FREE REPAIR MANUALS & LABOR GUIDES 1982-2013 Vehicles
Courtesy of Operation CHARM: Car repair manuals for everyone.

Service Telltale

The "SERVICE" telltale lamp is in the instrument cluster, it informs the driver that a problem has occurred requiring the vehicle to be taken in for service as soon as reasonably possible. This lamp is used for non-emission related failures, which without being serviced, could lead to component damage. As a bulb check, the lamp will come On for two to three seconds and then go out. If the lamp remains On, the self-diagnostics system has detected a fault. If the problem corrects itself or goes away, the lamp will turn off three seconds after the ECM diagnostic test passes. A diagnostic trouble code will be stored in malfunction history.