Warning lights on the dash can illuminate, like the charging system light, brake light, abs (antilock brake system) light, srs (supplemental restraint system) light, and or the check engine light.  Some of the symptoms the vehicle can exhibit are:  vehicle will not crank when trying to start, a long starting crank time, exterior and interior lights dim or not working properly, engine and transmission performance can be compromised or have odd symptoms, and some of the electrical accessories may not work or will work intermittently.

If your vehicle is exhibiting any of these symptoms it is a good idea to have the vehicle inspected and tested.  The starting/charging system of your vehicle should be tested at least every 6 months as regular maintenance.

With the advent of sophisticated battery testers, we can now test a battery for the initial state of charge, cold cranking amps available for starting vehicles engine, and the ability of the battery to hold an electrical load.  When checking a battery, the overall appearance, condition of the battery, and the connections and cables to the battery are inspected too.   If the battery test results are “fail or marginal” and the battery cannot be charged to a passing condition, or if the battery is leaking or has corrosion that cannot be cleaned, it is recommended to replace the battery.

Most new batteries are designed to last between 4 to 6 years.  A good performance of the battery can depend on the type of driving and usage of the vehicle so it can vary somewhat.  The benefit of replacing a battery before it fails is to reduce the possibility of a breakdown or a no start condition.  A battery that is testing marginal can also cause more strain on the other components in the electrical system of the vehicle, like the starter and alternator. The starter relies on a fully charged battery to supply the needed amps to start the vehicle.  The alternator is designed to keep the battery in a full state of charge, it is not designed to continually recharge the battery from a completely dead or a continual depleted state.  Keeping a healthy battery in your vehicle can be more cost effective than waiting for a battery to fail or be completely used up.  A good quality starter or alternator can be expensive to replace.

Extreme weather conditions hot or cold can accentuate a weakness in the starting/charging system of a vehicle.   As we start into the summer months we recommend keeping the electrical system of your vehicle in good shape and have it tested and inspected for any weaknesses.  When the heart of your electrical system is not testing in a good healthy state replace it to keep your vehicle reliable and not cause further issues down the road.  Happy Motoring!

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The Battery/Charging System Indicator Light is amber in color and looks like a battery.  When this light illuminates, or stays illuminated or comes on and off while driving it is indicating that there is an issue in the charging or starting system of your vehicle.  There are several things that is could be, the battery not holding a good charge or having bad connections, bad connections at the starter, a broken or loose alternator drive belt, a failing alternator or again not having good connections.  We recommend having this inspected and tested immediately, this light usually indicates an imminent failure that will cause a breakdown situation.

The Oil Pressure Light this is indicated in an amber color with an oil can with a drip.  This light is often misunderstood as time for an oil change light.  That is not what it is indicating, when this indicator is illuminated it is indicating that your engine is not receiving enough oil.  This could be because of low engine oil level or low engine oil pressure.  An engine that is starved of engine oil or pressure can be damaged internally within seconds or minutes of continued operation.  We recommend if that light ever comes on, turn off the car immediately and have it towed to your trusted repair facility to have it diagnosed.

The Coolant Temperature Light is amber in color and shows a thermometer in a circle. When this light illuminates it usually indicates that your engine is operating at an excessively high temperature.  The sensor for this light is measuring the temperature of the engine coolant that is circulating in the engine cooling system.  If this light comes on it is recommended to turn off the vehicle immediately and have it towed to your trusted repair facility for a diagnosis of the overheating engine.  Please keep in mind that engine can overheat without that light coming on if the coolant level is low.  So make sure your coolant level is checked regularly with oil change services and immediately address any leaks of coolant that you may see from under your vehicle. Also, never attempt to remove a radiator cap on a vehicle that is overheating you can get seriously injured due to the amount of pressure build up in that system.

