A guy round the corner tells me his car, quite old, will only run for a short while and then stop. When I looked it wouldn't even start, but it would crank and the battery was OK. I took the attached pic. Can someone tell me what it may mean please.  He doesn't seem to have the handbook.

 

What year is it..?

As you know the warning lights are there for a reason, obviously the starting prob is the prob being shown on the dash. Find out the year, can do a bit of searching.

A dealers plug in diagnostic thingy is really needed, but getting it there is the prob.

Is the heated rear window switched on?

 

That exact icon doesn't seem to be recognised at all so maybe the car has a major electrical glitch.

 

Corolla w/lights: https://tinyurl.com/y4e7nxu2

 

Very strange. I have worked on many Toyotas but I don't recall seeing that symbol.

Thanks guys for your help ... but am still no further forword ...guess he will have to get someone to come to the house and sort it ...definitely not the rear window heater as I switched it on ... better photo below.

 

That's a Catalytic Convertor warning light.

 

 Possible oxygen sensor fault.  Can probably use search engine for further info.

 

He needs to open the lid on the barbecue grill.

3 minutes ago, ThaidDown said:

That's a Catalytic Convertor warning light.

 

 Possible oxygen sensor fault.  Can probably use search engine for further info.

 

Thanks ...Will that stop the car starting or shut it down after a very short period

 

10 minutes ago, PFMills said:

Thanks ...Will that stop the car starting or shut it down after a very short period

 

I'm not an expert on such matters.

After a very quick search this may (or not ) help

https://www.cars.com/articles/what-are-common-catalytic-converter-problems-1420663031608/

15 minutes ago, ThaidDown said:

That's a Catalytic Convertor warning light.

 

 Possible oxygen sensor fault.  Can probably use search engine for further info.

Could also be some heater system Toyota use to pre-heat the cat. I'm not familiar with the exact system. In any case, the lambda sensor is a pretty cheap part, just replace and if the light does not go away, look deeper into it.

12 minutes ago, PFMills said:

Thanks ...Will that stop the car starting or shut it down after a very short period

 

Should not, unless the engine management system has been programmed to do so. A failing lambda sensor will cause the air/fuel ratio to be off when idling and cruising, which may damage the cat itself. 

5 hours ago, PFMills said:

Thanks guys for your help ... but am still no further forword ...guess he will have to get someone to come to the house and sort it ...definitely not the rear window heater as I switched it on ... better photo below.

 

This pic is much clearer than the first. Definitely not HRW ........ can now be seen even without the HRW on. I agree, its the cat. w/light. https://images.app.goo.gl/7v6HCDwFFdnRA7Lu9

Ok. Now I can see the picture clearly.

This is the symbol for an overheated catalytic converter.

 

If you are getting this warning on a cold start then a failed 02 sensor and/or failed/melted cat are the likely causes.

With a hot engine the likely cause is unburned fuel entering the cat and then burning inside the cat. Do not drive the car until repaired. This fault can be due to overfuelling or misfiring (faulty igNition system, faulty injector etc) causing unburned HC to enter the cat..

If the car won't start it is likely that the cat has melted and blocked the exhaust. You will need a new cat, probably 02 sensor, and then rectify the engine fault that caused the problem.

16 hours ago, HauptmannUK said:

Ok. Now I can see the picture clearly.

This is the symbol for an overheated catalytic converter.

 

If you are getting this warning on a cold start then a failed 02 sensor and/or failed/melted cat are the likely causes.

With a hot engine the likely cause is unburned fuel entering the cat and then burning inside the cat. Do not drive the car until repaired. This fault can be due to overfuelling or misfiring (faulty igNition system, faulty injector etc) causing unburned HC to enter the cat..

If the car won't start it is likely that the cat has melted and blocked the exhaust. You will need a new cat, probably 02 sensor, and then rectify the engine fault that caused the problem.

Readers please note that no cats were hurt in this detailed diagnostic analysis.

20 hours ago, HauptmannUK said:

Ok. Now I can see the picture clearly.

This is the symbol for an overheated catalytic converter.

 

If you are getting this warning on a cold start then a failed 02 sensor and/or failed/melted cat are the likely causes.

With a hot engine the likely cause is unburned fuel entering the cat and then burning inside the cat. Do not drive the car until repaired. This fault can be due to overfuelling or misfiring (faulty igNition system, faulty injector etc) causing unburned HC to enter the cat..

If the car won't start it is likely that the cat has melted and blocked the exhaust. You will need a new cat, probably 02 sensor, and then rectify the engine fault that caused the problem.

The car belongs to an elderly guy (84 years old) down the road from me...I would describe it as a ‘heap’.

 

Him and his wife only use it for shopping every couple of weeks, he is not very well off and I.have suggested in future he gets taxi’s... don’t think that went down too well though. But good advice I think as he had an expensive ‘incipient’ a few years ago and definitely could not afford another.

 

Another option...if blocked ...is I guess...just to cut it out.

 

Anyway it’s up to him as we are now up in Kanchanaburi on holiday ... for haven’t decided how long....

 

Just hope West BK gets some rain to save the garden.

 

So thanks guys for all you help.

26 minutes ago, PFMills said:

The car belongs to an elderly guy (84 years old) down the road from me...I would describe it as a ‘heap’.

Well it's it's a daily banger, get another O2 sensor from a chiang kong and plug that in. Shouldn't be too expensive to try.

43 minutes ago, PFMills said:

Another option...if blocked ...is I guess...just to cut it out.

You remove the cat and break out the melted honeycomb. Although, this will not fix the original problem.