opel corsa warning lights

[salem]

I recently bought a 99 opel corsa eco, the engine electronic indicator lights on the dash board ( it's a car symbol with a electric bolt in the middle) keeps coming on every so often, for a few minutes, then goes out again. is this normal or what could the problem be.

[Gef]

Not sure if its the same symbol as I could never figure it out but a yellow warning light did the same thing on my daughter's Vauxhall Corsa (L reg) and apparently it wasn't a warning but just the system checking itself. (Apologies for the lack of punctuation but I'm in a hurry).