1995 PONTIAC FIREBIRD ignition

Malfunction Indicator Lamp (Service Engine Soon Light)
I SERVICE ~
ENGINE
SOON
..
A computer
monitors operation of your fuel, ignition
and emission control systems. This light should come on
when the ignition is on, but the engine
is not running, as
a check to show you it is working. If it does not come on
at
all, have it fixed right away. If it stays on, or it comes
on while
you are driving, the computer is indicating that
you have a problem. You should take your vehicle in for
service soon.
NOTICE:
If you keep driving your vehicle with this light
on, after a while the emission controls won’t
work as well, your fuel economy won’t be as good
and your engine may not run as smoothly. This
could lead to costly repairs not covered by your
warranty.
OBD I1 3.8L Engine (Code K)
Certain vehicles are equipped with a new emission
diagnostic system. You can tell whether your vehicle has
this system by reading our tune-up label located under
the hood.
If the label says OBD 11 on it, the following
instructions apply.
Your Pontiac Firebird is equipped with an onboard
computer which monitors operation of the emission
control system. This system is called OBD
11 (On-
Board Diagnostics-Second Generation) and is intended
to assure that emissions
are at acceptable levels for the
life
of the vehicle, helping to produce a cleaner
environment. The SERVICE
ENGINE SOON light
comes on to indicate when service is required.
Malfunctions often will be indicated by the system
2-74
ProCarManuals.com

before any problem is apparent, which may prevent more serious damage to your vehicle. The system is also
designed to assist your service technician in correctly
diagnosing any malfunction.
The SERVICE ENGINE SOON light should come on,
as
a check to show you it is working, when the ignition
is on and the engine is not running. This light will also
come on during a malfunction in one or two ways:
Light on steady - - indicates a system malfunction
has been detected. Drive the vehicle to the dealer for
service at your first opportunity.
Light Flashing - - indicates a misfire has been
detected which may damage the emission control
system. The damage may be reduced'by lowering the
vehicle speed, reducing the amount of cargo being
hauled or trailered, avoiding hard acceleration, or by
avoiding steep uphill grades.
If these actions are
effective, the light will stop flashing and remain on
steady. Drive the vehicle to a dealer for service.
If
the light continues to flash, stop the vehicle. Wait for
a steady light to come on, then drive the vehicle to
the nearest dealer for service.
These following conditions also may cause the
SERVICE ENGINE
SOON light to come on.
Low Fuel/Out of Fuel - - As the vehicle starts to run out
of fuel the SERVICE ENGINE SOON light may come
on as a result of
an engine misfire. Filling your gasoline
tank should correct this condition. Make sure to install
the gas cap fully. It will require a few driving trips to
turn the light
off.
Poor Quality Fuel - - Be sure to fuel your vehicle with
quality fuel. Your engine may not run efficiently on poor
fuel. Poor fuel may cause stalling, hesitation or misfire.
These conditions may go away when the engine is
warmed-up. However, poor quality fuel may cause the
SERVICE ENGINE SOON light to come
on.
Have a dealer check the vehicle. If no problems are
found, you may want to change to another brand of fuel.
Driving Through Standing Water -- Driving your
vehicle through puddles
of deep standing -w.a&r may
result in a temporary misfire condition. This condition
will usually correct itself- shortly after the electrical
system dries out.
It will require a few driving trips to
turn the light off.
2-75
ProCarManuals.com

Check Gauges Light Fuel Gage
This red warning light will come on briefly when you
are starting the engine. If the light comes on and stays
on while you are driving, check your gages to see if they
are in the warning areas. Your
fuel gage shows about how much fuel is in your
tank. The gage works only when the ignition switch is in
the
RUN position. When the gage pointer first indicates
EMPTY
(E) you still have a little fuel left (about one to
two gallons), but you need to get more right away.
2-79
ProCarManuals.com

Here are four concerns some owners have had about the
fuel gage. All these situations are normal and do not
indicate that anything is wrong with the
fuel gage.
0
0
0
0
At the gas station, the gas pump shuts off before the
gage reads
FULL (F).
It takes more (or less) gas to fill up than the gage
reads. For example, the
gage reads 1/2 full, but it
took more (or less) than half
of the tank’s capacity to
fill it.
The gage moves a little whefi you turn, stop or speed
UP.
When
you turn the engine off, the gage doesn’t go
back to EMPTY (E).
Convertible Top
The following procedures explain the proper operation
of your convertible top.
To Lower Your Convertible Top
NOTICE:
Don’t leave your convertible out with the top
down for any long periods of time. The sun and
the rain can damage your seat material and other
things inside your car.
1. Park on a level surface. Set the parking brake firmly,
shift an automatic transmission into
PARK (P) or a
manual transmission into
REVERSE (R). The
ignition must be in the ACC or
RUN position. Lower
both
sun visors.
2-80
ProCarManuals.com

