Tag: warning lights

Lights Out: Where to Turn if a Warning Light Fails??

What if a Warning Light Fails?

This is not a new problem, but with the increased reliance on electronics and the increased number of warning lights, it is one that will likely be seen more and more.

Cadillac is recalling its sleek ELR (Electric Long Range) coupe (2014) because of a software problem in the car’s electronic stability control (ESC) system. All electronic systems undergo a diagnostic during start up, and in this case, the system software may inhibit certain diagnostics. This means that some fault conditions would not be detected if they occurred, which further means that the ESC malfunction indicator light will not illuminate.

In the case of the ELR, there are but a few hundred cars to be concerned about (656 vehicles from the 2014 model year not equipped with adaptive cruise control) and fortunately GM discovered the problem in house, not after crashes. But the larger concern remains: an increased reliance on electronics across the board and more importantly in safety systems and the reliance of those systems on electronic self-diagnosis and electronic warning lights.Indicator Failure

What warning exists for the failure of a warning light itself? The answer of course, is that there is none. The indicator to the right is a fake we made up only for this piece.

For the record, many, many years ago, an oil sender failed on a personal car. The sender itself leaked all the oil out of the car, rather quickly it might be added, but never once activated the low oil pressure warning light. In this case, a mechanical failure in an electronic sender cost an engine, but in today’s vehicles, a warning light failure could cost a whole lot more.

To correct the ELR’s problem, GM will only need to recalibrate the electronic brake control module. An electronic fix to an electronic problem. Not very satisfying or confidence building, and reflects on the industry as a whole, not simply GM.

GM’s recall letter to NHTSA can be seen here.

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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.

Permanent link to this article: https://dashboardsymbols.com/2014/03/lights-out-where-to-turn-if-a-warning-light-fails/

Distracted Driving from Outside the Lines

DOT Guidelines

The recent U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) release of its guidelines on the topic of distracted driving has spurred a good deal of discussion in the media. The guidelines call for automakers to disable applications in the vehicles center stack or infotainment system that allow drivers to manually access social media, surf the Web or send text messages while on the road.

All well and good. Very, very good in fact. Really, do we want drivers web surfing or reading text messages while driving?

More Distractions

JVC head unitBut all of the attention is on infotainment systems. At DashboardSymbols.com, we see this focus on distracted driving as an opportunity to reexamine how vehicles communicate with drivers in general. Today’s advanced vehicles are in one form or another continually talking to drivers, either with warning lights and tell-tales or through short and often difficult to interpret text messages. This growing phenomenon is being completely ignored by the DOT and manufacturers alike, and yet poses a similar if not more serious distraction threat.

Warning lights and indicators have long been the province of a vehicle’s instrument panel and the preferred means of communication between the vehicle and its driver. An entire collection of automotive hieroglyphics has been developed and continues to be developed.

Now, vehicles with multifunction displays offer multiple screens to peer at while driving: text on navigation information, tire pressures, fuel consumption, telephone use, and more may be available. And each segment likely offers additional information through menu manipulation. These items are generally very easily accessed with controls mounted on the steering wheel, but the information displayed ultimately requires the driver’s eyes to absorb.

Stability control indicatorWarning symbols and indicators can already be problematic. Unless a driver has dealt with a malfunction in a given system in the past, the appearance of what will be an unfamiliar warning light can cause near panic. And with each new system comes a new tell-tale. The average driver simply does not have the time in a busy life to memorize all the various scenarios these indicators present. Thus when a new one appears, the question for the driver becomes ‘is my car safe to drive?’ That answer is rarely obvious and invariably leads to calls to roadside services or service departments.

And now, message screens are being employed to add instruction, explanation or general information on a vehicle’s status. The idea is sound, but the implementation lies squarely at the center of the DOT’s current concern.

Our perspective is that the driver distraction debate is an opportunity to step back and reconsider the entire landscape. Vehicles are in constant communication with their drivers, and are becoming communication hubs, bringing information and entertainment from without.

Voice commands are in play and offer a path to follow. Perhaps it is time for vehicles themselves to be given a voice. And not just for reading text messages aloud. In theory, it could speak aloud the meaning of a given tell-tale so a lay person can understand, or the status of tires pressures on request, and so on. Certainly there are challenges in implementation – variations in definitions, requests to repeat or no longer repeat information, etc – but it is time to consider allowing a vehicle to communicate its status through 2-way voice interaction. The iPhone’s Siri points the way.

