I have a 1987 xr3i with a yellow warning light it looks like the brake symbol only with a car skidding in the center. do you know what this is and how to fix it???

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What vehicle is it, is it a diesel or a petrol engine? What does the yellow light look like? They often show as a little symbol.
Yellow lights are usually 'caution' warnings. This means the vehicle's electronics has found something it doesn't like and flags it up as a warning light.

From what I can tell that looks to be a brake warning lamp. I would get it checked out at your closest service center. It might be a low pressure warning or a low brake pad warning. I am not sure, but would have it checked as soon as possible.

I would prefer if you forwarded a clear picture of these lights or symbols. The only green light I can think of is the one in the top center. That green light shows that your gear selector is in Park and moves as you select a different gear position. I think the yellow and Red light that you speak of is within the top area of the RPM gauge. The Red light should have an "!" symbol and is indicating a warning. The alarm is a back up to also alert you of an issue. This could represent your tires or engine. You should send it in for diagnostics asap. The Yellow Light I am not sure of. I need to know what it looks like. If it looks like a car with wavy lines. This light represents your traction control. If your car contains the owners manual it is a great idea to familiarize yourself with it. There is a lot of good information inside.

okay let me tell you and i will try to show you them. first is the check engine light which is a yelloe symbol of a small engine, this means theres a problem with the engine operation or emmisions system. this you can go to an auto parts store and they will scan the cars computer for codes and give you a print out. i can help you further with the codes, next is the anti braking system which doesnt allow the wheels to skid in heavy braking or snow and ice, this symbol will say ABS.nextis the red brake light which will say BRAKE in red and will sometimes come on with the yellow ABS light this light if on alone means you are low on brake fluid, which means a leak or low brakes and you need to have the brake system checked asap, the rest of the light are low coolant, trac, which is in the ****** and controls the traction control, this light will come on if this cars has it when the abs or engine light is on because the computer shuts it done when theres a problem.hope this helps.heres a good site that will show you all lights and what they mean there are alot depending on the car. hope this is helpful.http://www.autoevolution.com/news/how-to-read-the-dashboard-lights-1370.html

The proportioning valve simply ensures that the front brakes are applied before the rear brakes are, to prevent sideways skids from loss of rear traction. The valve also serves as a warning light when one end, either front or rear, of the system has deficient line pressure. Inside the valve is a cylinder, and a piston that belongs in the center of the valve cylinder (when fluid pressure on each side is equal). When one side of the valve (front or rear brake system) loses pressure (like from a leaking brake line), the piston gets pushed to the low pressure end and makes contact with a switch terminal that turns the light on.The trick to turning the light off is to figure out which end, front or rear brakes, the piston is on, and then bleed the other end to center the piston and turn the light off. Too much pressure on the brake pedal will cause the piston to go past center to the opposite end, and a close watch on the brake warning light will reveal that as the lamp will flicker once while the piston passes center.
Gently depress the brake pedal (requires an assistant) with a bleeder open and close the bleeder as soon as the assistant (brake pumper) sees the light go out. If he sees the light flicker once bleed the other end of the vehicle to go back towards center.

that symbol is for your tire preasure,its telling you that one of your tires are low, check all tire preasures, you can set to32 psi or look in manually sometimes they have you set them at 28psi but i always go to 32 psi. anyway theres a button on the lower left of steering wheel to reset or drive a few miles.also check your spare, hope this helps.

check your brake fluid it may be low indicating that you have a brake fluid leak some were

I believe this is a brake warning light. Parking brake is on? Brake fluid is low?

It's to do with traction control...
usually means the skid control has armed itself because the car has detected a lack of traction (if you skidded) or the car has sensed it is cold

Is it yellow or red? Sounds like a waring light for used front brake pads.