1996 CHEVROLET ASTRO battery

Charging System Indicator Light
j-+l
The charging system light
will come
on briefly when
you turn the ignition on, but
the engine is not running, as
a check
to show you the
light is working.
Voltmeter
I I When your engine is not
running, but the ignition is
on (in the
RUN position),
the gage shows your
battery’s state
of charge
in
DC volts.
Then it should go out once the engine is running.
If it
stays on, or comes on while
you are driving, you may
have a problem with the electrical charging system.
It could indicate that you have a loose accessory 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 your accessories, such as the radio
and heatedair conditioner. When
the ignition is
running, the gage shows the
condition
of the charging system. Readings between
the low and high warning zones indicate the, normal
operating range.
2-55

P.SET PROG: The front passengers must be listening
to something different for each of these three functions
to work:
0 Press this button to seek through your preset radio
stations set on your primary radio pushbuttons.
0 When a cassette tape is playing, press this button to
go to the other side of the tape.
VOL: Press this knob lightly so it extends. Turn the knob
clockwise to increase volume and counterclockwise to
decrease volume. Push the
knob back in when you're
not using
it. The upper VOL knob controls the upper
headphone and the lower
VOL knob controls the
lower headphone.
Theft-Deterrent Feature
THEFTLOCK" is designed to discourage theft of your
radio. It works by using a secret code to disable all radio
functions whenever battery power is removed.
The THEFTLOCK feature for the radio may be used or
ignored. If ignored,
the system plays normally and the
radio is not protected by the feature. If THEFTLOCK
is activated, your radio
will not operate if stolen.
When THEFTLOCK is activated, the radio will display
LOC to indicate a locked condition anytime battery
power is removed. If your battery loses power for any
reason, you must unlock the radio with the secret code
before
it will operate.
3-23

Unlocking the Theft-Deterrent Feature After a
Power Loss
Enter your secret code as follows; pause no more than
15 seconds between steps:
1. LOC appears when the ignition is on.
2. Press MN and 000 will appear on the display.
3. Press MN again to make the last two digits agree
with your code.
4. Press HR to make the first one or two digits agree
with your code.
5. Press AM-FM after you have confirmed that the
code matches the secret code you have written down.
The display will show SEC, indicating the radio is
now operable and secure.
If
you enter the wrong code eight times, INOP will
appear on the display. You will have to wait an hour
with the ignition on before you can try again. When you
try again, you will only have three chances to enter the
correct code before INOP appears.
If you lose or forget your code, contact your dealer.
Disabling the Theft-Deterrent Feature
Enter your secret code as follows; pause no more than
15 seconds between steps:
1. Turn the ignition to the ACCESSORY or
RUN position.
2. Turn the radio off.
3. Press the 1 and 4 buttons together. Hold them down
until SEC shows on the display.
4. Press MN and 000 will appear on the display.
5. Press MN again to make the last two digits agree
with your code.
6. Press HR to make the first one or two digits agree
with your code.
code matches the secret code you have written down.
The display will show
---, indicating that the radio is
no longer secured.
7. Press AM-FM after you have confirmed that the
If the code entered is incorrect, SEC will appear on the
display. The radio
will remain secured until the correct
code is entered.
When battery power is disconnected from a secured
radio, the radio won’t turn on and LOC will appear on
the display.
To unlock a secured radio, see 44Unlocking the
Theft-Deterrent Feature After a Power
Loss” earlier in
this section.
3-25

Snow can trap exhaust gases under your vehicle.
This can cause deadly
CO (carbon monoxide) gas
to get inside. CO could overcome you and kill
you. You can’t see it or smell it,
so you might not
know it is in your vehicle. Clear away
snow from
around the base of your vehicle, especially any
that is blocking your exhaust pipe. And check
around again from time to time to be sure snow
doesn’t collect there.
Open a window just a little on the side of the
vehicle that’s away from the wind. This will help
keep CO out. 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 headlamps. 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.
4-25

