Instrument panel indicator lamps: the meaning of the most popular
If we sit behind the wheel of any more or less modern car, then on the instrument panel - in addition to the speedometer, ammeter, tachometer, oil temperature, coolant and fuel level sensors - we will see a lot of different control lamps that inform the driver about a particular situation .
These lamps can be divided into several types:
- warning - report, for example, a low fuel level in the tank, a drop in oil pressure, a low oil level, a battery discharge, and so on;
- reporting any malfunction - Check Engine, overheating of the engine or automatic transmission, oil temperature exceeded, brake fluid level is rapidly falling;
- auxiliary system signals - usually, if the lamp is green, then everything is fine and this option is currently enabled, if the icon is yellow or red, there are certain problems and you need to deal with them;
- control LEDs of additional systems - the immobilizer is on or malfunctioning, cruise control is activated, a dangerous reduction in the distance to the vehicle in front;
- special signals - one of the doors is not closed, one of the passengers is not wearing a seat belt, it's time for the driver to stop and rest, and so on.
In addition, there are special signs on the panel for hybrid cars or electric cars. These signals indicate a low battery level, a malfunction in the vehicle's electrical circuit.
To navigate with all these symbols, you need to learn the instructions well, although most of the icons are intuitive and familiar even to people who do not drive:
- the image of the gas station - the level of filling the tank;
- watering can with a drop - motor oil;
- trailer - driving mode with a trailer.
However, there are also such designations that are difficult to understand for an unprepared person:
- "CK SUSP" - Check Suspension (check the suspension or chassis);
- R.DIFF TEMP - a problem with the rear differential, the temperature is exceeded (Rear Differential Temperature);
- wrench - there is no icon for this malfunction and you need to determine it yourself.
Please note that the LEDs signal not only a problem, but also the state of the system:
- green - the system is working normally;
- orange - malfunction;
- red - critical fault.
It is clear that such designations are becoming more and more as various new functions appear. If we take, for example, the VAZ-2101 of the 70s or the UAZ-469, the technical characteristics of which we talked about on Vodi.su, we will see that there are much fewer warning lamps in these cars.
Dashboard UAZ-469
As we have already said, the instrument panel in the UAZ-469, as well as its more modern counterpart, the UAZ Hunter, is not the most convenient. All devices are located not immediately behind the steering wheel, but on the center console. Nevertheless, for all other indicators, the UAZ-469 is an ideal off-road vehicle.
On the panel we see several control lamps:
- oil pressure drop - lights up red, usually lights up immediately after starting the engine and goes out as soon as the desired pressure is reached;
- direction indicators - the green light flashes when the turn signals are on;
- overheating of antifreeze - a red signal, lights up when the temperature rises above one hundred degrees;
- high beam on - this lamp is blue and is in the speedometer scale.
As you can see, unlike drivers of modern cars, UAZ-469 drivers in most cases had to figure out on their own why the car refuses to drive.
Control lamps on the VAZ-2101 panel
The VAZ, or rather the Fiat 124, was not designed for the harsh conditions of military exercises or the off-roads of the outback, but for the city dweller of the early 70s, so there are much more control lamps on the panel, and they do not just flash green or red, they display a specific icon:
- the control signal of the parking brake, it also notifies you of a sharp drop in the level of antifreeze - it is constantly lit in red;
- oil pressure - just like in the UAZ-469, it lights up at startup or when the pressure actually drops while the engine is running;
- battery discharge - if it lights up when the engine is running, then there are problems with the generator or the drive belt is stretched;
- lamps for direction indicators, included dimensions, high beam headlights.
To the left of the speedometer we see the fuel gauge. If there is little left in the tank, the orange light will turn on. Usually it burns when there is less than five liters of gasoline. Well, to the right of the speedometer we see the coolant temperature gauge - if the arrow moves to the right, then the temperature of the antifreeze is approaching the boiling point.
With the advent of more and more new VAZ models - 2105, 2107, 21099 and so on - control lamps became more complex and more accurately described the condition of the engine and a particular problem.
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