1994 CHEVROLET TRACKER lights

Your Driving and the Road
It’s wise to keep your wiping equipment
in good shape and keep your windshield
washer tank filled. Replace your
windshield wiper inserts when they show
signs of streaking or missing areas on the
windshield, or when strips of rubber start
to separate from the inserts.
Driving too fast through large water
puddles or even going through some car
washes can cause problems, too. The
water may affect your brakes. Try to
avoid puddles. But
if you can’t, try to
slow down before you hit them.
Hydroplaning
Hydroplaning is dangerous. So much
water can build
up under your tires that
they can actually ride on the water. This
can happen if the road is
wet enough and
you’re going fast enough. When your
vehicle is hydroplaning,
it has little or no
contact
with the road.
Hydroplaning doesn’t happen often.
But it
can if your tires haven’t much tread or
if
the pressure in one or more is low. It can
happen
if a lot of water is standing on the
road.
If you can see reflections from trees,
telephone poles, or other vehicles, and
raindrops “dimple” the water’s surface,
there could be hydroplaning.
Hydroplaning usually happens at higher speeds. There just isn’t a hard and fast
rule about hydroplaning. The best advice
is to slow down when it is raining.
Some Other Rainy Weather Tips
Turn on your low-beam headlights -
not just your parking lights - to help
make you more visible to others.
0 Besides slowing down, allow some
extra following distance. And be
especially careful when you pass
another vehicle. Allow yourself more
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Wiper Blades: Are they in good
shape?
Fuel, Engine Oil, Other Fluids:
Have you checked all levels?
Lights: Are they all working? Are the
lenses clean?
Tires: They are vitally important to a
safe, trouble-free trip. Is the tread
good enough for long-distance
driving? Are the tires all inflated to
the recommended pressure?
Weather Forecasts: What’s the
weather outlook along your route?
Should you delay your trip a short
time to avoid a major storm system?
Maps: Do you have up-to-date
maps?
Highway Hypnosis
Is there actually such a condition as
“highway hypnosis”? Or is it just plain
falling asleep at the wheel? Call
it
highway hypnosis, lack of awareness, or
whatever.
There is something about an easy stretch
of road with
the same scenery, along with
the hum of the tires
on the road, the drone
of the engine, and the rush of the wind
against the vehicle that can make you sleepy. Don’t let it happen
to you! If it
does, your vehicle can leave the road in
less than a second, and
you could crash
and be injured.
What can you do about highway
hypnosis? First, be aware that
it can
happen.
Then here are some tips:
0 Make sure your vehicle is well
ventilated, with a comfortably cool
interior.
0 Keep your eyes moving. Scan the
road ahead and to
the sides. Check
your mirrors and your instruments
frequently.
0 If you get sleepy, pull off the road into
a rest, service, or parking area and
take a nap, get some exercise,
or both.
For safety, treat drowsiness on the
highway as an emergency.
Hill and Mountain
Roads
Driving on steep hills or mountains is
different from driving
in flat or rolling
terrain. If you drive regularly in steep
country, or
if you’re planning to visit
there, here are some tips that can make
your trips safer and more enjoyable.
(See “Off-Road Driving” in the Index
for information about driving off-road.)
Keep your vehicle in good shape.
Check all fluid levels and also the
brakes, tires, cooling system and
transmission. These parts can work
hard
on mountain roads.
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Your Driving and the Road
If You’re Caught in a Blizzard
If you are stopped by heavy snow, you
could be in a serious situation. You should
probably stay with your vehicle unless
you know
for sure that you are near help
and you can hike through the snow. Here
are some things to do to summon help and
keep yourself and your passengers safe:
Turn on your hazard flashers. Tie a red
cloth to your vehicle to alert police that
you’ve been stopped by the snow. Put on
extra clothing or wrap
a blanket around
you. If you have no blankets or extra
clothing, make body insulators from
newspapers, burlap bags, rags, floor mats
- anything you can wrap around yourself
or tuck under your clothing to keep warm.
You can
run the engine to keep warm, but
be careful. Run your engine
only as long as
you
must. This saves fuel. When you run the
engine, make it go a little faster than just
idle. That is, push the accelerator slightly.
This uses less fuel for the heat that you
get and it keeps the battery charged. You
will need a well-charged battery to restart
the vehicle, and possibly for signaling
later on with your headlights. Let the
heater run for awhile.
