Solid "hold light" and car won't start... Why?!

[maskidder]

My elderly mom has a 1994 Protege. She said that last night, a light came on that said "Hold." It didn't flash, or blink... it was just solid. She said she didn't notice any difference in how it drove last night. It cranked this morning when she took my nieces to school (the Hold light was still on), but when she went back out this afternoon, it wouldn't crank.

After thinking about it for a while, she thought she remembered that the storage area of a ship is called the "hold," so she went out and made sure the trunk was closed. Believe it or not, that didn't help it to crank!! :D

Any ideas? She's raising her two granddaughters on just Social Security, so she doesn't have a lot of money for car repairs.

Thanks a bunch!

[Mazda_Powered]

usually when the hold light stays on there's an issue with the automatic transmission. I'd do a quick search to see what else shows up as I'm not overly familiar with the auto transmissions.

[me109]

Hotwire it.

[gambit686]

The hold light on the dash comes on when the car is taken out of overdrive. Just push the buton on the side of the shifter and it will turn off.