Hey all,
I'm sorta new to Pintos, and I got a question...
After replacing all my fuses I noticed there was one marked engine that keeps coming on, mainly when I put the car in gear...
What is this light??
I'm guessing red.
;D
j/k
Fault in the alternator or belt is not properly adjusted. This from my Ford Pick-Up and Bronco manual. They shift from calling it the "engine" light to calling it the "ignition" light. (My Pinto manual doesn't seem to cover this at all...at least not in an easily notable place).
[Edit: I finally found it under "ignition" light (?) on page 131 of my Haynes manual.]
Oddly, why they would have both an "Engine"/"Ignition" and an "Alternator" light for such a problem is a bit perplexing. It could also be an emissions problem (or bad exhaust sensor depending on year/exhaust system), "oil" light, or "temperature" light (neither my 72 nor my 74 have "oil" or "temperature" lights).
If I were you, I'd replace the alternator (as from your descriptions this is a given), replace the fan belts and make sure they're properly adjusted, change the coolant and thermostat, change the plugs, change the oil, and change the filters (oil, air, and fuel). It may not hurt to squirt a little Marvel's Mystery Oil in the plug holes to top-lube the rings since the car probably hasn't run for a while. You may also want to run a quart of MMO in place of a quart of regular oil for a few hundred miles when you change the oil.
If your light still comes on after you've replaced the general stuff, I'd turn my attention to the timing and exhaust.
Yeah,
That's where I'm confused... I know all the emmissions crap has been disconnected, but is still there, but on the other hand, as you stated, there is no oil or coolant light, so it is confusing.
I don't think it's a oil pressure l,ight though, cuz if it was I would have never made approximately a 160 mile trip home without the engine blowing up
You'd be surprised. The more notable issue with oil pressure is "ticking." If you didn't hear it, you're probably okay. A car will still run fine for a while with low oil pressure/level. The light usually comes on when you have severely low oil levels (like 2 qts in a 5qt system). Even then, you're still oiling the pistons, just not as efficiently as when properly filled.
Had it been a "temp" issue, you probably would have seized the engine as the pistons swelled in their cylinders and literally melted themselves to the chamber walls. Later, after a cooldown, you could have restarted the vehicle. But you would have sheered the piston/cylinder weld, forever scarring both block and pistons and causing the engine to smoke as if the rings were bad.
Quote from: Poison Pinto on August 20, 2004, 09:45:14 PM
Had it been a "temp" issue, you probably would have seized the engine as the pistons swelled in their cylinders and literally melted themselves to the chamber walls. Later, after a cooldown, you could have restarted the vehicle. But you would have sheered the piston/cylinder weld, forever scarring both block and pistons and causing the engine to smoke as if the rings were bad.
That just sounds like a party!
A car down the street melted the pistons a week or so ago.
Glad it wasn't me!
haha, if you wanna hear a funny story, a lil rice boy near me decided he wanted more power for the street races, ok, cheapest way, octane booster, he filled his tank with it, drove to the races, did a race and a burnout, on his 2nd race, just melted the pistons to the block and he couldnt figure out why. he was wondering why his temp light was on the whole time, lol.
The engine light is a combination oil pressure/coolant temp light. With the engine running and the light on, try disconnecting the wire from each sender on the engine and see which one makes the light go off. If it is the temperature sender and you are sure the engine is cold, its most likely the sending unit. If its the oil pressure, I can only offer this: I once had an old clunker that had leaky seals. I put in seal stop leak additive and this caused the oil pressure light to stay on. I flushed the system and added fresh oil and the pressure light worked fine again.
Domino is right. The engine light is for temperature and oil pressure. The charging system has its own light. Since you said it comes on when you put it in gear, my guess is it is coming on because of the oil pressure switch. With any good luck, you just have a bad switch. With bad luck, you will have very low oil pressure while idling in gear.
OK... Now for the kicker for me
Where is the oil pressure switch located at, and how do I check it?
