Cars with warning lights on

Bpmull

Recently I seem to be noticing that a huge amount of cars I've been in / seen the clocks on etc all seem to have warning lights on. Maybe in the last year or so I've really noticed it. Is it just people have this mentality of "sure be grand". I can't say I've ever had a warning light come on but if one did I would certainly be getting it looked at ASAP.

When I say warning lights I mean engine management light, stop light, service light (the warning one as opposed to the service reminder, airbag lights, abs, oil light the list goes on. I never really noticed it before the recession well not as bad at all. Have people just given up on caring for their cars. The whole point of a warning light is to warn you of a malfunction fault why would someone ignore it they don't come on for the fun of it. Anyone else notice this trend or what's peoples views on it ?

CJhaughey

Bpmull wrote: »

Recently I seem to be noticing that a huge amount of cars I've been in / seen the clocks on etc all seem to have warning lights on. Maybe in the last year or so I've really noticed it. Is it just people have this mentality of "sure be grand". I can't say I've ever had a warning light come on but if one did I would certainly be getting it looked at ASAP.

When I say warning lights I mean engine management light, stop light, service light (the warning one as opposed to the service reminder, airbag lights, abs, oil light the list goes on. I never really noticed it before the recession well not as bad at all. Have people just given up on caring for their cars. The whole point of a warning light is to warn you of a malfunction fault why would someone ignore it they don't come on for the fun of it. Anyone else notice this trend or what's peoples views on it ?

Not all fault lights are faults, some are just annoying sensor malfunctions.

Noccy_Mondy

I always sort out any light that comes on straight away. Sadly the fuel one comes on all too often... :pac:

YbFocus

Yep definitely bp, I've been in a couple lately where the management light was on and it was a case of it seems fine so it's grand. .

A friends saab is down 2 cylinders in the last few days, told her not to drive it because she'll destroy the cat etc. Driving it as much as ever :rolleyes:

wendell borton

Red light bad, yellow light meh.

endacl

Noccy_Mondy wrote: »

I always sort out any light that comes on straight away. Sadly the fuel one comes on all too often... :pac:

My constant companion, that little yellow bugger...

Bpmull

CJhaughey wrote: »

Not all fault lights are faults, some are just annoying sensor malfunctions.

I know what you mean. But if you leave the eml on for example because it's a dodgy sensor. Then what if another more important issue arises you won't know as the eml was on all the time. A faulty sensor is still ultimately a faulty engine component even if it's not causing harm to the engine by being on. I'd personally change the sensor. But I get your point not every light that is on means there is something serious wrong with the car.

JohnBoy26

I've never seen a dashboard light up like Christmas tree quiet like the cars in the old Austin rover adverts :pac:

bazz26

This answers it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMhp2ShPVQw

SleeperService

Ahh shur, waste of money to get em cleared until the morning of the NCT...

Jesus.

I've a warning light on all the time but there's nothing wrong with the car. My last car had one on for five years and nare a bother!

The amount of faulty warning lights on dashes renders them practically useless. Its like the boy who cried wolf. Or a better analogy would be car and house alarms. You hear them going off so often during the day by accident or whatever that you pay no attention to them after a while, making them not really worth a damn.

Boskowski

Jesus. wrote: »

I've a warning light on all the time but there's nothing wrong with the car. My last car had one on for five years and nare a bother!

The amount of faulty warning lights on dashes renders them practically useless. Its like the boy who cried wolf. Or a better analogy would be car and house alarms. You hear them going off so often during the day by accident or whatever that you pay no attention to them after a while, making them not really worth a damn.

lol do you know which warning light it is even?

Jesus.

Boskowski wrote: »

lol do you know which warning light it is even?

Na. Its yellow, that's all I know

Stavros Murphy

The missus's Avensi'i has more lights on on the dash than is even vaguely right. The fuel one is a fixture as she regards a fiver as wild extravagance, the eml is on, the oil light is on every time I get in - I extinguish that with half a gallon of whatever is lying around, plus another one or two mystery ones. I only venture into it when there is no other choice as the damn thing has to calve shortly, and if it dies when i'm driving, she'll blame me. Sod's law says it'll never die on her.

Jesus.

My missus' car has had a warning light on it for two years now too. Car's been serviced a couple of times in the meantime. Absolutely nothing wrong with the motor. Running as sweet as a nut.

The OP is right. Every car i get into now seems to have a warning light on the dash (not talking about oil or fuel lights btw). And all the cars I get into are in perfect working order.

