What is the purpose of the flashing red LED light on the dashboard of cars?
The blinking light indicates that a car has an electronic security system.Incidentally, the reason this is added is to enhance the deterrent to theft effect of the security system — that is to say, the light is designed to further discourage attempted theft.Here are some other considerations as to why this component:Red LEDs are the oldest and cheapest kind of LED (the blue LED won the 2014 Nobel Prize [1].They have a lower forward voltage requirement than any most other visible light spectrum LEDs.By blinking intermittently its power consumption becomes so low as to be nominal (.06 watts one every 5 seconds for a one fifth a second would be more realistic, to get the nominal draw at that specification divide .06 by 25).The color red doesn’t affect light sensitivity of human eyes.[1] Professors Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura were awarded the 2014 Nobel Prize for physics for the invention of blue light emitting diodes (LEDs), which has enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources.
What happens if you use windshield washer instead of anti-freeze?
I can say what happened to me… I did it. While I know cars and mechanics well, I was in hurry one day and my wife asked me fill the washer fluid.I opened the hood, reached for the cover and filled up the container - that's the coolant container, and poured in about 1/2 gal of windshield washer fluid. Usually the coolant would not be topped off, but I wasn't filling the coolant in my mind….Closed the lid and sent my wife on her way.The next day she tells me that she needs washer fluid again… hmmm.So I go check and that's when I realized what I had done. I filled the windshield washer fluid, and the looked in the coolant.What I found was not good. It has become a gelatenous fluid - not what it was supposed to be.I was unable detect an immediate problem with cooling so I waited for a few days until I could get to flush it.While the car ran fine for those days, when I did get to flush it, it was a gel!Whatever chemical reaction happened with the coolant and the windshield washer fluid caused the coolant to gel up.This was a mid 2000’s GM and it had in it the GM recommended DexCool (orange I think) coolant.Chemistry folks… what happened here?
Can my truck be inspected in MA if the "airbag" light stays on?
Hi, I just got this from the MA DMV website: What do they inspect on my vehicle? VIN Number/Registration/License Plates Windshield Wipers/Windshield Washer Headlights/Headlight Aim Turn Signals/4-Way Flashers Tail Lamps/Brake Lights/Backup Lights/Other Lighting Devices Horn Exhaust System Tires Body Panels/Fuel Tank Service Brake Parking/Emergency Brake Seat Belts Ball Joints/Steering/Suspension Emissions Test/Emissions Components (if applicable)
Is it okay to drive your car without thermostats?
If you take out the thermostat then the coolant will just flow 100% by the water pump. Assuming that your system is properly sized so that cutting off flow with the thermostat will result in the proper operating temperature being met then running without a thermostat will always result in a lower than intended operating temperature.Here are some things that will happen:Your engine will run cooler than the desired temperature most all of the time andit will pollute more since it is tuned to run at the designed temperatureYour heater will take longer to become effective since the coolant is used to warm the heater core heat exchanger so you may, on cold days take longer to warm the cabin andmore importantly, it will take much longer to defrost the windshield using the defroster function.Probably it won’t hurt short term to the car engine itself, I don’t think. But in the long term operating it significantly below the designed temperature could have a number of effects, perhaps on lube viscosity, various carbon buildups that lead to other engine performance problems and possibly permanent damage.I once had a mechanic shop replace the thermostat and flush the coolant. When I get it back the car took forever to warm up the heater and get the engine to the temperature. I eventually took off the thermostat housing and found he had placed it about half way off and clamped it down with the housing out of position- it didn’t leak but the gap on one side pretty much made it free flowing.
Why do my hazard lights work, but not my turn signals?
Hazard lights and turn signals use the same bulb, so it is not the bulb, the lamp, or the cables to them. Turn signals only work when the ignition is on; hazard lights work whether the ignition is on or not. The two systems have separate power supplies, so they have separate fuses. You may have a blown fuse.Different vehicles use different circuits, and it is not possible to accurately diagnose the fault with the small amount of information provided. You need a circuit diagram and a voltmeter, and a continuity tester. First locate and test the turn signal fuse. Do you have voltage to and from the turn signal switch?The hazard light switch is not a simple on/off switch. In the “on” position, a fused battery feed connects to left and right turn signal. In the “off” position, the left turn switch wire is connected to the left turn lamp and the right turn switch wire is connected to the right turn lamp, so there are 3 inputs and 2 outputs.The fault could be a fuse, turn signal switch, hazard switch, flasher unit, or a broken wire or connection.