What a !@#$% is this?

[delicove]

Driving from Revelstoke down to Shelter bay on the way to hot springs in Nakusp,suddenly on the dashboard not only D was iluminated but also N and L and in lower righthand corner the A/T temperature was lit. So I stopped, let her idle a bit to see if it would go away but no, it stayed. I checked the color and quantity of ATF and it did seem to be a OK
Since I was in the middle of "nowhere"{sorry, guys in the Kootneys} I decided to see if I can nurse her at least to Vernon,which I did,checked everything again and all seem to be good so I kept going no problem through Kelowna,over the 1700+ pass to Merritt again no issues,went through Hope,all good.
Now I'm at Starbucks in Chilliwack getting ready for the last leg home.
I wonder if anyone had experienced something similar?
By the way, on my way out last Sunday, before the Langley exit I was overtaken by "Gumdrop" I waved but I guess it was not seen.

[mararmeisto]

Sounds like something has come unplugged or disconnected somehow, or you've lost a sensor/module in your transmission.

[bionic]

...sounds similar (but not the same)as the Alternator failure warning as seen on the L300's. My A/T/Oil and engine light all lit up at the same time...turned out to be the Alternator, replaced it and the problems /gremlins vanished. Although yours seems trans focused, so I would check underneath for loose/corroded plugs/wires.

[yojimbo]

The 3 light alty failure is a pecularity of the way the wiring is done, and i think its the same in the 400, so its not that.

[delicove]

Made it home OK.
So this morning I decided to have a peek to see what's happening down under.
Well, when seeing what I brought back home with me it only felt right that nice wash down would be a nice gesture since she brought me home in one piece after all.
It does look like that gesture did pay off. She responded with no additional lights on.
Moisture in the connector was the culprit.
So as a treat she got few pints of the new good stuff.
Now everybody's happy,she's purring like a kitten.

[TardisDeli]

When you have multiple lights on dash that should not possibly all be on at once and still be driving OK, that is your delica crying out for alternator help. Best seen at night, start it a few times to drain battery, then drive while running lots of stuff such as heater and fan on high, rear window heater, wipers, high beams. Those dash lights fade in and out for days as the system slowly dies (again, the delica crying out to you).

L300 can survive like this for some time as no computer for other parts (ie my toyota echo wont shift if low battery as the computer module needs power to tell it when to shift), if you plug in a battery charger when you're parked. And if you don't drive with lots of stuff turned on.

But, a dying alternator will DESTROY the battery in time, so listen to your deli.

A loose wire on alternator connection, is also very very bad if not fixed, will destroy other stuff. No easy way to test alternator, that's why it does the multi lights on dash beg for help.

Come by our house if you want Jay to try battery load tester (if battery good, then the crazy lights mean sad alternator).

christine

[mararmeisto]

When you have multiple lights on dash that should not possibly all be on at once and still be driving OK, that is your delica crying out for alternator help...

Wrong collection of lights.

[delicove]

Thanks Christine for the offer!
It appears that no other lights came on since the initial incident.
At night I checked all positions and not even slight glow from any other light.
I will double check all connections and see if I find some sign of upcoming trouble.

[MardyDelica]

you could check later sometime its a warning for the alternator that carbon brush on it is starting to go.
cheers