People don't pay any heed to them anymore.

wandatowell

A mate of mine had a car (Passett I think) that would constantly alarm. A 10 second long tone every 30 seconds or so. Its been a while since I was it the car but the he wont bother his hole to get it sorted. Makes trips unbearable!

jca

Bpmull wrote: »

Recently I seem to be noticing that a huge amount of cars I've been in / seen the clocks on etc all seem to have warning lights on. Maybe in the last year or so I've really noticed it. Is it just people have this mentality of "sure be grand". I can't say I've ever had a warning light come on but if one did I would certainly be getting it looked at ASAP.

When I say warning lights I mean engine management light, stop light, service light (the warning one as opposed to the service reminder, airbag lights, abs, oil light the list goes on. I never really noticed it before the recession well not as bad at all. Have people just given up on caring for their cars. The whole point of a warning light is to warn you of a malfunction fault why would someone ignore it they don't come on for the fun of it. Anyone else notice this trend or what's peoples views on it ?

Yep. Much more in the last few years. A work colleague ignored his for about 8 months... He had to act when the car finally ground to a halt. It cost him the guts of a grand to finally get it sorted. Burnt out exhaust valves from running too weak.

dgt

I love seeing the traction control off light on the dash of the E39's :pac:

I try to get to the bottom of why the lights came on in the first place. Usually with the fathers car its sh*te petrol that causes the mil to come on. A brake light comes on now and again on his van due to the wear sensors on the pad sticking out too far. Egr light comes on caused by crap diesel.

The 406's are an absolute curse when the airbag light comes on, usually the connectors under the seat. The one that wasn't caused by niggly things was the abs light, sensor packed up. Changed, reset, gone

Those lights are a bloody curse though

jca

wandatowell wrote: »

A mate of mine had a car (Passett I think) that would constantly alarm. A 10 second long tone every 30 seconds or so. Its been a while since I was it the car but the he wont bother his hole to get it sorted. Makes trips unbearable!

My sons Passat is the same, low washer fluid, service now!!, low oil level, etc etc. Each warning accompanied by an ear piercing alarm, drives me booking nuts..:mad::mad: I hate lights illuminated on the dash.

GE90

jca wrote: »

My sons Passat is the same, low washer fluid, service now!!, low oil level, etc etc. Each warning accompanied by an ear piercing alarm, drives me booking nuts..:mad::mad: I hate lights illuminated on the dash.

Just get the relevant problem fixed and the light will go away.

Boskowski

lol and people are wondering why people rather get a second hand from the UK in.

CJhaughey

GE90 wrote: »

Just get the relevant problem fixed and the light will go away.

Sometimes its not that simple to extinguish a light, it can be infuriating.

vermin99

CJhaughey wrote: »

Sometimes its not that simple to extinguish a light, it can be infuriating.

Snips and a good knowledge of the way shes wired job sorted, seriously though its a balls that they dont just clear themselves after the problem is fixed, look up thelights in the book , pretty much every one goes..............bring to your nearest bmw dealer .when basically all you have to do isfix the problem and plug in the diagnostics tools.althoughi do know a fella completely disconnected them

Jesus.

Boskowski wrote: »

lol and people are wondering why people rather get a second hand from the UK in.

Are you saying every warning light that comes on means there's something wrong with the engine?

That's nonsense mate. Pure and simple.

GE90

CJhaughey wrote: »

Sometimes its not that simple to extinguish a light, it can be infuriating.

I appreciate that but some drivers make no effort to fix the problems. The same drivers them come on here looking to see how much it is going to cost them to fix their car after the problem has escalated to something much more serious.

Youzername

vermin99 wrote: »

Snips and a good knowledge of the way shes wired job sorted, seriously though its a balls that they dont just clear themselves after the problem is fixed, look up thelights in the book , pretty much every one goes..............bring to your nearest bmw dealer .when basically all you have to do isfix the problem and plug in the diagnostics tools.althoughi do know a fella completely disconnected them

Any time I have had a light, I've fixed the problem an the light goes off.

At the most, it stays on until after a few trips in the car, which is standard I think??

GE90

Youzername wrote: »

Any time I have had a light, I've fixed the problem an the light goes off.

At the most, it stays on until after a few trips in the car, which is standard I think??

For most cars you will have to clear the fault code (Once the problem has been fixed) with a diagnostics scanner to reset the warning light. Or you could try disconnecting the battery for 15mins.

Boskowski

Jesus. wrote: »

Are you saying every warning light that comes on means there's something wrong with the engine?

That's nonsense mate. Pure and simple.