Then, shut the engine off and close the
window almost all the way to preserve
the heat. Start the engine again and
repeat this only when you feel really
uncomfortable from the cold. But
do it as
little as possible. Preserve the fuel as long
3s you can. To help keep warm, you can
get out of the vehicle and do some fairly
vigorous exercises every half hour or
so
until help comes.
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distance is less than 12 inches, take
the foot off the trailer tongue.
Will you have to make any holes
in
the body of your vehicle when you
install a trailer hitch?
If you do, then
be sure
to seal the holes later when
you remove the hitch. If you don't
seal them, deadly carbon monoxide
(CO) from your exhaust can get into
your vehicle (see "Carbon Monoxide"
in the Index). Dirt and water can, too.
Safety Chains
You should always attach chains between
your vehicle and your trailer. Cross the
safety chains under the tongue of the
trailer
so that the tongue will not drop to
the road if
it becomes separated from the
hitch. Instructions about safety chains
may be provided by the hitch
manufacturer
or by the trailer
manufacturer. Follow the manufacturer's
recommendation
for attaching safety
chains. Always leave just enough slack
so
you can turn with pour rig. And, never
allow safety chains
to drag on the ground.
Trailer Brakes
If your trailer weighs more than 1,000
pounds (450 kg) loaded, then it needs its
own brakes -and they must be adequate.
Be sure
to read and follow the instructions
for the trailer brakes so you'll be able to
install, ad-just and maintain them properly.
Don't tap into your vehicle's brake
system
if the trailer's brake system
will use more than 0.02 cubic inch
(0.3 cc) of fluid from your vehicle's
master cylinder.
If it does. both
systems won't work well. You could
even lose your brakes.
Will the trailer brake parts take
3,000
psi (20 650 kPa) of pressure? If not,
the trailer brake system must not be
used
with your vehicle.
If everything checks out this far. then
make the brake fluid tap at the port on
the master cylinder that sends fluid
to
the rear brakes. But don't use copper
tubing for
this. If you do, it will bend
and finally break off. Use steel brake
tubing.
Driving with a Trailer
Towing a trailer requires a certain amount
of experience. Before setting out for the
open road, you'll want
to get to know
your rig. Acquaint yourself
with the feel
of handling and braking with the added
weight
of the trailer. And always keep in
mind that the vehicle you are driving is
now a good deal longer and not nearly so
responsive as your vehicle is by itself.
Before you start, check the trailer hitch
and platform. safety chains, electrical
contwxtor. lights, tires and mirror
adjustment. If the trailer has electric
brakes, start your vehicle and trailer
moving and then apply the trailer brake
controller by hand to be sure the brakes
are working. This lets you check your
electrical connection
at the same time.
During your trip, check occasionally to be
sure that the load is secure. and that the
lights and any trailer brakes are
still
working.
Following Distance
Stay at least twice as far behind the
vehicle ahead as
you would when driving
your vehicle without
a trailer. This can
help you avoid situations that require
heavy braking and sudden turns.
Passing
You'll need more passing distance up
ahead when you're towing a tnliler. And.
because you're
B good deal longer, you'll
need to go much farther beyond the
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Your Driving and the Road
passed vehicle before vou can return to
your lane.
Backing Up
Hold the bottom of the steering wheel
with one hand. Then, to move the trailer
to the left, just move that hand to the left.
To move
the trailer to the right, move
your hand to the right. Always back up
slowly and,
if possible, have someone
guide you.
Making Turns
When you’re turning with a trailer, make
wider turns than normal.
Do this so your
trailer won’t strike soft shoulders, curbs,
road signs, trees, or other objects. Avoid
jerky or sudden maneuvers. Signal well
in
advance.
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
a manual transmission with fifth gear,
you may prefer not
to use fifth gear. Just
drive in fourth gear (or, as
you need to,
.a lower gear).
Parking on Hills
You really should not park your vehicle,
with a trailer attached, on a hill. If
something goes wrong, your
rig could start
to move. People can be injured, and
both your vehicle and the trailer can be
damaged.
But if you ever have to park
your rig on a
hill, here’s how to do it:
1. Apply your regular brakes, but don’t
shift into
“F’” (Park) yet, or into gear
for a manual transmission.
2. Have someone place chocks under the
3. When the wheel chocks are in place,
release the regular brakes until the
chocks absorb the load.
trailer wheels.
