Turn Signals When Towing a Trailer
When you tow a trailer, your vehicle has to
have a different turn signal flasher and
extra wiring. The green arrows on your
instrument panel will flash whenever you
signal a turn or lane change. Properly
hooked up, the trailer lights will also flash,
telling other drivers you’re about to
turn,
change lanes or stop.
When towing a trailer, the green arrows on
your instrument panel will flash for turns
even if the bulbs on the trailer are burned
out. Thus,
you may think drivers behind
you are seeing your signal when they are
not. It’s important to check occasionally to
be sure the trailer bulbs are still working.
Driving on Grades
Reduce speed and shift to a lower gear
before you start down a long or steep
downgrade. If
you don’t shift down, you
might have to use your brakes
so much
that they would get hot and no longer work well.
On a long uphill grade, shift down and
reduce your speed to around
45 mph
(70 km/h) to reduce the possibility of
engine and transmission overheating. If you
are towing a trailer and you
have an automatic transmission with
Overdrive, you may prefer to drive
in D
instead of Overdrive (or, as you need to,
a lower gear). Or, if you have a manual
transmission
with fifth (or sixth) gear
and you are towing a trailer, it’s better
not to use
fifth (or sixth) gear. Just drive
in fourth gear (fifth gear
if you have
a six-speed manual transmission)
(or, as you need to, a lower gear.
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Service & Appearance Care
9 276
Fuses and Circuit
Breakers
The wiring circuits in your vehicle are
protected from short circuits by a
combination of fuses, circuit breakers,
and fusible thermal links in the wiring itself. This greatly reduces the chance of
fires caused by electrical problems.
There are
two fuse centers on your
vehicle. One is
in the left side of your
instrument panel.
The other is in the engine compartment.
Open the cover on either of the boxes to
expose the fuses.
Look at the silver-colored band inside the
fuse. If the band
is broken or melted,
replace the fuse. Be sure you replace a
bad fuse with a new one
of the correct
size.
If you ever have a problem on the road
and don’t have a spare fuse, you can
borrow one
of the correct value. Just pick
some feature of your vehicle that you can
get along without
- like the radio or
cigarette lighter
- and use its fuse, if it is
the size you need. Replace
it as soon as
you can.
Headlights
The headlight wiring is protected by a
circuit breaker.
An electrical overload will
cause the lights to go on and off, or in
some cases to remain
off. If this happens,
have your headlight wiring checked right
away.
Windshield Wipers
The windshield wiper motor is protected
by a circuit breaker and a fuse.
If the
motor overheats due to heavy snow, etc.,
the wiper will stop until the motor cools.
If the overload is caused by some
electrical problem and not snow, etc., be
sure to get it fixed.
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