I'm not saying that. I'm saying that every warning light that comes on means there's something wrong with the car.
Its not just the engine thats important about a car, brakes for example aren't totally unimportant. Some lights are indicating not an immediate problem but something that will turn into an problem if left unattended.

Anyway, I would certainly not by a car off anyone I knew was driving around with lights on for years no bother. And if I knew that such an attitude was widespread in my area I wouldn't buy a second hand car in my area. Absolutely not.

GE90

I think the problem is people not checking why the light came on and just driving on regardless thinking its just a nusense.

If it came on to indicate a genuine problem then it should be fixed. But I appreciate that a lot of the time the light comes on because of a dodgy sensor or bad wiring and can be a pain to sort out and will lead to people driving with warning lights on.

endacl

CJhaughey wrote: »

Sometimes its not that simple to extinguish a light, it can be infuriating.

Little bit of gaffa tape over the display. Job done.

s14driftking

endacl wrote: »

Little bit of gaffa tape over the display. Job done.

1 mil drill bit throught the cluster and into the bulb usually does the trick too:D

Lurching

jca wrote: »

My sons Passat is the same, low washer fluid, service now!!, low oil level, etc etc. Each warning accompanied by an ear piercing alarm, drives me booking nuts..:mad::mad: I hate lights illuminated on the dash.

If you've left it that long since an oil check that the oil level light comes on, then I'd think the light coming on would be a good thing.
In my opinion, a warning light is much nicer than a ceased engine. Maybe you feel differently?

jca

Lurching wrote: »

If you've left it that long since an oil check that the oil level light comes on, then I'd think the light coming on would be a good thing.
In my opinion, a warning light is much nicer than a ceased engine. Maybe you feel differently?

Being a few months short of his 25th birthday he can check his own oil,washer fluid, get it serviced etc. No lights illuminated in my own car. I've shown him numerous times how to top up engine oil, end of.

jca

GE90 wrote: »

Just get the relevant problem fixed and the light will go away.

Not my car.

jimgoose

I have a Zero-Tolerance policy towards warning lights. They are there for a reason.

Jesus.

Boskowski wrote: »

Some lights are indicating not an immediate problem but something that will turn into an problem if left unattended.

I wouldn't agree with that either. Like I said, I had a car with a light on for five years yet there wasn't a thing wrong with it. These are often just faulty lights mate.

I think we rely too much on such things these days. An experienced driver generally knows if his car is running well or not. You just know. Similarily, a proper driver can sense something's not quite right even if there's no light showing. Just because there's no warning light, it doesn't mean there's nothing wrong either. Its time to go back to basics IMO.

I do think the age of the car is a big factor though. If I was driving a relatively new car, I'd pay more attention to a warning light to be honest. I'd definitely investigate it further. If I was in Bangernomics territory though, ofttimes it can be benign. The car might have been mended at some point and had a new part or something inserted and the Computer doesn't recognise it. Or, if its constantly on, its often just a faulty sensor.

jimgoose

Jesus. wrote: »

...Or, if its constantly on, its often just a faulty sensor.

Here is the News: A faulty sensor is a fault.

Jesus.

jimgoose wrote: »

Here is the News: A faulty sensor is a fault.

And that brings me back to my original point. These systems are often so faulty themselves that in many cases it renders them impotent.

They're there to indicate faults in the car, not in themselves!

jimgoose

Jesus. wrote: »

And that brings me back to my original point. These systems are often so faulty themselves that in many cases it renders them impotent.

They're there to indicate faults in the car, not in themselves!

Do you separate "the car" from "the car's diagnostic systems"? To me, they are one and the same.

H3llR4iser

I am guilt of the "Oil temperature" light constantly flashing - the sensor is busted and finding another one is proving to be a bit problematic

cadaliac

This thread indicates clearly the way we (Irish) people treat our cars.
Its laughable actually.

Good thread btw.

hadook

Meh, warning lights are there to alert to a possible problem. I'd check them out but I wouldn't panic if the car was driving ok. Probably because I almost got the full set of warning lights the day the alternator went in my last car - the EM light was on anyway because of an ongoing battle with a pair of sensors so all I was missing was the oil warning by the time I got to the garage an hour later

On the other hand, I was driving himself's car a few years ago when the engine died. I limped it to the garage with only 2 cylinders firing and despite the fact that it felt like I was driving a bouncy castle powered by pogo sticks the EM light didn't even come on until the next day when they were running diagnostics.

dukedalton

When I first started driving the engine management light in the car would come on intermittently. The first couple of times this happened I went into various indy garages to get it looked at. In each garage I would get fobbed off, rudely in many cases. Eventually I stopped getting it checked. (The car ran fine for another year or so, and only gave up the ghost when the clutch went- which was nothing to do with the engine management light.)