4. Reapply the regular brakes.
Then
apply your parking brake, and then
shift to
‘T” (Park), or “R” (Reverse)
for a manual transmission.
5. If you have a four-wheel-drive
vehicle, be sure the transfer case is
in
a drive gear - not in “N” (Neutral).
6. Release the regular brakes.
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Problems on the Road
j
Hazard Warning
Flashers
Your hazard warning flashers let you
warn others. They also let police know
you have a problem. Your front and rear
turn signal lights
will tlash on and off. Press the button
in to make your front and
rear
turn signal lights flash on and off.
Your hazard warning flashers work no
matter what position your key
is in, and
even
if the key isn't in.
To turn off the flashers, push the switch
again.
When the hazard warning flashers are on,
your turn signals won't work.
Other Warning Devices
If you carry reflective triangles, you can
set one up at the side
of the road about
300 feet (100 m> behind your vehicle.
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I Jump Starting
If your battery has run down, you may
want to use another vehicle and some
jumper cables to start your Geo. But
please follow
the steps below to do it
safely.
NOTICE:
Ignoring these steps could result in
costly damage to your vehicle that
wouldn’t be covered by your war-
ranty.
Trying to start your Geo by pushing
or pulling it could damage your
vehicle, even if you have
a manual
transmission. And if you have an
automatic transmission,
it won’t start
that way.
To Jump Start Your Geo:
1. Check the other vehicle. It must have
a 12-volt battery with a negative
ground system.
NOTICE:
If the other system isn’t a 12-volt
system with
a negative ground, both
vehicles can be damaged.
2. Get the vehicles close enough so the
jumper cables can reach, but be sure
the vehicles aren’t touching each
other.
If they are, it could cause a
ground connection you don’t want.
You wouldn’t be able to start your
Geo, and
the bad grounding could
damage the electrical systems.
3. Turn off the ignition on both vehicles.
Turn off all lights that aren’t needed,
and radios. This will avoid sparks and
help save both batteries. And it could
save your radio!
I NOTICE:
I
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If you leave your radio on, it could be
badly damaged. The repairs wouldn’t
be covered by your warranty.
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~~
~~ ~ ~~~~ ~ Service and Appearance Care
Four- Wheel Drive
Most
lubricant checks in this section also
apply to four-wheel-drive vehicles.
However, they have
two additional
systems that need lubricatiog.
Transfer Case
When to Check qnd Change Lubricant
Refer to the Maintenance Schedule to
determine how often to check the
lubricant and when to change
it. See
“Scheduled Maintenance Services”
in the
Index.
How to Check Lubricant
If the level is below the bottom of the
filler plug hole, you’ll need to add some
lubricant. Add enough lubricant to raise
the level to the bottom of the filler plug
hole.
What to Use
Refer to the Maintenance Schedule to
determine what kind of lybricant to use.
See “Recommended Fluids and
Lubricants”
in the Index.
Front Axle
When
to Check and Change Lubricant
Refer to the Maintenance Schedule to a
determine how often to check the
lubricant and when to change it. See
“Periodic Maintenance Inspections” and
“Scheduled Maintenance Services”
in the
Index.
How to Check Lubricant
If the level is below the bottom of the
filler plug hole, you’ll need to add some
lubricant.
If the differential is at operating
temperature (warm), add enough lubricant
to raise the level to the bottom of the filler
plug hole.
If the differential
is cold, add enough
lubricant to raise the level to
1/2 inch (12
mm) below the filler plug hole.
What to Use
Refer to the Maintenance Schedule to
determine
what kind of lubricant to use.
See “Recommended Fluids and
Lubricants”
in the Index.
Engine Coolant
The following explains your cooling
system and how to add coolant when it is
low. If you have a problem with engine
overheating, see “Engine Overheating”
in
the Index.
The proper coolant for your Geo will:
Give freezing protection down to
-20°F (-29”C), or -34°F (-37°C)
in
Canada and for vehicles with the cold
climate option.
Give boiling protection up to 258°F
(125°C).
Protect against rust and corrosion.
Help keep the proper engine
temperature.
Let the warning lights work as they
should.
What to Use:
Use a mixture of one-half clean water
(preferably distilled) and one-half
antifreeze that meets “GM Specification
6038-M,” which won’t damage aluminum
parts.
You can also use a recycled coolant
conforming to
“GM Specification
6038-M”
with a complete coolant flush
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