slantflat

Merry Christmas everyone.

Today's challenge is the driver information box that is supposed to do a self-test when you turn the key. What I see is the box stays red, all the time, and when the check button is pushed the battery light and the water light flash four times each. There are no issues with either of these items.

Neither the owners manual nor the Chilton's book(hey, I didn't buy it) gives any mention of troubleshooting but I suspect there's a module that is burning out which leaves the box in perpetual test mode.

If this has been discussed before you can point me in that direction. I had no idea what to put in a search. Thanks much.

Mike
79 280ZX

Skully

Bettery light, is usually not associated with the charge of the battery, but they had this sensor probe thingy that measured electrolyte level. I am sure the probe is gone by now, and I forget if you can loop somehow to make it show always good, mine never showed, but I do remember a wire going to the battery, maybe try to hook it up to the positive on the battery to sense a current there, I think that's where I had it.

The coolant light, could be the actual sensor as well, should be in the reservoir tank if I remember correctly.

XenonS130 - S130 Warning Lamp Information

Switchtr3

When there is a problem with something it does stay red like that, I guess it's a way of grabbing your attention so you'll push the button and see what it wants.

I know very little about electronics and electrical systems it's my biggest weak spot, but the sensor system on this car even makes sense to me that's how simple they are. All of those little check lights are based off of very simple circuits, like if you have a tail light out it breaks the circuit and trips the light on the dash. The ones that check fluid levels just have a little float inside the reservoir with an electrical connection around the top of it, when the level is full and the float is up the contact points are touching, if the float falls because the water is below a certain level the contact points are no longer touching and the circuit is broken which makes the light turn on. Some creature chewed through the overflow hose between my radiator and my coolant reservoir and I never bothered replacing it, I just cut it off and have an empty coolant reservoir sitting under the hood- to make the light go off I just wedged the float up to the top.

So one of three things most likely happened in your case:
1 the float could be stuck down, freeing it up should make the light turn off.
2 the contact points are corroded/ dirty, cleaning them should make the light turn off
3 you have a break or a bad connection somewhere in the wire leading up to the sensor and it isn't making a complete circuit as a result.

I never even knew there was a battery light in there, my '81's never did maybe that's one of the things they did only for '79? (I know there are a few things like that for 79 and not on other years). Can't really help you there but I guess just try to see if there's an extra wire going to the battery and tie it off to complete the circuit.

Good luck