I'm sorta doubtful that the oil pressure is too low, as I drove the car home from the sellers houise 160 miles without any trouble, other than a dead battery.
I could be wrong, as I often am, but I doubt the car would have made it that far with low oil pressure.
Well,
I put a quart of oil in the engine and the light went out... The engine also sounds quieter.
Thanx for the help
What did the dipstick read when you picked the car up, before you added the oil at home, and after you added the oil?
Dunno... I can't find the dipstick
I had a bad oil leak in my 76. I knew it was time to add about a quart when the light would come on while turning. I didnt car so much because I was planning an engine swap. Id suggest getting a cheap Haynes or Chilton manual. They are a little vague and dont go deep into some things but they have a great maintence section should be fine for almost everything youre going to need to do. They cost anywhere between $10.00 and $16.00. I buy a manual for each new car I buy. Im still using the manual I bought for my first Pinto 19 (Holey moley) years ago.
My books are still packed and I cant remember what side of the engine the dipstick is on. I think its on the drivers side under the intake manifold. It might be painted yellow. The handle is a circle shape.
Already got a book... I actually bought one about a month before I got the Pinto, so I could read up on them a bit.. Poison Pinto helped me find the dipstick, and when I pulled it I found a nasty suprise... white creamy oil.... that pisses me off, as I didn't expect to have to replace the engine.
Besides the obvious could disconnected emmissions and bad blowby cause this?
It could be just a leaking or blown head gasket. Check that first. They're not too bad to replace!
I'm not too sure, but I'm almost 100% positive the head gasket has been changed. New valve stem seals were put in the engine before I bought it, so I'm assuming he replaced the head gasket...I will run a compression test though....
What's good compression on the 2.3 L engine?
I just ran mine up before I tore it apart. I got 140,140,135,120 on the respective cylinders. The cam went bad; I had an exhaust leak and scratches along the cylinder walls of #4. I thought 140 was pretty good for an engine with a few k miles on it.
Maybe others have different ideas???
I just found out why the oil has moisture in it... You're not goin to believe this, but the guy rinsed the engine out with water after changing the camshaft.
3 words... HE'S AN IDIOT!!!!! I'm going to pull the pan to replace the gasket, so I'll drain the oil then, but I hope no serious damage has been done.
I HATE STUPID PEOPLE!!!!
Usually the people who sell us the Pintos are idiots in the first place. Otherwise they would have gotten it right the first time and not sold it. When I bought my wagon, I spent the first year going over and redoing all the repairs that were done to it. Good luck!
Wow, that's worse than a guy I work with that flushed out his brake system with water after rebuilding the wheel cylinders.
After messing around with a '64 Chevy pickup that I bought three weeks ago, I am convinced that some people should not be allowed to come within arm's length of a wrench.
QuoteHE'S AN IDIOT!!!!! ....I HATE STUPID PEOPLE!!!!
Careful there, Matt. I bit my tongue earlier, even though I could have given you a good ribbing, because I'm not into degrading people who are giving an honest effort and learning as they go (heck, that's me, too)...but not being able to find the dipstick?
One shouldn't yell about others shortcomings until he takes a look at himself.
;)
True, but when one has only owned FWD cars before, and was looking at the wrong place, and the previous owner gave him a dipstick, one is easily confused, especially when the dipstick was hidden by the air cleaner lid, but oh well, all is good now. ;D
Good news!!! After the car died in my driveway (it tends to help when you have gas in it) I checked the oil pan, and NO LEAKS!!!! The level's all good, and the car is running... I gotta get some new plugs for it as the ones in there are rather old, but other than that and the bad tranny this car is in the best shape it has been in a long time.... Finally something's going right on this car!!!! I'M SO HAPPY!!!!!! :) :) :)
i know whatcha mean, i started working on ym car again, trying to get it running before school, hopefully it happens!!(i have 1 week!) it's exiting knowing the cars so close to being running great!
It's amazing how those little things go a long way toward the light at the end of the tunnel sometimes.