What Causes the Car to Indicate Engine Malfunction?
2 Answers
Car indicating engine malfunction is caused by poor gasoline quality and excessive carbon deposits. Below are the detailed explanations: Poor Gasoline Quality: Poor gasoline quality leads to incomplete combustion of the air-fuel mixture in the cylinders, triggering the pollution warning light, and also easily causes carbon deposits. Carbon deposits in the intake tract and on the piston tops can result in poor atomization, leading to incomplete combustion and thus illuminating the pollution warning light. During cold starts, especially when the temperature drops sharply, the pollution warning light may come on due to the ECU's temperature correction issues during startup. However, once the temperature stabilizes at a certain level without fluctuations, the situation will become relatively stable. Excessive Carbon Deposits: Excessive carbon deposits can make ignition difficult, causing the ignition coil to reverse breakdown and fail, leading to poor ignition and incomplete combustion, which triggers the pollution warning light. A distinctive feature of this phenomenon is that when the ignition coil fails, the engine will continuously experience severe shaking. If the severe shaking is not continuous, the issue can essentially be ruled out as an ignition coil problem.
Last time when I was driving, the engine warning light suddenly came on, which really startled me. This usually indicates that the onboard computer has detected some issue. There are many common causes, such as a faulty sensor like the oxygen sensor detecting abnormal emissions; problems with the ignition system such as aging spark plugs leading to poor combustion; or insufficient fuel pressure from the fuel pump causing fuel delivery interruptions. Sometimes it could be an exhaust blockage like a faulty catalytic converter, or oil pressure being too low resulting in inadequate lubrication. In my case, the check revealed it was a sensor issue, which cost a few hundred dollars to fix. If not addressed promptly, it could worsen into engine damage, costing more money and being dangerous. Before long trips, it's advisable to use an OBD scanner to first read the error codes for preliminary diagnosis.