Do indy garages just not want the hassle of diagnosing the engine management light issue? Does the problem invariably turn out to be something relatively minor and not worth their time?

Mycroft H

When I drove the Xantia the Airbag light had a habit of coming on randomly. If you lifted the carpet near the drivers door and moved the wiring loom about a bit it would disappear for a while, great for sorting it for the NCT

Bpmull

jimgoose wrote: »

I have a Zero-Tolerance policy towards warning lights. They are there for a reason.

I completly agree with you there. Even a faulty sensor is still a fault. Out of anything I've ever had or my parents if a light comes on it's sorted straight away. Literally the only car we didn't have this policy for was a megane diesel 04 we bought it very cheap and it was used for tipping around the car was checked several times and there was nothing wrong with it. But if you were driving along you'd get a stop, service, injector light, abs, eml all coming on at various times often together. We ignored that I recon it was dodgy electrics but as I said we didn't have much money in it so even if it did blow up it wouldn't of been the end of the world. That was my only exception though.

Anyway older renaults don't count :pac: although from 06 on any Renault we had never caused any trouble. And if a light was on it was because there was a problem. But on its worst day I've never driven the focus around with lights on the dash. The only light that ever appears on the Octavia's is the one for blown bulbs

JBokeh

I had a jeep that just used to flash lights at me to keep me awake,handbrake light would come on for no reason,seatbelt light and door open light too.

The oil pressure light used worry me,but the oil pressure was reading grand from the switch,the wire had chaffed somewhere.

I usually at least check for a fault and investigate if something comes on,but most of the time it's a sensor or switch that is faulty. Though the windscreen washer fluid one is the worst,why does it beep when you start the car,I know I CBA getting out and filling it. It would be much better if it beeped when you turn it off,that way there is more of a chance you will nip into the house and fill a bottle of water and fill it.

But i've seen people that have the CEL on,point it out and they go "oh I got it looked at,it's grand"

Zoney

Some of these that some seem to think are trivial warnings that can be ignored, e.g. Window washer fluid level, should instead be considered a convenience. Guess what, if you're out of window washer fluid you should fill it up!

ideally some of these warnings shouldn't be necessary if people kept an eye on things.

absolutely agree that it's a symptom of the typical attitude here of "ah sure it'll be grand" and people being chancers.

dieselbug

Best thread I'v seen for age's. Priceless

rex-x

Jesus. wrote: »

I wouldn't agree with that either. Like I said, I had a car with a light on for five years yet there wasn't a thing wrong with it. These are often just faulty lights mate.

I think we rely too much on such things these days. An experienced driver generally knows if his car is running well or not. You just know. Similarily, a proper driver can sense something's not quite right even if there's no light showing. Just because there's no warning light, it doesn't mean there's nothing wrong either. Its time to go back to basics IMO.

I do think the age of the car is a big factor though. If I was driving a relatively new car, I'd pay more attention to a warning light to be honest. I'd definitely investigate it further. If I was in Bangernomics territory though, ofttimes it can be benign. The car might have been mended at some point and had a new part or something inserted and the Computer doesn't recognise it. Or, if its constantly on, its often just a faulty sensor.

How do you come to the conclusion there is nothing wrong with it? because it starts stops drives and doesn't explode? I very rarely see a faulty sensor causing a warning light to come on, and I mean 1 in 200 cars rare.
The most common wiring 'fault' would be the wires under the seat for the airbags/pre-tensioners but people don't realise that if the warning light is on the entire airbag system wont deploy in a crash not just the faulty piece.
There are 3 levels of fault code built into the cars mapping, level 1 and 2 don't throw a light, only level 3 does so if you have a light on your car needs looking at!!!

ectoraige

We've a Renault Grand Scenic and a few months ago the front passenger window took a few attempts to close. I suspect the regulator is on the way out and don't really want to pay/take time for repairs right now so I just pulled the fuse for that window. Since then "Electronic Fault" has been displaying on the dashboard. Of course, there's always a chance a second fault could develop so every now and then I replace the fuse for a journey when there's nobody around to accidentally open the window.

If I had time and money I'd fix the window, but for the moment it can wait.

Boskowski

Jesus. wrote: »

I wouldn't agree with that either. Like I said, I had a car with a light on for five years yet there wasn't a thing wrong with it. These are often just faulty lights mate.

Ah I see, sure who needs lights anyway, one light and half a front fog will do in any case