My car won’t crank and the check engine light, battery light and oil change light came on all at the same time.
I was driving Saturday and my car would not longer accelerate over 40 . When I pulled over, I notice that the check engine light, battery light and oil change light had came on. I turned the car off and now it won't even start. What could be the problem?
My car has 126000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.
Experienced mechanics share their insights in answering this question :
Hi there. Quite often when a mechanical problem is discovered in the transmission or other critical parts of the vehicle, an error code will be created and stored in the ECU of the vehicle. This in turn illuminates your check engine light and in some case will activate a fail safe or "limp mode". This will restrict the speed to below 40 mph in most cases and is designed to allow car owners to safely drive to a dealership or auto repair center to have the code downloaded by a professional mechanic; which allows them to determine what caused the fault in the first place. It’s possible that what ever it was that caused the initial problem has broken and caused the car to not start now. The best way to start the diagnostic process is to have one of our mobile mechanics come to your location and complete a check engine light inspection. This will permit them to download the code that initially triggered the check engine light and determine why your car is not starting now.
How to Identify and Fix Common car Problems ?
Our sources include academic articles, blog posts, and personal essays from experienced mechanics :
When the engine stalls or stops oil pressure falls, so the oil pressure warning light illuminates. The alternator/battery light is the same situation, the indicator is there to warn you that the alternator is no longer outputting current to run the vehicle`s systems.
If you have a check-engine or battery indicator light illuminated on your vehicle, it could indicate a problem with an automobile charging system, or if your vehicle gets a jump-start and immediately stops running, it could be an indication that the alternator is malfunctioning.
A bad battery can cause problems in electrical and electronic parts, including the computer. It can even cause a “Check Engine” light.
Why won`t my car start but the battery is good? If your car won`t start but the battery is good, the most common cause is a faulty starter – though it could also be to do with your fuel. You may have insufficient fuel to get the car going.
If the oil level and condition are okay, the engine is running normally, but the oil light is still on, the likely culprit is a worn-out oil pressure sensor. In this case, you can safely drive, but you will want to get the car checked out and the sensor replaced by a qualified mechanic as soon as possible.
If you`re unable to start your vehicle, check and see if the headlights and dash lights come on. If they shine bright and clear, that means that the battery and alternator are likely not the cause of the problem. If they were, there wouldn`t be enough power to run the lights.
An effective method to determine whether it`s your battery or alternator that`s gone bad is to connect jumper cables from a running vehicle`s battery to yours. After a few moments, try starting your vehicle. Once it`s started, remove the jumper cables — if your engine stalls, your alternator has probably gone bad.
How long can you drive with the check engine light on? Once you see the check engine light, it is safe to drive with the light on for 50 to 100 miles. This is because if the issue is with the sensors, then this will buy some time for it to reset, turning the check engine light off.
Yes, if your battery is underperforming it can cause systems within the vehicle to malfunction. A bad battery can also result in air conditioners, stereos and other applications not receiving enough power to function properly.
Broken or Damaged Ignition If your headlights can turn on, but your car won`t crank, that means that your battery is charged, but either the starter or ignition is the problem. If the starter or ignition is the problem, a starter engine can be jumped by using a charged battery.
Bad Sensors
One common culprit for this problem is the crankshaft position sensor, which measures the position and speed of the crankshaft. The computer uses the information from this sensor to know when to fire the spark plugs. If the sensor isn`t working, the spark plugs won`t fire, keeping the engine from starting.
Slow engine crank.
This is probably one of the most common symptoms of a dying battery. The engine pulls amperage from the battery each time it starts. If your battery is close to dying, you will likely find your engine slow to crank. If you hear your engine cranking slowly, bring the vehicle in as soon as possible.
Relevant Questions and Answers :
the most relevant questions and answers related to your specific issue
Car won’t start. The check engine light, battery light, and oil change light are coming on. I tried jumping the car and nothing happened. Why won’t my car start?
ANSWER : Hi and thanks for contacting Your Mechanic. If sometimes your vehicle will start with the new alternator and sometimes it won’t, then there is a loose connection in your charging system. Check all of the wires to the alternator and to the battery. Make sure that the battery cables are clean and tight. Make sure that the wires to the starter are clean and tight. A loose ground to the ignition system will cause the vehicle to not crank over. Check all of the ground wires from the battery to the starter. Make sure that they are clean and tight. If you need further assistance troubleshooting your no start situation, then seek out a technician, such as one from Your Mechanic, that can assist you.
My car won’t crank and the check engine light, battery light and oil change light came on all at the same time.
ANSWER : Hi there. Quite often when a mechanical problem is discovered in the transmission or other critical parts of the vehicle, an error code will be created and stored in the ECU of the vehicle. This in turn illuminates your check engine light and in some case will activate a fail safe or "limp mode". This will restrict the speed to below 40 mph in most cases and is designed to allow car owners to safely drive to a dealership or auto repair center to have the code downloaded by a professional mechanic; which allows them to determine what caused the fault in the first place. It’s possible that what ever it was that caused the initial problem has broken and caused the car to not start now. The best way to start the diagnostic process is to have one of our mobile mechanics come to your location and complete a check engine light inspection. This will permit them to download the code that initially triggered the check engine light and determine why your car is not starting now.
Car started to slow down and then the check engine light, battery, and engine oil light came on. What could cause this?
