what does an engine shaped warning light mean?

The orange engine light is often called the MIL for short. MIL is the Malfunction Indicator Lamp, but it is also know as the 'check engine lamp'. It is one of the many warning lamps on the dashboard of the Citroen C3.


The MIL shows that the engine ECU has detected a fault with the running of the engine. Hence why it gets called the 'check engine light'.

There is a problem detected with the engine and a code relating to the fault is stored in the ECU.

To read the code(s) stored, you can often use a cheap OBD2 reader from Amazon with the exception of the very early diesel models - you need lexia for that.


The orange engine light should light up when you turn the ignition key, just to prove to you that it works, When the engine is started the orange engine light should go dark and the car run. You may find the engine light stays on, or appears while driving and in more serious faults you may find the orange engine light is on and the car won't move very quickly.

If the MIL appears or doesn't extinguish, it may clear itself after restarting the engine, this was just a temporary blip.

If the MIL appears and won't extinguish after a restart to keep reappearing, then read the codes or have them read and this can start the diagnostics journey before the problem could get worse.

When the MIL is on and the engine speed is limited this is call 'get home mode' - this is just enough power to get you home while protecting the engine from more potential damage should it be run at full power. It would we wise to read the codes before the car is used again because the power is very limited and some damage could occur to the engine. Having the code(s) can help the diagnostics of the fault.






So, the orange engine light that appears on the dashboard is a warning from the engine that all is not right and is asking you to get it to a garage to have the codes read, or for you to read them and start fixing the fault.