1994 OLDSMOBILE BRAVADA light

Your Driving and the Road
130
Winter Driving
Here are some tips for winter driving:
Have your Oldsmobile in good shape
for winter. Be sure your engine
coolant mix is correct.
You may want to put winter
emergency supplies in your vehicle.
Include an ice scraper,
a small brush or
broom,
a supply of windshield washer
fluid,
a rag, some winter outer clothing,
a small shovel, a flashlight, a red cloth,
and a couple of reflective warning
triangles. And, if you will be driving
under severe conditions, include a small
bag of sand, a piece of old carpet or a
couple
of burlap bags to help provide
traction. Be sure you properly secure
these items in your vehicle.
Driving on Snow or Ice
Most of the time, those places where
your tires meet the road probably have
good traction.
However,
if there is snow or ice
between your tires and the road, you
can have a very slippery situation.
You’ll have a lot less traction or “grip”
and will need to be very careful.
What’s the worst time for this? “Wet
ice.” Very cold snow or ice can be slick
and hard to drive on. But wet ice can be
even more trouble because it may offer
the least traction of all. You can get
“wet ice” when it’s about freezing
(32°F; 0.C) and freezing rain begins to
fall. Try to avoid driving on wet ice until
salt and sand crews can get there. Whatever
the condition
- smooth ice,
packed, blowing or loose snow
- drive
with caution.
Accelerate gently. Try not to break the
fragile traction. If you accelerate too fast,
the drive wheels will spin and polish the
surface under the tires even more.
Your anti-lock brakes improve your ability to make a hard stop on
a slippery
road. Even though you have an anti-lock
braking system, you’ll want to begin
stopping sooner than you would on dry
pavement. See
Anti-Lock in the Index.
Allow greater following distance on
any slippery road.
Watch for slippery spots. The road
might be fine until you hit a spot
that’s covered with ice. On an
otherwise clear road, ice patches may
appear in shaded areas where the sun
can’t reach: around clumps of trees,
behind buildings, or under bridges.
Sometimes the surface of a curve or
an overpass may remain icy when the
surrounding roads are clear.
If you see
a patch of ice ahead of you, brake
before you are on it. Try not to brake
while you’re actually on the ice, and
avoid sudden steering maneuvers.
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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
su~nmon 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.
~ .--- . . .. . . .. ~ ~ ~, L
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 as 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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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
connector, 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 trailer.
And, because you’re a good deal longer,
you’ll need to go much farther beyond
the passed vehicle before you 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 strilte soft
shoulders, curbs, road signs, trees, or
other objects. Avoid jerky or sudden
maneuvers. Signal well in advance.
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Your Driving and the Road
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 that weighs
more than
3,000 pounds (1 350 kg), it’s
best to drive in
D instead of Overdrive
(or, as you need to, a lower gear). This
will minimize heat build-up and extend
the life of your transmission.
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
P (Park) yet.
2. Have someone place chocks under
the trailer wheels.
3. When the wheel chocks are in place,
release the regular brakes until the
chocks absorb the load.
4. Reapply the regular brakes. Then
apply your parking brake and then
shift to
P (Park).
5. Release the regular brakes.
When You Are Ready to Leave
After Parking on
a Hill
1. Apply your regular brakes and hold
the pedal down while you:
Start your engine;
Shift into a gear; and
Release the parking brake.
2. Let up on the brake pedal.
3. Drive slowly until the trailer is clear
4. Stop and have someone pick up and
of
the chocks.
store the chocks.
Maintenance When Trailer Towing
Your vehicle will need service more
often when you’re pulling a trailer. See
the Maintenance Schedule for more on
this. Things that are especially
important in trailer operation are
automatic transmission fluid (don’t
overfill), engine oil, axle lubricant, belt,
cooling system, and brake adjustment.
Each of these is covered in this manual,
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and the Index will help you find them
quickly. If you’re trailering, it’s a good
idea to review these sections before
you
start your trip.
Check periodically to see that all hitch
nuts and bolts are tight.
See the next section,
Trailer Wiring
Harness.
Trailer Wiring Harness (OPTION)
Your Bravada is equipped with a 7-wire
trailer harness with a 30-amp battery
feed wire. It’s stored under the vehicle
along the rear frame crossmember.
Since connectors for trailers vary, no
connector is provided.
You will need to
obtain one for the trailer
you want to
pull. Have it wired to the harness by a
qualified service technician.
When wiring the harness to a
connector, disconnect the battery before
removing the tape from the wire. The
wire applications are:
White-Ground
Dark green-Right turn signal
Yellow-Left turn signal
Brown-Rear lamps
Light green-Back-up lamps
Red-Battery charging
Blue-Trailer brakes, auxiliary
In use, tape or tie the harness to your
vehicle’s frame rail. Leave enough slack
so the wiring doesn’t bend or break, but
not
so much that it drags on the
ground.
When it’s not in use, fold the harness
neatly and wrap or tie it. Store in the
original place along the frame
crossmember.
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Probkms on the Road
140
I 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 flash on and off.
But they won’t flash if you’re braking. Press
the button in to make your front
md rear turn signal lights flash on and
3ff.
Your hazard warning flashers work no
natter what position your key is in, and
wen if the key isn’t in.
To turn off the flashers, pull out on the
collar.
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 (1 00 m) behind your vehicle.
Jump Starting
If your battery has run down, you may
want to use another vehicle and some
jumper cables to start your Oldsmobile.
But please follow the steps below to do
it safely.
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NOTICE:
~~
Ignoring these steps could result in
costly damage to your vehicle that
wouldn’t be covered by your
warranty. Trying to start your
Oldsmobile by pushing or pulling it
won’t work, and it could damage
your vehicle.
To Jump Start Your Oldsmobile:
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
Oldsmobile, and the bad grounding
could damage the electrical systems.
You could be injured if the vehicles roll.
Set the parking brake
firmly on each
vehicle. Put an automatic transmission
in P (Park) or a manual transmission in
N (Neutral).
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!
NOTICE:
If you leave your radio on, it could
be badly damaged. The repairs
wouldn’t be covered by your
warranty.
4. Open the hoods and locate the
batteries. Find the positive
(+) and
negative
(-) terminals on each
battery.
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When your vehicle is being towed, have
the ignition key off. The steering wheel
should be clamped in a straight-ahead
position, with a clamping device
designed for towing service.
Do not use
the vehicle’s steering column lock for
this. The transmission should be in
P (Park) and the parking brake
released.
Don’t have your Bravada towed with
the wheels in contact with the ground.
If your vehicle is being towed with
sling-type or wheel-lift equipment,
either the front or rear wheels must be
supported on a dolly.
If towing your Bravada with a car
carrier, block supports may be required
to prevent damage to the vehicle.
Engine Overheating
You will find a coolant temperature
;age and the warning light about
a hot
mgine on your Oldsmobile’s instrument
)anel.
If Steam Is Coming From Your
Engine
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