What Causes the Vehicle's Engine Malfunction Light to Illuminate?
3 Answers
Vehicle's engine malfunction light illuminates due to: 1. Sensor damage, poor contact, or signal interruption; 2. Poor engine maintenance; 3. Low-quality fuel and engine oil; 4. Incomplete combustion of the air-fuel mixture; 5. Faulty spark plugs or ignition coils; 6. Fuel pump failure or clogged fuel lines; 7. Clogged air conditioning filter. Solutions for the engine malfunction light: 1. Use fuel additives to clean the entire fuel system; 2. After engine cleaning, use higher-grade gasoline; 3. Improve fuel cleanliness with high-quality fuel additives; 4. Replace the catalytic converter.
I remember last time the engine malfunction light came on, I totally panicked. Took it to the repair shop and the mechanic said it was an oxygen sensor issue - this tiny part affects fuel consumption and exhaust emissions, and delaying replacement could even damage the catalytic converter. Actually when this light comes on, there could be many reasons: maybe aging ignition coils causing misfires (the car would shake badly), or incorrect air-fuel ratio from clogged fuel injectors, or even critically low oil pressure causing engine dry friction (that's really bad). I've since learned - now I check the dipstick weekly when lifting the hood, replace spark plugs every 20,000 km. These small habits really prevent many problems.
A friend's car had the engine light come on yesterday, and he asked me what was wrong. I told him not to panic right away—it's probably an issue with the emission system. In areas with poor-quality gasoline, impurities in the fuel tank can easily clog the fuel injectors; using the wrong octane rating can also cause knocking. Another possibility is an intake manifold leak, which would show up as a lean mixture in the computer diagnostics. However, the first thing to do immediately is to check the oil level in the oil pan. If it's below the minimum mark, internal engine components can wear out quickly, and repairs can cost tens of thousands. The simplest solution is to plug in an OBD scanner to read the fault codes—this can be done for just 50 yuan at an auto parts store.
