1993 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE Owners Manual

Features & Controls
Instrument Panel Clusters
Your Pontiac is equipped with one of these instrument panel clusters, which
includes indicator warning lights and gages that are explained on the following
pages. Be sure to read about those that apply to the instrument panel cluster for
your vehicle.
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Features & Controls
Speedometer and Odometer
Your speedometer lets you see your
speed in both miles per hour (mph) and
kilometers per hour
(km/h). The
odometer shows how far your vehicle
has been driven, in either miles (used in
the U.S.) or kilometers (used in
Canada).
The odometer and trip odometer are
displayed
in the Driver Information
Center on vehicles
so equipped.
Tamper Resistant Odometer
Your Pontiac has a tamper resistant
odometer. If you see silver lines
between the numbers, you’ll know that
someone has probably tried to turn
it
back, so the numbers may not be true.
You may wonder what happens if your
vehicle needs a new odometer installed.
If the new one can be set to the mileage
total of the old odometer, then it must
be. But if it can’t, then it’s set at zero
and a label must be put on the driver’s
door to show the old mileage reading
when the new odometer was installed.
Trip Odometer
The trip odometer can tell you how far
you have driven since you last reset it.
To set it to zero:
On vehicles with the Driver
Information Center, press the button
labeled
TRIP.
On vehicles with the Systems Monitor,
the button
is next to the trip odometer.
Push and release in a smooth,
continuous motion
until all zeroes
appear.
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Tachometer (OFTION)
The tachometer shows your engine speed in revolutions per minute
(rpm).
Do not run your engine at speeds in the
red area.
Warning Lights, Gages
and Indicators
This section describes the warning lights
and gages that may
be on your vehicle.
The pictures will help
you locate them.
Warning lights and gages can signal that
something
is wrong before it becomes
serious enough to cause an expensive
repair or replacement. Paying attention
to your warning lights and gages could
also save you or others from injury.
Warning lights go on when there may be
or is a problem with one of your
vehicle’s functions.
As you will see in
the details on the next few pages, some
warning lights
come on briefly when
you turn the ignition key just to let you
know they’re working.
If you are
familiar with this section,
you should
not be alarmed when this happens. Gages can
indicate when there may
be
or is a problem with one of your vehicle’s
functions. Often gages
and warning
lights work together to let
you know
when there’s a problem with your vehicle.
When one
of the warning lights comes
on and stays
an when you are driving,
or whtm one
of the gages shows there
may be a problem, check the seetion
that tells you what
to do about it. Please
follow the manual’s advice. Waiting to
do repairs can
be costly-and even
dangerous.
So please get to know your
warning lights
and gages. They’re a big
help.
Your vehicle may also have a Driver
Information Center that
works along with
the warning lights and gages. See the
Index under Driver Information Center.
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Features & Controls
Warning Lights
Your Pontiac has some of the warning
light systems shown here. The symbols
are explained on the following pages.
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Engine Coolant Temperature Warning Light
This light tells you that your engine
coolant has overheated
or your radiator
cooling fans are
not working. If you
have been operating your vehicle under
normal driving conditions, you should
pull off the road, stop your vehicle and
turn the engine
off as soon as possible.
HOT
COOLANT CAN BURN YOU
BADLY!
In Problems on the Road, this
manual shows what to do. See the
Index
under Engine Overheating.
Some clusters with gages do not have a
coolant temperature warning light.
In
those clusters a CHECK GAGES
warning light will alert you of a
potential coolant heating problem.
Low Coolant Warning light
(OPT/ON)
If this light comes on, your system may
be low
on coolant and the engine may
overheat. Check to see
if the level is
low, and add coolant if necessary. See
the
Index under Engine Coolant.
The LOW COOLANT warning light
will also come on when
you turn on the
ignition, but your engine is not running,
as a check to show you it is working.
If
it doesn’t come on then, have it fixed
right away.
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Features & Controls
Oil Warning Light
If you have a problem with your oil, this
light may stay on after you
start your
engine, or come on
when you are
driving. This indicates that oil is not
going through your engine quickly
enough to keep
it cool. The engine
could be low
on oil, or could have some
other oil problem. Have
it fixed right
away. The
oil light could also come
on in two
other situations:
When the ignition is on but the engine
is not running, the light will come
on
as a test to show you it is working, but
the light will go out when you turn the
ignition to
Start. If it doesn't come on
with the ignition on, you may have a
problem with the fuse or bulb. Have
it
fixed right away.
If you make a hard stop, the light may
come on for a moment. This is
normal.
Clusters with gages use the CHECK
GAGES warning light to alert you of a
potential oil pressure problem.
4iU I JUN
Don't keep driving if the oil
pressure is low. If you do,
your
engine can become so hot that
it catches fire. You or others could
be burned. Check your oil as soon
as possible and have your vehicle
serviced.
[
Damage to your engine from,: . .. ', .
neglected oil problems can be ' .I'
costly and is not covered by your
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Check Oii Levei Warning Light
fO#-rn#)
This light indicates when the engine oil
level is
1 to 1% quarts (0.95 L to 1.4 L)
low. It will go on for one to three
seconds when the ignition is turned to
the Run position, as a bulb check. It
will then
go off. Even if you have a law
oil level, it will go off for 15 to 20
seconds. Then, if the oil level is low,
and it has been at least eight minutes
since your engine was last running, the
CHECK OIL LEVEL light will come
on for
20 to 40 seconds. The eight-
minute delay
allows the majority of the
oil to drain back into the oil pan and
prevent a false low condition.
If the CHECK OIL LEVEL warning
comes on, the oil level should be
checked at the oil dipstick. If the level is
low, the engine oil should
be brought up
to the proper level (see the
Index under
Engine Oil). After restoring the proper
level and waiting for the eight-minute
drainback, the key can be
turned to the
Run position and the CHECK OIL
LEVEL warning light should only
come on as a bulb check.
Battery Warning,Lighf
This light will come on briefly when
you
start the vehicle, as a check to show
you it is
working, then it should go out.
If it stays on, OF comes on while you are
driving, you
may have a problem with
the electrical charging system. It could
indicate that you have a loose generator
drive belt, or another electrical
problem. Have it checked right away.
Driving while this light is
on could
drain your battery.
If you must drive a short distance with
the light
on, be certain to turn off all
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