Tag: check engine light

Check Engine Light Symbols

Check Engine

Check Engine Light SymbolThese 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.

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

Check Engine Light TextThe 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).

Service Engine Soon IndicatorIn 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.

Malfunction Indicator SymbolCheck Engine ElectricalElectrical system fault indicatorSymbols 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.

System check indicatorThis 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.

Check Engine TextIf 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.

——————————————————————-

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.

Permanent link to this article: https://dashboardsymbols.com/2018/11/check-engine-light-2/

Catalytic Converter Warning Symbol

Catalytic Converter

Catalytic Converter Warning SymbolThis is the Catalytic Converter Warning symbol. The image, which looks like flames, heat or wavy lines rising from a pipe, indicates an overheated, damaged or malfunctioning catalytic converter. The converter is vital to the proper operation of the engine, so some vehicles may reduce the engine’s power automatically. And of course, it will be very hot. The vehicle will require service immediately.

  • Before continuing, are you sure this is your symbol?? If yes, then read on below.
  • Otherwise you can return to our main Picture Symbols page and scan again!

In newer vehicles, the sensors reading the catalytic converter trigger the Check Engine Light, one of hundreds of functions covered by the that particular warning symbol.

——————————————————————-

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.

Permanent link to this article: https://dashboardsymbols.com/2011/11/1668/

All Those Lights on Your Dashboard: They’re Not for Idiots Anymore

The First Warning Lights

Oil Trouble Indicator Symbol In a simpler day, if your engine’s oil pressure dropped too low, your dashboard, or more properly, your instrument panel, would have had an analog oil pressure gauge displaying the pressure reading and a warning light, a red dot, that would come on to get your attention. Then some manufacturers did away with the gauge altogether, leaving only the red dot or “Idiot” light. There would have been a temperature gauge plus a light to warn a driver if the engine’s temperature rose too high. But now you might not see a gauge at all. In the meantime, “Idiot” lights have proliferated to the point of madness. And as a driver, you need to be a “road scholar” (sorry) to understand them all.

Idiot lights, or tell-tales, as they are known only in the industry, were designed to help drivers who didn’t understand how to read a gauge and to get your attention. To those who actually did know how to read the gauges, and watched them like a hawk, the tell-tales came to be known as Idiot lights. And the term stuck.

Warning Light Evolution

Check Engine Light SymbolHowever, in today’s vehicles, there could never be a corresponding gauge to compliment a Check Engine light, or the ABS (anti-lock brake) light, or a Drivetrain Trouble light, or for any of the dozens of text and picture tell-tales that have permeated vehicle instrument panels over the last few decades.

There may be literally 20 or 30 picture or text tell-tales on a modern instrument panel, each connected to some system in your car. We’ve counted as many as one hundred in some models! And they may illuminate in twos and threes if a problem is detected. That is, a problem with one system causes other systems that are dependent on the first to be shut off. Each of those systems will have an associated, and now illuminated, tell-tale. Today, a driver needs to be an automotive prodigy to know what’s going on.

Slip Indicator SymbolMaybe the most troubling about the “Prodigy” lights is that when one of them crops up, it indicates a problem or malfunction has already occurred. For instance, there is no gauge to indicate a change in the anti-lock brakes. If a malfunction occurs, a tell-tale appears. The same for an electronic throttle, the power steering, the stability control system, or any of the other advanced, and often electronic, systems.

So a “Prodigy” light comes on and a frustrated and often panicked, non-prodigy driver turns to his or her owner’s manual for help. Unfortunately, the common answer is to call your dealer. It is truly impossible for an average driver to memorize the meaning of all the lights, which all too many times includes a system acronym or abbreviation. In the end, drivers actually do feel like Idiots through no fault of their own.

VDC Off IndicatorDrivers need help and at DashboardSymbols.com, we are developing tools to do just that. The first tool is a Smartphone app that includes some 100 image and text tell-tales and their descriptions. The App is currently available for Android and Blackberry phones and under development for the iPhone. We ultimately intend to change the way vehicles communicate with drivers. In the meantime, if you are confused by the symbols that show up on your instrument panel, go to www.dashboardsymbols.com. There, you will find the most comprehensive list of automotive symbols available anywhere, and access to our tools. We’ll help you feel like a “Prodigy”, rather than an “Idiot”!

——————————————————————-

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.

Permanent link to this article: https://dashboardsymbols.com/2011/10/all-those-lights-on-your-dashboard-they%e2%80%99re-not-for-idiots-anymore/

Reduced Engine Power Indicators

Reduced Power

Reduced Engine Power LightReduced eng power indicatorThese are Reduced Engine Power Indicator symbols. Only a handful of manufacturers use these lights, which comes on automatically with a reduction in the vehicle’s performance. Given what is likely an obvious reduction in power and acceleration, the symbol itself would seem to be redundant.

  • First, are you sure this is your symbol?? If yes, then continue on below. 
  • Otherwise return to our main Picture Symbols page and scan again!

The fault is likely in an electronic system, and one vehicle maker suggests stopping the vehicle and restarting it after 10 seconds. Like rebooting a computer, or exactly like rebooting a computer. This may reset the system and thus resolve the issue. If this does not work, see your dealer or authorized service center as soon as possible.

The picture symbol, in essence, is an engine seen from the side, is the same as the check engine light with a down pointing arrow to indicate that the power is reduced.

Similar Symbols

Check Engine Light SymbolMalfunction Indicator SymbolCheck Engine ElectricalSo don’t confuse the indicator with these, despite the lighting bolts and arrows. Learn more about them here.

——————————————————————-

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.

Permanent link to this article: https://dashboardsymbols.com/2010/11/reduced-engine-power-light/