Anyone know what this light on the dashboard means?

Soldato
Joined
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Bournemouth
My sister spotted it, the ORANGE light

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Vauxhaul Astra 94'
 
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Is it early over in the UK or something because this is the second time ive seen something in GD that should be else where :p
 
Marcos said:
the red is the handbrake right?

If it goes on and off with the hand brake then its the hand brake light :)

I dont have the orange light on the car i drive but IIRC from my driving lessons in a newer car then that could be the immobilizer.
 
usually emissions related, might be some valve thats clogged up. Not sure how you can tell on Vauxhalls. Is simple on Hondas tho.
 
Engine electronics fault
Comes on when you turn ignition = normal
comes on when engine running = fault in engine electrics
 
Marcos said:
So is that really bad? It passed its MOT yesterday and they didnt say anything
Without brake fluid you wont have brakes :eek:
It must mean your brake fluid is low and need to be sorted(The red one)
 
The orange one is to do with engine electronics, ecu etc. Could be a simple cheap fix (new sensor etc) could be expensive but either way it needs to be addressed asap.

EDIT- forgot to say if thats when it comes on when driving. Its normal for it to come on when you first turn the key then go out when the engine starts.
 
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Wahey, the Vauxhall ECU error light! Was my best friend for a while when I had my 1995 Cavalier.

It means something has gone wrong somewhere, and the car is in "limp home mode". You'll probably find that it is giving really bad fuel economy with it on, not accelerating very well, and if you try and rev the engine higher than 4000rpm, it won't let you - will feel like hitting a brick wall as the engine stops revving.

It is usually a sensor fault that causes the ECU light to come on. It was the crank sensor first on my cav, then the cam sensor a few weeks later. You can take your car to a garage, who will charge you £50+ to plug the ECU into a machine, or you can find the plug in the engine bay, stick a paperclip across two specific pins and that orange light will flash a certain number of times, giving you an error code. You can then read the error code up on a chart and see what sensor is giving you an error message.
 
Is the average age of people who have posted in this thread 12?

Its the engine management light, its not necessarily related to electrics but more often than not it is.

It could be anything from a faulty lambda sensor to a faulty cam sensor, etc

If the car drives, but does not rev above 3000rpm its bad and has entered 'limp home' mode. You need to get it resolved via diagnostics.

Its possible that the MOT station removed a sensor to check emissions or something and have forgotten to put it back. It is there duty to rectify the fault if it was NOT there when you gave them the car
 
Zip said:
The red one is brake fluid in my car

Dont be stupid, thats the global indicator for ANY car manufacturer for the handbrake light....thats why it looks like a handbrake!!!
 
Oracle said:
Dont be stupid, thats the global indicator for ANY car manufacturer for the handbrake light....thats why it looks like a handbrake!!!

Doesn't look like a handbrake to me, more like a brake shoe with an exclamation mark in it. You're right in one sense that, yes, it comes on when the handbrake is on, but if it comes on when you're driving, it does indeed indicate low brake fluid pressure - i.e. you're stuffed!
 
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