To Raise Your Convqtible Top
1. Park on a level surface. Set the parking brake firmly.
If you have an automatic transmission, shift into
PARK (P). If you have a manual transmission, shift
into
REVERSE (R). The ignition must be in the
ACC or RUN position. Lower both sun visors.
Lower both windows at least three inches.
If the boot
cover is in place, it must be removed first.
3. Insta the middle section of the cover by sliding the
tabs ilifo the slots on right side cover. Lower the
cover and engage latch.
4. Close the trunk.
2. Open the trunk. Remove the middle piece of the
cover by pushing in on the latch and lifting up on the
cover.
2-83
ProCarManuals.com

5. Push and hold
the top of the
convertible top switch. ~~~
6. Pull down on the latches and align hooks with
holes.
hsh forward on the larger part of the latch until it
clicks.
Do not force the latch. If it is hard to lock, the
top is not properly aligned.
If your vehicle suffers a power loss, such as a dead
battery, you
can still raise or lower the top manually by
rotating the valve in the left side of the
trunk.
Open the trunk and find the tab along the left side trim
panel. Lift up the tab and turn the valve clockwise to
release the hydraulic pressure.
Turn the ignition key to
the
LOCK position. You can now raise or lower your top
manually. Be
sure to close the valve after installing your
top
so you can raise or lower it electronically later.
2-85
ProCarManuals.com

Audio Systems
Your Delco@ audio system has been designed to operate
easily and give years of listening pleasure. But you will
get the most enjoyment out of it if you acquaint yourself
with it first. Find out what
your Delco@systerh can do
and how to operate
all its controls, to be sure you’re
getting the most out of the advanced engineering that
went into it.
If you have power door locks, your vehicle has a feature
called Retained Accessory Power (RAP). With RAP you
can play your audio system even after the ignition is
off.
See the Index under “Retained Accessory Power.”
Setting the Clock
The clock may be set with the ignition on or off.
1. Press and hold HR until the correct hour appears.
2. Press and hold MIN until the correct minute appears.
NOTE: There will be a two second delay before the
clock goes into the time-set mode, and the colon in the
display will blink while in this mode’.
AmM Stereo Radios with Cassette Tape
Player or Compact
Disc Player
If your Pontiac has a radio with either a cassette tape
player, a compact disc player or a graphic equalizer, the
instructions below will explain how
to use the radio. For
other features,
see the instructions for the feature your
radi.0 has.
To Play the Radio
Push POWER to turn the system on or off.
VOLUME: Turn the VOLUME knob to adju.st the
sound.
RECALL: Press RECALL to recall the station being
played or the clock display. You can also press
RECALL
to display the time when the ignition is off.
Finding a Station
AM-FM: Press A” to get AM, FMI or FM~. The
lighted display shows yout selection.
TUNE: Press TUNE to release the knob. Tuk the knob
to choose radio stations. Push TUNE back in to store it
when not tuning.
ProCarManuals.com

For NEXT to work properly, your tape must have at
least three seconds of silence between each selection.
The radio will not play during this operation.
FWD (Forward): Press this button to rapidly advance
to another part of the tape. Press PROG or FWD again
to stop it. The radio will play during this operation.
REV (Reverse): Press this button to rapidly rewind the
tape. Press PROG or
REV again to stop it. The radio
will play during this operation.
To Play the Next Selection
The radio will not play during this operation.
PROG (Program): Press this button to switch from one
side of the tape to the other or to stop the tape from
searching.
Noise Reduction
00 Press this button to reduce background noise. This
symbol will appear in the display.
Dolby@ B Noise Reduction manufactured under license
from Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation. Dolby
and the
00 symbol are trademarks of Dolby
Laboratories Licensing Corporation.
To Stop the Tape Player
Turn the power off or turn the ignition key off. The
cassette stays in the player and will resume playing
at the point where it stopped.
Press A” to stop playing the cassette and switch
to the radio. Press TAPE-PLAY to restart the cassette
at the point where it stopped.
Press EJECT to remove the cassette or stop the
cassette and switch to radio. EJECT will work with
the ignition or radio
off. Press EJECT to load a
cassette when the radio is
off.
NOTE: This radio has a “broken tape” feature that will
eject broken or misfed tapes. Because of
this feature,
CD changers that plug into the tape deck will not work
in this system.
Diagnostic Tape Error Indicator
When the cassette player detects a problem with the
cassette tape either just after it is loaded or while it is
playing,
it will attempt to work around the epor. If the
tape player cannot continue to play the cassette, it will
eject it and switch to the radio mode.
3-8
ProCarManuals.com