Main warning light on constantly - advice need .......

[wolfie308]

Got home earlier from a couple of days in Wales and a spritely and enjoyable return without problem. Stopped to pick up some bits and pieces locally, and when I came back to the car and started, I noticed the main warning light was on. At first I thought it was the hand brake which had been used hard several times to ascend the steep drive from the cottage where we'd been staying. Hand brake shoes were replaced recently and works fine although could do with a bit of adjustment.(Park brake light goes out when hand brake released) Thought if could be oil or water, but checked levels of both and all fine and no other secondary lights are lit. Have left it for a couple of hours and tried again, but still the same.

Bit of a puzzle, so any suggestions most welcome as I'm a bit worried about using before resolved

 

[Masher]

I had this light flicking on around corners whilst tracking the car and it turned out to be the brake fluid level was a bit low.
topped up and light not seen again. Worth a check.
best of luck,
Mick

 

[white944]

Have you looked at your volt meter?

 

[wolfie308]

Thanks Mick, just checked in case and it was up to full. Took it for a quick blat and no change, still no other warning lights lit, so I'm completely baffled.

Further suggestions most welcome.

 

[wolfie308]

Voltmeter has read low for ages - currently 10 and bit volts when you turn on the ignition, but starts on the second turn of the engine, voltmeter only shows 12 and bit on tickover.

Even when I've had flat battery in the past, the main light ahs never come on. Is it remotely possible a faulty alternator could cause this? Not going to jump into expensive possibilities

 

[wolfie308]

Put the battery on charge for several hours, now reads 11v with ignition on and 12.5v on tickover. However, checking all the warning lights, I noticed the engine oil light doesn't illuminate and neither does the seat belt light(I'd forgotten there even was one)[8|]

Could it be a faulty oil level sensor or could a broken wire in the circuit cause the main warning light to stay on? ......I'm completely baffled, so any more suggestions welcome.

 

[robwright]

You may have bulbs out that actually should be illuminated. They should all test on ignition on. I would check all bina ke bulbs before you go any further.

 

[wolfie308]

Sounds like a good idea Rob - I've been meaning to change the low fuel level bulb which hasn't been working for about a year. Also clean up contacts as the temp gauge sometimes starts creeping up, but is 'cured' with a sharp tap on the binnacle.

I don't have any contact cleaner to hand - would acetone and cotton bud be okay?

 

[pauljmcnulty]

My oil level sender plays up all the time. It's completely intermittent, but quite often I spend journies with the engine light and the oil level light glowing. The level is always fine, but it does make me paranoid!

 

[944Fripp]

If its not the oil sender, does the ABS work? It'll do a system check on MAR even before it primes the pump at 10 mph and if the system doesn't get the right messages back it lights up the warning light. Could be a short on a sensor and maybe worth a look.

 

[wolfie308]

Hi Paul, it's even more of a worry when the big red light is on constantly on with no other warning lamps lit! So......I took the plunge and removed the cluster. I removed every bulb, checked each one with a meter and found the seat belt light and one of the panel lights had blown.

I replaced these with ones from a spare I happened to have and thought I'd check all the diodes while I was at it. I found all of them appeared to read as diodes except the one on the far left, so I replaced that with the same one off the spare cluster. Pic below shows which one....

Feeling quite chuffed, I'd sorted it, I thought I'd also replace the prisms which were obviously the problem causing the dash lamps to be barely visible even in pitch dark. Luckily the ones on the spare unit are in much better shape than mine, two of which had lost most of their silvering........

Refit new prisms and proceed with excitement to reinstall in car with care. Switch one ignition and.......seat belt light now works, dash lights are nice and bright, but the oil level light doesn't illuminate and the main light is still on. Also the low level fuel light still doesn't come on []

Remembered something being mentioned on my last visit to Promax, and on checking the advisories I found the comment 'oil level and cam sensor wiring in poor health' ......maybe there in lies the problem![] However, I can't see how that would affect the fuel light which I guess is a separate issue.

Looks like a visit to Promax will be needed as I've reached the limit of my technical abilities.

 

[pauljmcnulty]

If it's only a small thing needing doing Chelsea Carrera in High Wycombe know the 944s inside out. Pretty ropey workshop and very slow communication, but it's a lot less of a trip than Brackley!

 

[wolfie308]

Thanks Paul, I'll bear them in mind for the future, but for now I think I'll stick with Promax, especially as the guy that last worked on my car is also an S.2 owner. It's not a bad journey actually - A413 all the way and they can also offer a free courtesy car.

I'll report back when I've got it sorted, but may be a couple of weeks or so. Cheers for the heads up on http://www.classicandcustomworks.co.uk/ who did a nice job on my wing bottom for a fair price.

 

[Mikebarry202]

I doubt it's the same issue you are experiencing, but I removed my cluster to try and clean up the voltmeter as it reads full (grateful for ideas on fixing this if anyone knows) and on reassembling I didn't quite fit one (cant remember which) of the ribbon connectors fully into place. That set my main warning light on with no other dial/light issues! A quick fix as I suspected my error, corrected nice and quickly once I'd squeezed my hand into the right position to locate it properly!