How to Interpret Your Car's Warning Lights

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Richard Goms. We're here in Murray, Utah, talking about basic car care. Today, we're going to talk about how to interpret instrument lights. You're driving down the road, and all of a sudden, one of your instrument lights come on,and what you need to know, is that, that means that there is a problem, with something in your car, that needs attention, immediate attention, and some of these lights mean more than one thing, so I'm going to show you basically, what they mean. There's a low fuel light, and that light comes on, when you're really low on fuel. Now, if you look at the fuel gauge, and it's on E for empty, and the fuel light comes on, that means you really need to pull over, and get some gas somewhere. The next light that you really need to be concerned about, is the check engine light. Now, when that comes on, it could be something very simple, or it could be something very complicated. It could be as simple as a gas cap not being on tight, or it could be something major with the engine or transmission, the drive train in some way. You need to go to a mechanic. Even some of the auto parts stores, have equipment to check that check engine light, or to the dealer, and have them check the computer codes. These cars are equipped with computers, as most new cars are, and it will tell the mechanic or yourself, what the problem is. The temperature gauge is one that you really need to be concerned about. If it comes on,and it looks like a thermometer, with lines on it, as a thermometer would have lines on it. It will show that your engine is overheating, and you're either low on antifreeze, or there is, maybe the fan has quit working, or something inside the engine is blocked. It could be something fairly simple, like you just need to add more antifreeze to the car, but in any event, you need to pull over, let the car cool down possibly, and check to see if you need to add some water, or some antifreeze to it, and don't drive it very far, with that temperature light on. The next light would be that you really need to be concerned about, is the oil light, and it looks sort of like an oil lamp, an old oil lamp, and if you ignore this light, you could really damage the engine. The car engines of today are not intended to run with any less than three quarts, and when you fill them, they usually contain about five quarts of oil."