Your ignition warning light

When you turn on the electrical circuits in your car, then the ignition warning light will come on: make sure that this does indeed happen.

Once the engine itself is started, then the ignition light will turn itself off, again you should make sure that this is indeed the case each time you start the car.

Sometimes the light won't go off straight away until you gently depress the accelerator. Typically this might happen if the idling speed of the engine is low.

If the ignition warning light were to come on whilst you are driving the car, then you should stop as soon as it is safe to do so. Sometimes the cause will be a loose wire or similar.

There may also be a loose connection somewhere and it might not be possible to rectify the problem yourself.

There is one other common possibility of causing this fault, and that is to do with the alternator, or more correctly the brushes in the alternator.

As ever when driving, if an unexpected light comes on then it implies that there is something not right and so therefore you should always err on the side of caution and stop when it is safe to do so and rectify the fault. If it's not something you can rectify yourself then you will need to call for the appropriate assistance.

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