ref 21 a , Ref 1 b , Ref 2 Min), and the coolant flow in the combustion ducts is thus stopped; after a first reference temperature (Ref 1 b ) as a preliminary threshold is exceeded, temporarily opening the cut-off valve, so that a wax pellet in the three-way thermostat is pre-heated; and the cut-off valve is subsequently closed again until the coolant temperature has reached a second, higher reference value (Ref 1 a ) as an operating threshold.