Charging cable connected light

A charging cable is plugged into the car's charging socket. While it is, electric and plug-in hybrid cars will not let you drive away, so you cannot drag the cable or the charger with you.

Red

Not defined by regulation: a maker convention

What to do

Before driving, unplug the cable and close the charging flap, then start again; this is a common reason an electric car will not switch to READY. Red here is not a fault: the car simply will not move until the cable is out. If the light stays on with nothing plugged in, have it checked.

Makes differ: what this light means on your car, the other colours it may use for the symbol and what the car wants you to do are set by the manufacturer, so your car's owner's manual is the authority.

Symbol: A plug on a cable
Also called: Plug-in indicator; Cable connected light; EV plug light
Colour: Red
Standard: None — a maker convention, described here from 2 makers: Peugeot, Nissan

Where makes differ

Peugeot's handbook lists it among its red lamps and adds a message if you try to start with the cable in. Nissan's LEAF lamp lights when the connector is plugged in and blinks while charging, and the car cannot be switched to READY until it is removed.

Not defined by regulation: a maker convention

Neither US FMVSS 101 (Tables 1 and 2) nor UN Regulation No. 121 lists this light, so no rule fixes its symbol or its colour. What follows is what the makers cited below say; other makes, and other model years of the same make, may draw it differently.

Neither FMVSS 101 nor UN R121 lists a charging-cable tell-tale.

Other red maker lights

AdBlue (DEF) warning lightLiquid container with a wavy fill line and a drop · also yellow / amber · maker convention Forward collision warning lightCar seen from behind with radar arcs around it · also yellow / amber · maker convention Power steering warning light (EPS)Steering wheel, sometimes with an exclamation mark · also yellow / amber · maker convention Door open lightCar seen from above with a door open · maker convention Hill descent control lightCar pointing down a slope · also green, yellow / amber · maker convention Immobiliser (security) lightCar outline with a key inside it · also yellow / amber · maker convention

All red dashboard lights, regulated ones included

Sources

No regulation defines this light, so it is described from 2 carmakers' own manuals or owner pages, each fetched and checked on the date shown:

Peugeot: Peugeot handbook, 3008 and 5008 (UK English, 2024 edition, PDF) (Dashboard instruments — Red warning/indicator lamps: Cable connected) — Fixed with the ignition on: the charging cable is connected; with a message, the vehicle cannot be started — disconnect the cable and close the flap. checked 2026-09-28
Nissan: Nissan UK owner's manual, 2023 LEAF — Plug in indicator light (Plug in indicator light) — Lights when the charge connector is connected and blinks during charging; while it is connected the power switch cannot be placed in READY. checked 2026-09-28

Written in our own words; the makers' pages cover their own models only.