Check Engine Light – What Does It Mean

When a car’s check engine light illuminates is it a critical situation? What causes the light to come on, what needs to be done, and how soon?

As a general rule of thumb, if a car or trucks check engine illuminates in yellow or amber color, it’s not usually a critical situation.

If, however, the check engine light illuminates red, the situation is usually critical and the vehicle needs to get off the road in a safe manner. The vehicle’s engine should be turned off and if necessary towed into the nearest auto repair shop.

Why Does a Cars Amber Check Engine Light Illuminate?

When the car amber check engine light comes on it usually means there’s a malfunction in one of the electronic engine controls. When an electronic component fails it sends a signal to the car’s power train control module (PCM) and the amber check engine light illuminates. In most instances, the malfunction is related to an emissions component of the car and the driver may not notice any difference in the car’s performance.

Usually, if an amber check engine light illuminates it’s not a critical situation. The car can be driven but it should be taken to an auto repair shop as soon as possible. Waiting too long to have the problem checked could result in other component failures including engine or transmission problems.

If a car smog license needs to be renewed, a check engine light is an automatic failure and the car won’t pass the smog inspection.

Diagnosing and Fixing an Amber Check Engine Light

With today’s complicated cars and truck, there are literally hundreds of components that can cause an amber check engine light to come on. It could be something as simple as an inexpensive fuel cap or an expensive part like a catalytic converter that could run over a thousand dollars. The vehicle first needs to be diagnosed to figure out what component failed.

Steps to Fixing the Amber Check Engine Light

Most auto repair shops will first quote a price to diagnose a check engine light. After the diagnoses and the problem is pinpointed, the auto shop will quote an additional price to repair or replace a part to fix the problem. The following are the steps that an automotive technician will take to fix the problem.

1. Hook up a scanner to retrieve symptom codes in the car’s PCM. The symptom codes usually give a general area of where the problem lies.
2. Pinpoint the specific problem by running a series of tests to find the exact part that’s faulty.
3. Replace or repair the part that caused the amber check engine light to illuminate.
4. Clear the symptom code in the PCM to inure the check engine light does not come back on.
5. Test-drive the vehicle and hook up the scanner once more to ensure that there are no more codes.

Red Check Engine Light

Any red light that illuminates the vehicle should be considered a critical problem. A red check engine light is usually associated with the car’s engine oil pressure dropping to an unacceptable level or the engine’s coolant temperature rising to an unacceptable level. Problems with the engine oil pressure or the coolant temperature can cause considerable engine damage that can translate into thousands of dollars in repair costs.

It’s important to adhere to a routine vehicle maintenance schedule to help prevent problems with the vehicle’s power train. Keeping a car running at peak performance will give the car’s owner some peace of mind and help to save money in the long run.