Warning Lights & Engine State¶
Eight lights and a state window tell you what the engine is doing and what is going wrong.
What it is¶
The ignition box in the footer holds eight warning lights and the engine state window.
Warning lights¶
| # | Light | Colour | Comes on when |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oil pressure | Red | Block health is low, or oil is above 140 °C |
| 2 | Overheat | Red | Coolant is above 110 °C, or the radiator is failing |
| 3 | Battery / electrical | Red | Voltage is below 10 V, or the starter is failing |
| 4 | Knock | Red | The knock index is above 0.5 |
| 5 | Engine internal damage | Red | The block, head, crank or pistons are very worn |
| 6 | Clutch slipping | Amber | The clutch is slipping |
| 7 | Limp mode | Amber | The engine is in limp mode |
| 8 | Engine seized | Amber | The engine has seized |
Bulb check. All eight lights come on together when the ignition is ON and the engine is not running — a bulb check, as on a real dashboard.
Engine state window¶
The state window shows one of seven texts:
| Text | Meaning |
|---|---|
IGNITION OFF |
Ignition is off |
IGNITION ON |
Ignition is on, engine not turning |
CRANKING |
The starter is turning the engine |
FLOODED |
The plugs are wet — see Cranking Enrichment |
RUNNING |
The engine is running |
STALLED |
RPM fell below about 150 |
SEIZED |
The engine has locked up |
The window's border changes colour with the state: grey for off, blue for cranking, ivory for running,
and red for STALLED, FLOODED and SEIZED.
Why it matters¶
The lights are the quickest read on the engine's health between glances at the gauges: a knock light
means pull timing, an overheat light means stop and let it cool, a battery light means watch
VOLTAGE.
How to tune it¶
Treat the lights as a to-do list. Light 4 (knock) is the one a timing table can trigger directly; light 5 means real damage has already accumulated. See Damage & Wear for the causes and Temperatures & Cooling for the heat-related lights.
Rule of thumb
A light that comes on briefly at ignition-on with the engine not running is the bulb check, not a fault.
In the game¶
The ignition box also holds the IGNITION and CRANK buttons and the engine log. The engine log's
bottom-right ? button opens this wiki.