# What's this light in a 93 Camry? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 26, 2015, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-in-a-93-camry/720907 "2015-05-26T21:21:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-in-a-93-camry/720907/1 "2015-05-26T21:21:45Z")
My son bought a 1993 Camry (LE). [There’s a little red light, to the left of the dashboard](http://boxjamsdoodle.com/images/redlight.jpg), that is always on (except once when it was blinking). Anyone know what it is? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-in-a-93-camry/720907/2 "2015-05-26T21:31:39Z")
I’m going to guess that it’s either part of the car’s alarm system, or it’s an LED to simulate an alarm system. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-in-a-93-camry/720907/3 "2015-05-26T21:34:47Z")
Ninja’d. Look under the hood–see any large bullhorn looking thingies? Or wires coming from the positive battery terminal that look vaguely like an afterthought? ---
**Author:** ![sbunny8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@sbunny8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbunny8)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-in-a-93-camry/720907/4 "2015-05-26T21:39:20Z")
I’m thinking it’s an indicator light for an aftermarket alarm system, not factory installed. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-in-a-93-camry/720907/5 "2015-05-26T21:46:38Z")
It shows you where Paradise is. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-in-a-93-camry/720907/6 "2015-05-26T22:21:26Z")
Nice. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-in-a-93-camry/720907/7 "2015-05-26T22:28:41Z")
> [@sbunny8](#): > > I’m thinking it’s an indicator light for an aftermarket alarm system, not factory installed. Although OEM alarm systems were pretty common as dealer add-ons back then. The car would come pre-wired for them, and if the buyer sprung for it all the dealer had to do was install the little computer box and blinky light. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-in-a-93-camry/720907/8 "2015-05-26T22:44:52Z")
Not only back then. I bought a Honda Fit almost five years ago. I declined the offer of a dealer installed alarm system so they removed the little chip that would activate it. (The reason I declined the alarm system is that I detest noisy car alarms and this way I know that at least my car isn’t the cause of that infernal racket.) ---
**Author:** ![brix11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c37758/32.png) [@brix11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brix11)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-in-a-93-camry/720907/9 "2015-05-27T14:52:08Z")
Hilariously, I just saw [this news item](http://www.theonion.com/article/toyota-recalls-1993-camry-due-fact-owners-really-s-50480) on Facebook yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-in-a-93-camry/720907/10 "2015-05-27T15:14:52Z")
Any chance it’s an indicator light telling you that the mirror-adjust switch to the left is not in the neutral position? Or that the dashboard brightness knob to the right is at full? ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-in-a-93-camry/720907/11 "2015-05-27T15:45:44Z")
I’ve never heard of either of those, although “mirror adjust neutral position sensor indicator” does have a nice ring to it. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-in-a-93-camry/720907/12 "2015-05-27T16:42:19Z")
That is the “replace car” light, as noted in the recall link above. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-in-a-93-camry/720907/13 "2015-05-27T16:46:13Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > I’ve never heard of either of those, although “mirror adjust neutral position sensor indicator” does have a nice ring to it. $90 to diagnose, $45 to fix, and we’ll have you out of here within the hour. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-in-a-93-camry/720907/14 "2015-05-27T16:46:25Z")
> [@sbunny8](#): > > I’m thinking it’s an indicator light for an aftermarket alarm system, not factory installed. Nailed it. Aftermarket alarm, not factory. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-in-a-93-camry/720907/15 "2015-05-28T12:35:35Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > Nailed it. > Aftermarket alarm, not factory. Back in my not-too-distant youth I drove a spiffy Nissan NX2000 sport hatchback that had an unused, blank dash socket. I didn’t really like alarms nor did I want to pay to have one installed, so one night while bored at work I drew up a simply little schematic for a relay (power with the ignition off & vice versa) and bought the parts for it and a blinking red LED at Radio Shack just to have a fake one of those! ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-in-a-93-camry/720907/16 "2015-05-28T19:19:43Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Back in my not-too-distant youth I drove a spiffy Nissan NX2000 sport hatchback that had an unused, blank dash socket. I didn’t really like alarms nor did I want to pay to have one installed, so one night while bored at work I drew up a simply little schematic for a relay (power with the ignition off & vice versa) and bought the parts for it and a blinking red LED at Radio Shack just to have a fake one of those! When I would teach electrical fault tracing and I got to normally closed relays, I would draw this circuit on the whiteboard as the world’s best $5 alarm system, as the blinking LED is the only thing that keeps the bad guy from breaking into your car. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-in-a-93-camry/720907/17 "2015-05-28T19:43:49Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > When I would teach electrical fault tracing and I got to normally closed relays, I would draw this circuit on the whiteboard as the world’s best $5 alarm system, as the blinking LED is the only thing that keeps the bad guy from breaking into your car. Away back in the old days when I designed vehicle security systems… no, wait, it was later. I got the breathless promo material for a new alarm that required no installation. All you had to do was set it on your dash (like a radar detector) and plug it into the cig lighter socket. If any of its thirty-leven sophisticated sensors detected a break-in, it would flash a 1-by-4 inch panel that read ALARM and squawk. The drawbacks will be left as an exercise for the student. Those who believed The Club was a great anti-theft device probably won’t succeed. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-in-a-93-camry/720907/18 "2015-05-28T21:37:47Z")
Thanks, everyone. So it’s an after-market alarm, or a fake one. If the car only came with a key, I guess the anti-theft system (if there is one) is always off these days. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-in-a-93-camry/720907/19 "2015-06-01T12:42:03Z")
It means the self-destruct sequence is initiated. Hope you wrote down the abort code somewhere.