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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.

Permanent link to this article: https://dashboardsymbols.com/2012/04/distracted-driving-from-outside-the-lines/

Automotive Warning Light Anti-logic

There Is Little Logic In Warning Lights

We’ve taken thousands of calls in service departments over the years and there is nearly no end to the way drivers describe the various warning lights that pop up on their instrument panels. These, of course, are not car people, just average every day drivers trying to describe a symbol that was presumably designed to be universally understood around the globe.

The Best Example

Tire Pressure Monitor SymbolThe Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) symbol is the least understood of all and sees the greatest variation of descriptions. It is also what prompted us to pay attention to and collect more descriptions of other symbols. The TPMS light is supposed to be a slice or cutaway of a tire. In all our years in the automotive industry, we have never actually seen a tire slice or met someone who has seen one. How are average, every day drivers supposed to recognize it the first, second or even the third time they see it?

Some TPMS warning light description are:

  • An exclamation point in parenthesis
  • An exclamation point in brackets
  • An exclamation point in a horseshoe
  • Flames – destined to be a classic
  • A wishbone
  • An exclamation point in a fish bowl
  • An exclamation point in a cup
  • And, a real favorite, a candle in a glass!

Other Examples

The descriptions fall out of each person’s life experiences. So take the example of a recent call from a lady who was driving at the time (which is important to the story) who said there was a flashing red light on her dash. When asked to describe it, she said, “well maybe a man riding a horse”.

Seat Belt Reminder SymbolSo, imagine someone who perhaps breeds horses, or simply rides them as a pastime. She’s driving and cannot actually stare at the warning light. Plus its flashing, which can give the illusion of movement. It turned out she was not wearing her safety belt and the Seat Belt Reminder light was on!

Oil Trouble Indicator SymbolThe example that really told us we had to post these, was a call that described a red warning light as a Genie’s lamp! We love it, and can only imagine the driver had just watched a favorite cartoon with her kids! It is, of course the Oil Pressure light. Most vehicles simply don’t go through oil like they did years ago, so seeing this light is actually quite rare, but no less important than it ever was. More to the point, the old style oil can image is completely missing from recent generations’ day to day experience. Thus it gets interpreted as something that actually is familiar.

Cruise Control Indicator SymbolThis one was described as a “green dot with a line through it”. The driver was at the wheel at the time, which is the only explanation for that description for this Cruise Control symbol.

Parking Assistance SymbolYou’ll love this one. We’ve had a number of drivers call this one a “P with a sailboat next to it”! How a sailboat could ever be associated with a car is anyone’s guess, but this Park Assist symbol includes what is supposed to represent a radar signal bouncing off an obstruction. The obstacle looks just a bit too much like a sail.

Differential Lock IndicatorThis version of the differential lock symbol has been described as a letter H with an X in it. Some manufacturers include a tell tale with Os in it to indicate free wheeling. We await a tic tac toe game description from a driver!

Tail Light Out Indicator SymbolThis is easily recognized as an image of an automobile. However, it has eyelashes! Of course, the eyelashes actually represent light beams emanating from from lights. Tailights in this case. A light out indicator in fact.

Check Engine Light SymbolSadly, we’ve heard a dozen descriptions for the Check Engine light that have nothing to do with an actual engine seen from the side, and never thought to save them. We do remember one customer who called it a fan. At least there is one in the image!

Since first running this article, a customer called to talk about the movie camera light on her dash. We’ve also heard of a driver who thought it resembled a “personal underwater exploration vehicle”! The fan becomes a propeller. That light did not have the word “Check” embedded in it. And we just heard from a man whose son described what eventually turned out to be the Check Engine light as “three elongated circles with some lines connecting them.” We can’t see that no matter how hard we try!

Most recently came the possibility that it was a helicopter! Again, a version of the light without the word “Check”. Now, we can actually see this one from both the fan on the left and what is supposed to be an air cleaner at the top but how a driver in an automobile comes to think of a flying machine remains a mystery!

We’ll post more as they come up, for any and all symbols.

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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.

Permanent link to this article: https://dashboardsymbols.com/2011/11/automotive-warning-light-anti-logic/