Although cars are a very fast and inexpensive means of transportation that a large number of people own to move from one place to another or from one country to another, they can put their lives at risk if any malfunction occurs and is ignored due to the fact that they are made up of an engine, fuel, and other things.
Therefore, cars are now equipped with warning lights that illuminate to alert the driver to the presence of a malfunction or defect in one of the vehicle's important parts. Therefore, it is important to know what each of the car's lights indicates to avoid exacerbating the problem and to identify the malfunction immediately.
To reduce the risk of serious car accidents and breakdowns, we've come up with a list of common car light bulb malfunctions that will be useful to all car owners.
Car bulb malfunctions
We always try to explain the most common faults reported by car owners as a result of their experience.
1. Oil lamp flickering
You may find that the oil light turns on and off, and this malfunction occurs as a result of the following:
- The oil sensor may be damaged, or there may be a fault with the wires connecting the sensor to the engine, or there may be a short circuit between them. To determine the fault, the input of each of these wires must be checked.
- This may be due to a faulty oil filter due to impurities in the oil clogging the filter holes, preventing the oil from passing properly to allow the engine to run.
2. The engine light stays on.
This engine light automatically turns on when the engine is started and then goes off within a few seconds. However, if the light remains on, there is a problem. This could be due to the following:
1. Oxygen sensor malfunction
The oxygen sensor's job is to measure the amount of unburned fuel. When this sensor malfunctions, the amount of fuel in the exhaust increases, which reduces engine power. This light then illuminates.
2. Car air sensor failure
The air sensor's function is to measure the amount of air inside the engine, and accordingly, the appropriate and sufficient amount of fuel is injected to start the engine. The first thing that happens when the air sensor malfunctions is the engine light coming on.
3. Spark plug fault
The vehicle owner is warned by the engine light illuminating when there is a fault with the spark plugs that makes it difficult to start the engine.
3. Engine temperature light comes on
This light comes on when there is a problem within the cooling system, the causes of which may be:
- There is a problem measuring the coolant or there is a coolant leak.
- Cooling pump failure
- Engine thermostat failure
4. Brake warning light appears
You may find this bulb lit frequently, which indicates the following:
- Low brake fluid level
- Brake fluid leak
- Brake light sensor malfunction, or one of the connections connected to it is out of order
5. Battery light fault
There are some reasons that cause the battery light to malfunction, which are:
- Car battery or battery wiring failure
- Dynamo or dynamo belt is faulty
- The charging circuit is faulty.
What causes the engine light to come on?
The engine light comes on as part of the vehicle's warning light system. Its illumination indicates a malfunction in the engine itself or in one of its systems. There are many reasons for the engine light to appear, but the most common are:
- There is a problem with the oxygen sensor, which measures the oxygen level in the exhaust system. This malfunction is closely linked to the engine, resulting in weak engine power and increased gasoline consumption.
- The fuel tank cap is damaged or not closed tightly, resulting in an imbalance in fuel pressure.
- The air sensor responsible for measuring the amount of air in the combustion chamber is damaged.
- The car filters, whether the air filter or the oil filter, have a problem, which affects the combustion system inside the engine.
- Faulty spark plugs or their connections.
How do you know what's wrong with your car?
Cars are prone to breakdowns, and this can happen to many people while driving on a highway that doesn't have a repair shop. In this case, you must perform a quick check to determine what's wrong with your car. Below, we'll explain some of the breakdowns and how to identify them.
- If the warning lights are on, this will be easy because these lights tell you where the fault is.
- If the engine stops working, the reason is that there is not enough fuel in the car.
- Hearing a loud noise coming from the car. This noise may be coming from the lower exhaust pipe of the car due to a hole or cut in it.
- High fuel consumption, this problem indicates damaged spark plugs.
Dashboard lights and symbols and their meanings for all cars
Inside the car's dashboard, there are a large number of lights that carry specific symbols. Once one of these lights is lit, we can tell that there is a fault. These symbols are as follows:
- Fog light bulb: Its symbol is a semicircle pointing to the right.
- Power steering lamp: Comes with the car steering wheel symbol.
- Rear fog light indicator: Also symbolized by a semicircle but facing left.
- Wiper water bulb: symbolized by wipers with water on them.
- Fabric Light Bulb: Its symbol is a closed circle surrounding your purchase of a light.
- Smart cruise control lamp: symbolized by a circle with an arrow inside.
- Directional lamp: It has a symbol of two arrows, one to the left and one to the right.
- Winter mode bulb: its symbol is a snowflake.
- Information indicator lamp: It has a square symbol with the letter i inside it.
- Frost indicator light: You will find it with a snowflake symbol inside a triangle.
- Keyless Entry Light: A key with a question mark over it.
- Low battery light: Located with the battery stripes symbol and a switch below it.
- Distance indicator lamp in a vehicle equipped with radar.
- Side indicator light bulb: Green light bulb.
- Exterior lighting failure indicator light: its symbol is a yellow bulb with the letter i inside.
- Parking sensor bulb: its symbol is the letter P.
- Mechanical fault light: has a repair screwdriver symbol
- Hill descent control light: its symbol is a car leaning forward
- Heat warning lamp: Comes with a red thermometer symbol.
This concludes our useful discussion about car bulb malfunctions. Each bulb is responsible for a specific part of the car and alerts you if there is a malfunction in that part.