Lambda Light (weird)

[Jimmycxc]

So I was driving along and my lambda light suddenly came on. The odometer read 27,482 miles. I have heard them to be a little off, but has anyone else's been this far off?

[WelmoedJ]

It's not always a matter of being off.
It also can happen if the drive system of the Speedo/ODO-meter (and of the Lambda counter) has not been functioning for some time.

I presume those Lambda counters are not more off than the ODO-meter in the car.

[Jonathan]

If you have speedo problems at the dust cap, or angle drive, or lower cable then neither the lambda counter nor odo/speedo will turn. If you had 2,500 miles worth of problems above the lambda counter either with the upper cable or speedo/odo gauge itself, this would account for the difference. Or the odo was counting slower than the lambda counter for some reason, but that seems less likely than one of the various components acting up in the middle. Or a wire got loose/shorted out under the footwell and coincidentally made your light go on. If you unscrew the lambda counter from the bracket, you can read the number off of it. Let us know what it says.

[DMCMW Dave]

If you unscrew the lambda counter from the bracket, you can read the number off of it. Let us know what it says.

It will say 100. That's when the light goes on.

[Jonathan]

It will say 100. That's when the light goes on.

Agreed. If the light comes on because the counter told it to, it will read 100. If he sees it read 92 or something which might correspond to what his odo miles are compared to 30,000, then it tells him something else made that bulb go on. Not likely, I know, just saying. If he sees 100 then he knows the counter and bulb are all fine and he basically had some issue in the past with a 2,500 mile connection problem between the counter and instrument cluster.

[Jimmycxc]

I haven't had a chance to check it yet. I'm away until thursday night, but will let you guys know what I find out. I do know this was Rob Grady's DeLorean for a little bit, then he sold it to Bob Sagar, then Doug Venner, and finally me. I purchased it with 16,800 miles on her.

[Timebender]

Being new to the whole D thing, what exactly is the purpose of the Lambda counter and light? Kind of a "maintenance required" vs. engine check?

[dmc6960]

Being new to the whole D thing, what exactly is the purpose of the Lambda counter and light? Kind of a "maintenance required" vs. engine check?

Precisely. The ONLY function is to count to 30,000 miles and turn on the light. Nothing more.

Light comes on, you get major engine service, reset the counter, do another 30,000.

[Timebender]

Good to know.

Thanks for the info!

[David T]

The possibility exists that the speedometer was changed or rolled back and they did not know about the Lambda counter so they did not roll it back too. In any case it is not a big difference. When it lights you are supposed to replace the O2 sensor and check the valve adjustment. The emissions should be checked and if necessary a tune-up performed which would include replacing the spark plugs, air filter, ignition wires, cap, rotor, and fuel filter. Checking the timing and advance and then finally checking the mixture again. Also you should include fixing any vacuum leaks and cleaning the injectors. The Lambda counter reads as a percentage of 30,000 miles, ie, at 0 miles it reads 0 and at 30,000 miles it reads 100. After performing the service the Lambda counter gets reset to 0. You turn the tamperproof screw on the side with a paperclip bent into a U shape. Insert into the 2 holes in the head of the screw and turn till it reads 0. The window is on top and is hard to see. Easier if you remove the counter to reset it. Or you can just unplug the counter from the harness, that will shut the light off, never to be seen again!
David Teitelbaum

[Ryan S.]

My Lambda light came on yesterday but my odometer is only 15,000 ml. So I checked lambda counter and it says "050". Any ideas?:hmm:
Recently, I replaced most of dash bulbs to LEDs, except lambda and break lights. Do you think that caused lambda to light?

[jawn101]

Unplug the connector to the lambda box and see if it goes off, Ryan. If so the counter may just be stuck.

[Jonathan]

My Lambda light came on yesterday but my odometer is only 15,000 ml. So I checked lambda counter and it says "050". Any ideas?:hmm:
Recently, I replaced most of dash bulbs to LEDs, except lambda and break lights. Do you think that caused lambda to light?

Interesting how accurate it has been up to this point. I recall seeing the same thing on mine when I took a look at it (19,000 miles or so and 0.63 on the counter). One would think it is at least telling us that most problems with the speedo assembly are before the counter and not after. Seems more people have these numbers correspond versus missing miles going on between the counter and cluster.

My guess would be something got bumped or shorted together when you installed your new bulbs.

[Starglider]

Weird DeLorean trivia : all of the RHD cars have single-piece speedo cables and no lamda counters; the bulb is present but not connected to anything. Since my engine is EFI I'm considering wiring the lamda light to the check engine output on the ECU.

[David T]

Weird DeLorean trivia : all of the RHD cars have single-piece speedo cables and no lamda counters; the bulb is present but not connected to anything. Since my engine is EFI I'm considering wiring the lamda light to the check engine output on the ECU.

That would make sense. The RHD cars were never meant for the US market so they wouldn't need the Lambda counter because it was only required by the US EPA. Just curious, what wheel drives the speedo and how did they run the cable? It would make sense to try to use it as a MIL, you might have to do some minor rewiring to get it to work.
David Teitelbaum

[Starglider]

That would make sense. The RHD cars were never meant for the US market so they wouldn't need the Lambda counter because it was only required by the US EPA. Just curious, what wheel drives the speedo and how did they run the cable?

The left hand wheel : the angle drive is the same, but the speedo cable is longer and goes directly to the speedo. I found this out yesterday when trying to fit the speed sensor for the DMC Europe power steering module; it's supposed to replace the lambda counter (actually seems to be made out of the casing from one), which unfortunately doesn't exist on my car.

[David T]

That's one long cable! I assume it starts out the same, goes into the body in the same way, and then across the car behind the dash and into the speedo head? I guess they did it that way so they could use as much of the existing parts stock as possible. For us in the US it would be weird shifting with the left hand! Never mind being on the "wrong" side of the car! There has to be a joke that goes something like getting a ticket and the cop goes to the wrong side to talk to the driver!
David Teitelbaum

[Ron]

:hihi2:

[Ryan S.]

Unplug the connector to the lambda box and see if it goes off, Ryan. If so the counter may just be stuck.
Jon,
You are good!!! I unplugged the lambda box connector but light stayed on. So I pulled out the dash and rechecked connections and light went out. Something must have gotten stuck. I even changed LEDs to wider beam red LEDs and dash looks much better now.:thumbup2:
thanks

[jawn101]

Jon,
You are good!!! I unplugged the lambda box connector but light stayed on. So I pulled out the dash and rechecked connections and light went out. Something must have gotten stuck. I even changed LEDs to wider beam red LEDs and dash looks much better now.:thumbup2:
thanks

Nice :)

I need to find some brighter white LEDs for my binnacle illumination. I was worried they would be too bright when I installed them but now I find they're really not bright enough. Just the white ones though, all the indicators and warning lamps are perfect.