Car warning lights in your dashboard are icons or pictograms that can indicate a serious issue and should not be ignored by any driver, although some of them prefer to not check them immediately; whether for unawareness or thinking about the economic cost of a visit to the workshop.
Nowadays, newer cars can have more than a hundred different warning lights but there is no global regulation for car manufactures to use the same icons to refer to a specific car system issue. Nevertheless, it is important to determine the seriousness of the problem depending on the colour of the light:
Red warning lights: the problem is serious and you should stop your car and act immediately.
Yellow/ Amber warning lights: the computer that runs the engine has detected a fault. You can keep driving but take your car to your trusted workshop as soon as possible.
Green warning lights: this is just an indication that the system is on: fog lights, for example.
But, what is the meaning of those indicators on my dashboard? Let's analyze some of the most important ones:
Tires pressure- TPMS:
It will be on when the tires pressure is not the right one. This one might show up after a seasonal tire changeover or flat tire.
Brakes:
Indicates that the fluid level in the master cylinder is very low or that the brake system has lost the hydraulic pressure needed, compromising driving safety.
Brake pads:
It is time to get your brakes checked out since the pads are too thin but not completely worn out.
Oil:
It is a warning that the oil pressure is too low, a clogged oil filter, or that the oil's viscosity is high and prevents it from flowing.
Alternator/ Battery:
The car's computer has detected a problem in the charging system, which means the alternator is not producing the right voltage and the result might be a dead battery once we restart the engine again.
Check Engine:
Also known as a "malfunction indicator lamp", it might warn about a very serious issue if it flashes or a minor problem in case the light is static.
Diesel Cars:
DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter):
Passive filter regeneration has failed and you need to proceed with an active one. You can use Carista DPF tool for this purpose.
AdBlue- DEF:
It will turn off once the tank has been filled up with the needed exhaust fluid but do not ignore this indicator, if it turns red the engine will not restart again once turned off.
Glow Plug Indicator:
This will be on if the glow plugs from the engine are still warming up. Remember not to start the engine until it disappears. In case the indicator flashes any glow plug is worn out.
Thanks to an OBD2 adapter like the Carista one, you can perform car diagnostics directly from your mobile device and easily check if there are any problems detected on your vehicle's electronic systems, with dealer/mechanic-level precision. Remember that ECUs on modern cars get a bit panicky about less than-important reasons, thereby producing fault codes for intermittent issues that will go away after you reset them.
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