Check Engine
These are all versions of the dreaded Check Engine Light symbols, some of the oldest and easily the most common and recognizable of the symbols that you may see. The word “Check” may appear inside the image, or below, or not at all.
- Before continuing, is one of these truly your symbol?? If yes, read on below.
- Otherwise, you can return to our main Picture Symbols page orText Symbols page and scan again!
The main image is that of an older style engine seen from the side. It includes a fan blade on its front and an air cleaner looking like a helmet mounted on the top. This arrangement is rarely seen in modern automobiles and hasn’t been seen in decades.
Where the word “Check” is missing, descriptions can be all over the map. We’ve heard it called a movie camera light, a personal underwater exploration vehicle, where the fan becomes a propeller, and a helicopter, where the fan and air cleaner both become propellers or blades.
We’ve also had it described as “three elongated circles with some lines connecting them.” We can’t see that no matter how hard we try.
More Versions
The possible reasons for it coming on number in the hundreds and only your dealer or authorized service center can properly address them. However, remember that a loose or missing gas cap will cause the light to come on. This is the only solution available to the average driver, so do check that the gas cap is installed and properly tightened (make sure it clicks at least once).
In older vehicles, this Text version, the Service Engine Soon Indicator, indicates a fault in an emissions related electronic system. The Picture Symbol with the lightning bolt in it means the same thing. Your dealer will be needed to properly assess the problem. Some version of the Check Engine Light is now universal and covers these and other engine-related faults.
Symbols with lightning bolts, while still being basic Check Engine Indicators, also are meant to convey a likely issue with the engines electrical system. The symbol featuring a drawing of a car with an X through it, is specifically meant to be an Electrical System Fault Indicator. A visit to a qualified service shop is in order.
This oddity, a System Check Indicator, makes little or no sense, as it simply adds an exclamation point to the original Check Engine Light. It may appear in yellow/amber, as shown or in red. Seen in yellow/amber, a minor engine fault has been detected. Seen in red, a major engine fault has been detected. The recommendation in when seen in red is to stop the engine and get help immediately, which may be the most useful advice available. In truth, any of the these symbols require attention as soon as possible to prevent real damage.
If other symbols are also active, note that the Check Engine is your first concern. In some cases, other systems in the car may be shut down until the reason the Check Engine light is active is addressed, and the symbols associated with those symbols may be activated. Be sure to check our Multiple Symbols page for more information.
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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.
These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.
Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.
The author has 25 years of automotive experience and has assembled the most extensive collection of symbols and warning lights anywhere (over 1,000!) and can help you open and start any keyless start car with a dead key fob battery. BA, St. Joseph’s College, ME: MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY
Alfa Romeo Adds to Auto Symbol Overload
Too Many Symbols!
We recently took our first look at an Alfa Romeo. In the last two years they have new, more mainstream models, the Giulia sedan and Stelvio SUV, which boosted overall sales and begged for coverage.
First up we created our usual back-up open and start pages for push button start, since these new models are the first in the line up with the feature. We’ll find one for a video soon. We then took a look at their owner’s manuals in case there were any new tell tales to add. And that becomes the subject today.
We found no less than 12 new symbols or modifications of existing symbols in the cars and a new use for an existing symbol. That last one at least uses a pre-existing symbol as is.
Are These Necessary?
This continues to pointlessly swell the already absurd number of tell tales that drivers face on a day to day basis. And make no mistake, the industry from the manufacturer on down to retail employees expects drivers to be fully versed on these things. Here are some examples.
This is a dusk sensor failure indicator. In Alpha’s defense, it is at least a new system. But does the image of a light bulb really help here? The symbol points out that the vehicle’s automatic headlight system is inoperable despite being activated. However, these cars, as well as pretty much all others manufactured today, are fully capable of providing a clear text message such as this in the instrument panel instead. Why not?
This one is a rain sensor failure. We’ve seen this represented as a windshield with the wiper and a drop of water or as a similar symbol with the word AUTO (right). Any of these are meant to represent an automatic wiper system. But this new one could easily be mistaken for a weather forecast.
After all, there is this symbol (left), which warns of possible icy road conditions! This is, by the way, a modification of a preexisting tell tale (right) that leaves out the lane lines. Again, in both cases a message could be displayed in the instrument panel in plain language.
This one indicates a speed limiter failure. Now, lets consider that tell tales in general are meant to illustrate an automotive system in a way that can be easily understood by the general population. However, the incomplete circle with a dashed line inside is completely meaningless. This is a true warning light fail.
I won’t cover each one, but this one deserves mention because of its near complete lack of utility. It is the standard gas pump used as a low fuel warning for years, now with a line running through it. It is meant to indicate that the fuel has been shut off due to an accident. I can’t help but believe that if a driver has been in an accident severe enough for the car to shut off the fuel supply, it will be the last thing he or she will be concerned about. Plus it will only be illuminated if the key is left on!
And finally, since it was mentioned at the start, Alpha has given the image of the padlock straddling a car a new use. It will tell you that there was a failed attempt at a break in. If the break in was successful, I suppose it would be obvious. In any case, this one has some utility and at least went unmodified.
We are now approaching 300 distinct symbols or variations of symbols hosted at DashboardSymbols.com. We’ve argued much of this already but bears repeating: the entire system is all but useless. First, there are too many variations for drivers to be fully versed on period. Second, as already noted, today’s vehicles can point out a problem in plain, easily understood language. And fourth, since eyes belong on the road and not looking at symbols or text, the computing power exists for today’s cars to speak the problem and verbally even offer up additional information or solutions.
As far as we are concerned, if you can order a pizza from your car by voice, you should damn well be able to get real information about an ongoing problem. The car knows and the symbols are a futile attempt to communicate what it knows to its driver.
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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.
These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.
Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.
The author has 25 years of automotive experience and has assembled the most extensive collection of symbols and warning lights anywhere (over 1,000!) and can help you open and start any keyless start car with a dead key fob battery. BA, St. Joseph’s College, ME: MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY