What gauges should you check after starting your vehicle?
- Oil, voltmeter, coolant temperature and fuel ✓
- Fuel, oil and air brake
- Oil, voltmeter and air brake
- None of the above
Answer: A. Oil, voltmeter, coolant temperature and fuel
After starting the engine, check the oil pressure gauge, the voltmeter (charge rate), the coolant temperature gauge, and the fuel gauge.
Why this is the answer
The handbook's pre-trip inspection section says to confirm all gauges and warning lights work and respond as the engine starts and warms up. It then names four: the charge rate indicator or voltmeter must show a good charge, the oil pressure gauge must show normal pressure soon after the engine starts, the coolant temperature gauge must climb to normal operating temperature (with its light going off), and the fuel gauge must show enough fuel. That list matches the combination of oil, voltmeter, coolant temperature and fuel.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. Fuel, oil and air brake — The fuel and oil gauges belong on the list, but the air brake gauges are not among the gauges these passages tell you to watch as the engine starts and warms up.
- C. Oil, voltmeter and air brake — Oil and the voltmeter are correct, but air brake is not part of the starting check described here, and this choice also leaves out the coolant temperature and fuel gauges.
- D. None of the above — The passages do name specific gauges to verify after start-up, so it is not true that none of the listed choices fits.
Remember it
Think of the first few seconds after the engine catches: four dials to read — charge, oil, temperature, fuel.