funkypc

Ok, so ever since I got my car, the idiot lights dont work. CEL, oil pressure, Airbag, etc. Low fuel light came on once, seatbelt and e-brake lights both work.
So I ran out of oil the other day (it was WAAY below the dipstick...) and I thought, ok, enough is enough. I have to fix this problem.
Oya, and I think the airbags have been deployed in the past.
I checked the fuses, and I couldnt find any bad ones, but maybe I missed something. Help is appreciated.

Casper

Thats the problem with idiot lights... you can never be 100% sure that the bulb is not dead.

BUT, in your example, I just do not think you have had a problem where the lights would be activated. Just because there is no oil on your dipstick does not mean that you got low oil pressure (the sensor checks oil pressure, not the level of oil).

funkypc

I agree Casper, I wouldn't necesarily have low oil pressure, but none of those lights go on, ever. (when I turn the key to ignition they should come on to show me they work)
do you think it could be all those bulbs burnt out?

Casper

Ahh, true, before you start, the low oil should come on (and I beleive the cel). Its amazing what you overlook daily, but I guess the lack of norm would catch an eye.

Yes, it is possible that the bulbs are burnt out. Does webtech have a good diagnosis for idiot lights? If not, the dash is not toooo hard to take off...

rallyman

They might all be burned out or there may be a bad connection somewhere. If you have aftermarket gauge faces there is a possibility that something got messed up during the install. You may need to remove the instrument cluster and check the bulbs. That's the only way you can rule that out as the problem.

You are asking for trouble though, if you are relying on the oil pressure light instead of checking the oil level regularly. By the time it comes on there may already be engine damage occuring.

funkypc

no aftermarket guages for me... I try not to rely on my guage lights (especially since I don't have them..) I checked my Oit like a couple weeks before it went super low... that a whole other issue.
If they were trying to disable the Airbag light, what could they do? could that have affected my other lights?

zhiryst

well, you do know that when you put your key in and turn it, all your "idiot" lights come on, right? thats why, to check your bulbs. idiot. joke.gif

funkypc

Yes. To check my bulbs. Do these bulbs burn out frequently or what? And can someone tell my the process of disabling the airbag light and if this could affect my other lights?
I have also heard of some people when selling a car with a CEL, find a way to disable that light so the buyer (me) would not notice. How would they go about doing this, (asuming they dont want to tear the whole dash apart )
Any light on this would also be helpful.

Mad-Machine

I imagine that they could have removed a ground wire or something. I am kind of unsure exactly how the idiot lights on the tib work. On an older car, the hot wire would feed through the light and then run to the sender that controls it. If the sender triggers, it completes the circut and the light comes on.

So, does the computer control the lights?

rallyman

I don't think the instrument lights burn out that often. None of mine have burned out in 6 years and 160,000 km. I would think its entirely possible that if a previous owner tampered with something to prevent the airbag light from coming on, that is where your problem lies.

I would take the dash apart, remove the instrument cluster and have a look at the back side to see if anything is amiss. It may become very apparent what the problem is.