Lastly, there is the Transmission Temperature Light that is much like the Coolant Temperature Light, this light will illuminate when your transmission is operating at an extremely high temperature.  It can turn on due to low fluid level, or poor transmission fluid condition, transmission pump flow, or when the vehicle is being used for towing at high temperatures.  It is recommended to have the vehicle towed in to your trusted repair facility if this light stays illuminated, if it goes back off, then we would recommend having it diagnosed as soon as possible.  A transmission that is operating at too high of a temperature can cause internal damage to the transmission.

The different warning lights on your dash, which we have discussed in the past few articles, is your vehicles way of talking to you.  Make sure and listen then take the appropriate action to minimize any damage or down time with your vehicle.  Happy Motoring!

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The Brake Light Indicator, this light is usually red and says “brake” it is typically an indicator that the park brake is applied, however it can also indicate low brake fluid level.  If this light comes on you should check your park brake first and if it is unapplied, the vehicle should be checked out immediately, we would recommend having it towed.  Low fluid level can cause your brakes not to function properly and can make driving the vehicle unsafe.  Low fluid level can indicate worn brakes or a brake fluid leak in the brake system.

The ABS Indicator Light, is for the Anti-Lock Braking System of your vehicle, it says ABS on your dash in an amber color.  If the light stays illuminated this indicates that there is a malfunction in the ABS system.  When that light is on, the ABS system of your vehicle will be disabled and will not operate in a slippery surface or panic stop situation.  The conventional brake system of your vehicle will still work.  If both the ABS light and Brake light are on we again recommend having your vehicle towed to your trusted repair facility to have your vehicles entire brake system inspected.

The Traction Control Light is a little newer system but is becoming to be a standard function on today’s vehicles.  The indicator light is amber and shows a car in triangle with 2 squiggly lines behind it.  When this light comes on it is because one or more of your wheels is spinning at a faster rate due to loss of traction.  The systems sensors will indicate this and will automatically apply braking to the wheel(s) that needs to slow down and get back in sync with the others.  When the Traction Control Light illuminates, you will know this system is in effect and that you should probably slow down a little.

The Tire Pressure Monitoring (TPMS)  light is an amber light with a triangle and an exclamation point symbol in the middle.  When this light comes on it means that you have a tire or tires that have a low pressure reading or that there is a problem in the system that it cannot read the pressure.  We recommend having tire pressure checked and filled if needed on all tires including the spare tire and see if the TPMS can be reset.  If it cannot then it needs to be diagnosed for the problem.  This system is an important safety feature that helps with the #1 breakdown on US Highways which is flat or blown out tires.  We recommend keeping this system in good working order, so you can rely on that indicator to let you know you have a tire that has low tire pressure.

The next article will cover warning lights that have to do with the operation of your charging/starting system and some of the fluid temperatures in your vehicle. Happy Motoring!

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Maintenance required light is often questioned by consumers.  This is a reminder light, not really a warning light and it is set by the mileage of your vehicle.  When the vehicle is serviced with oil changes or other maintenance items, this light should be reset.  Then it will come back on when it is due for maintenance.  If you look in your vehicle manual it is set up based on the scheduled service intervals recommended in your book.  If you would like to service your vehicle more frequently you can have the maintenance reminder reprogrammed based on your preference.

The malfunction indicator light is known as the check engine light or the service engine soon light.  It can illuminate as an Engine Symbol or the words Check Engine or Service Engine. If this light comes on this means that the computer of your vehicle has recognized that a circuit, system or sensor in your vehicle is working out of parameters.  This problem can affect engine performance and emissions.  If the light stays solidly on, we recommend making an appointment with your trusted repair facility soon and having the vehicle diagnosed and repaired.  If the light is flashing on/off this is considered a catalytic converter damaging condition and you will usually feel a difference in the performance of the vehicle.  In this type of situation you should pull over, turn off the car and have it towed to your trusted repair facility before further damage or a breakdown occurs.

During the next article we will go over a couple warning lights that have to do with some of the safety features of the vehicle.  Happy Motoring!

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