What does it mean when a light suddenly lights up on the dash board of your car? There are so many gauges and lights on your cars dashboard that unless you have the manual open in front of you it is difficult to know what you should do if a light comes on or a gauge suddenly points to a red zone. Is it ok to keep driving, or should you stop right away, maybe you should just slow down a little or maybe you should slow down a lot. It might also be nothing more than a warning and you can keep driving and have it checked out the next time that it’s convenient. In this article I explain the meaning of the lights and some of the gauges and what to do if something is trying to warn you about a problem.

The Analog Gauges
The word analog simply means a gauge with a pointer and a graph just like a speedometer or a gas gauge as opposed to a digital gauge which displays numbers. Digital gauges which seemed high tech 20 years ago have gone out of style; the old analog gauges mean more since they show the extremes like a thermometer and illustrate change much more effectively than a detached number. Everyone knows what a gas gauge is, what it means and what to do if it moves close to the "E", ditto for the speedometer and the odometer. The other gauges may seem just a bit vague because we don’t see them move much and most drivers don’t monitor them on a regular basis but their importance should not be ignored.

What To Do if The Other Gauges Swing Widely
The other main gauges are the Temp gauge, the Alternator gauge and the Oil gauge. These gauges do not always tell you exactly what is wrong they are nothing more than a symptom of a problem you should glance at them from time to time and memorize where they usually stand during normal driving giving you a hint if they move from their normal position. There may come a time when they might all “PEG” at the same time telling you something cryptic but nonetheless very profound. For instance if all three move all the way to their extreme ends that would mean that you have just lost your fan belt and you might also notice that your steering wheel will become difficult to turn that's because your power steering pump is no longer working! If this happened to you, would you know what to do? Well you need to stop within 5 minutes or risk catastrophic engine damage due to overheating. If your alternator/charge gauge which usually sits at about 14, drops to the low side it means that your alternator is no longer charging your battery and it is losing electricity, if it moves to the high (right) side your voltage regulator is over charging your battery and it will over heat, you can continue to drive, however eventually you will lose your lights and next your battery will no longer be able to provide the spark to keep your engine running, you need to look for a repair station or get out your handy roadside assistance card as soon as practicable. If your oil gauge shows low oil pressure you need to slow way down and find a service station very soon or once again get our your assistance card or you will risk catastrophic engine damage.

What About The Idiot Lights
In the 70’s US automakers gave us the idiot light, basically the idiot lights all meant the same thing you’re stranded, since idiot lights gave you no advanced warning of an impending problem like a gauge does and once they came on it was just about too late to do anything except stop and cry. Thankfully they have all but disappeared except where practical. The main lights that we still have are the infamous “Check Engine” light, the “Brake” light, and on some newer cars the “ABS”, “VSC” and “Traction” light. The check engine light is perhaps the most cryptic warning on your dash board it can be significant of anyone of a dozen or more problems as all of the sensors and monitors can activate this warning even possibly that your gas cap is not properly attached. It may also be that your engine requires regularly scheduled maintenance, or it may be that a sensor is malfunctioning causing a problem on the Engine Control Unit or ECU. If you notice erratic engine or transmission problems while the light is on, you may have no choice but to stop right where you are and have it checked right away. Generally when the Check Engine Light comes on you can continue to drive normally but you should schedule a service appointment so that a technician can check the error code(s) using a special code reader to diagnose the problem(s). The Brake Light usually means that your parking brake is on, or that there may be a malfunction somwhere in the braking system, since brakes have many redundant backup systems it should be fine to continue to drive normally albeit carefully as your abilityh to stop quickly may be somewhat impaired, all the other lights are relatively insignificant and should be seen as a reminder to schedule a service appointment as soon as possible.

Always Refer To Your Vehicle's Owners Manual To Learn More About Your Lights, Gauges and Your Car's Many Safety Features