ANSWER : Hi there. It is possible that the battery cable came loose or the wires to the oil pressure sensor has came loose or failed. Check the battery cables and make sure that the terminals are tight and clean. Check the wires to the oil pressure sensor and make sure that they are connected and not broken. If everything looks good, then the oil pressure sensor may have failed. Plus, check the computer for codes and see what is stored. This will lead you to the part that could have failed. I recommend replacing the oil pressure sensor then checking to see if the lights will go out. If you need further assistance troubleshooting your vehicle, then seek out a technician, such as one from Your Mechanic, that can assist you with the warning lights that came on.
Check engine light refuses to go off after engine replaced
ANSWER : Hello there, you have a long series of issues going on with your 2013 Hyundai Sonata. If you keep getting a repeating oil light on than there is likely a fault in that system.
Since this fault has lasted after the engine was replaced it could be a oil pressure sensor, wiring harness fault, ECU fault, oil pump, oil strainer clogged, or low oil pressure.
To diagnose this issue properly you need a complete vehicle inspection to start from square one and identify the root cause of all this.
Low oil pressure light comes on when idle. Check engine light is on as well. Both came on after getting an oil change 3 days ago.
ANSWER : It is possible that they put in the wrong viscosity oil. In rare instances, a defective filter will also cause low pressure. If there is too much oil, it will aerate and cause low pressure. Be sure the oil level is really not above "max". The P2187 code will appear if the oil fill cap is not tight but it will also appear due to a myriad of causes because that code only "generally" identifies a lean running condition. Consequently, numerous parts would have to be tested including the O2 sensor, gas cap seal, manifold air leaks, any vacuum leak anywhere including PCV and EVAP systems, exhaust leaks, and fuel system faults such as failing fuel pump, clogged filter and more. Since the car has relatively low mileage, you would not expect a failed oil pump, although the pressure sensor (or switch) could be bad. However, the occurrence of the oil pressure warning light is quite coincidental to the oil change, thus I would suggest bringing the car back and asking them to redo with a new filter and double check the viscosity of the new oil that they use. If the problem persists after that, you will have to test actual operating oil pressure (at idle for instance) as well as the oil pressure switch. Finally, if the oil pressure warning light comes on continuously, unless the warning circuit itself is malfunctioning, that means the oil pressure is too low to operate the engine without damaging it. Anytime the light comes on for more than literally an instant, you should shut down the car and thus an issue like this obviously has to be repaired.
If you’d like, a YourMechanic certified mechanic can come to your home or place of business to inspect the vehicle and perform an oil pressure light is on inspection to diagnose the vehicle and suggest potential repairs.
Check engine light and oil light comes on before oil change?
ANSWER : Hi There,
As you may know, these lights are designed to come on at specific mileage intervals that are preset by the factory. When your mileage exceeds a certain amount relative to the last oil change, this will trigger the lights to come on. Typically this will include the oil light and the check engine light as there are also other basic service items that are checked during oil changes. I would recommend obtaining an owner’s manual for your car if you do not already have one. This will usually indicate the specific service intervals and recommended maintenance items for your vehicle at the various mileage intervals.
The tire pressure monitor will also come on when the air pressure in the tires has reached a specific threshold relative to the tire design specification. Tire pressure is also impacted by the outside air temperature. For every 10° drop in air temperature outside your tires will lose about 1% in PSI or inflation. As you may know, as the temperature of the air changes the density of the air changes as well causing the tire pressure to be impacted by this. When this happens, the sensors in the wheels will detect this change in tire pressure and cause the tire pressure light to come on. Aside from replacing faulty tire pressure sensors, another way to help prevent this type of fluctuation in tire pressure is by the use of Nitrogen in your tires rather than regular air. As you may know, air is approximately 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen and the rest is water vapor and some other small concentrations of gases. Nitrogen is much less likely to migrate through tire rubber than oxygen. This will maintain your tire pressure much more consistently during large temperature fluctuations.
I Had my oil changed on 5/28/16. On 5/31/16 the check engine light came on. On 6/5/16 the low oil pressure turn off engine came on
ANSWER : Hello,
From what you describe it would not appear to me that something went wrong during your oil change.
If the level is correct on the dipstick and the engine runs and sounds okay, then it is probably something else.
A likely cause for a problem such as this can be a defective oil pressure sensor, or wiring.
Virtually all vehicles have a dedicated oil sensor that will monitor oil pressure of the engine and set off a warning light if it falls to low, in order to protect the engine. If the sensor fails however, it can send a false reading to the computer or gauge, and cause the warning light to activate by mistake.
I would recommend having the vehicle’s oil pressure sensor tested for accuracy, and if necessary the engine’s oil pressure to make sure that there is no issue with the oil pump or system of the engine, as unlikely as that may be.
I’d recommend having a certified mechanic inspect the vehicle for you, they will be able to check for these failures and diagnose your Check Engine Light in order to get your car running normally again.
Regards,
Eduardo
YourMechanic
in my car battery warning light appearing while driving.so I have replaced both battery and alternater still light is on
ANSWER : As you may yourself have seen, there are many reports of this fault with the Civic, that is a battery or alternator is replaced only to have the warning light fail to extinguish despite checking every conceivable electrical possibility. Your only recourse is to have a certified mechanic go through that exercise with your car and that involves first attempting to "re-set" the light. If the warning light returns, the alternator output has to be carefully measured both loaded and unloaded. All terminal connections have to be verified including all grounds. Fuses have to be checked for integrity (continuity) and the possibility of shorts, in for example dash wiring, has to be checked. To request this repair, simply request an electrical components diagnostic and the responding certified mechanic will seek a resolution to this.