Trailer Wiring Harness
If you have the optional trailering package, your vehicle
will have an eight-wire harness, including the center
high-mounted stoplamp battery feed wire. The harness
is stored on the passenger side
of the vehicle near the
rear wheel well. This harness
has a 30 amp battery feed
wire and no connector, and should be wired by a
qualified electrical technician. After choosing an
aftermarket trailer mating connector pair, have the
technician attach one connector to the eight-wire trailer
harness and the other connector to the wiring harness on
the trailer, Be sure the wiring harness on the trailer is
taped or strapped
to the trailer’s frame rail and leave it
loose enough
so the wiring doesn’t bend or break, but
not
so loose that it drags on the ground. The eight-wire
harness must be routed out
of your vehicle between the
rear door and the floor, with enough of the harness left
on both sides
so that the trailer or the body won’t pull it.
If you do not have the optional trailering package, your
vehicle will still have a trailering harness.
The harness is
located near the passenger’s side rear wheel well. It
consists of six wires that may be used
by after-market
trailer hitch installers. The technician can use the
following color code chart when connecting the wiring
harness to your trailer.
0 BROWN: Rear lamps.
YELLOW Left stoplamp and turn signal.
0 DARK GREEN: Right stoplamp and turn signal.
WHITE (Heavy Gage): Ground.
LIGHT GREEN: Back-up lamps.
0 WHITE (Light Gage): Center High-Mounted
0 BLUE: Auxiliary circuit (eight-wire harness only).
0 ORANGE: Fused auxiliary (eight-wire harness only).
xore the harness in its original place. Wrap the harness
together and
tie it neatly so it won’t be damaged.
Stoplamp.
4-37

The hazard warning flasher button is located on top of
the steering column.
To turn off the flashers, press the button down again.
When the hazard warning flashers
are on, your turn
signals won’t work. They also won’t flash while
you’re braking.
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.
Jump Starting
If your battery has’run down, you may want to
use another vehicle and some jumper cables to start
yourvehicle. But please follow the numbered steps to
do it safely.
/i CAUTION:
Batteries can hurt you. They can be
dangerous because:
They contain acid that can burn you.
They contain gas that can explode or ignite.
They contain enough electricity to burn you.
If you don’t follow these steps exactly, some or all
of these
,. things can hurt you.,
I NOTICE: I
Ignoring these steps could result in’costly damage
to your vehicle that wouldn’t be covered by
your warranty.
Trying to start your vehicle
by pushing or pulling, ,
it won’t work, and it could damage your vehicle.
5-2

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 vehicle, 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 PARK (P) or a manual
transmission in NEUTRAL (N). If you have a
four-wheel-drive vehicle
with a manual transfer case
shift lever, be sure the transfer case
is not in
NEUTRAL (N).
3. Turn off the ignition on both vehicles. Unplug
unnecessary accessories plugged into
the cigarette
lighter or accessory power outlets. Turn off all lamps
that aren’t needed
as well as radios. This will avoid
sparks and help save both batteries.
In addition, it
could save your radio!
I 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.
5-3

I A CAUTION:
Using a match near a battery can cause battery
gas to explode. People have been hurt doing this,
and some have been blinded. Use
a flashlight if
you need more light.
Be sure the battery has enough water. You’don’t
need to add water to the Delco Freedom’ battery
installed in every new
GM vehicle. But if a
battery
has filler caps, be sure the right amount
of fluid is there. If it is low, add water to take
care
of that first. If you don’t, explosive gas could
be present.
Battery fluid contains acid that can burn you.
Don’t get it on you.
If you accidentally get it in
your eyes or on your skin, flush the place with
water and get medical help immediately.
5. Check that the jumper cables don’t have loose or
missing insulation.
If they do, you could get a shock.
The vehicles could be damaged too.
Before you connect the cables, here are some basic
things you should
know. Positive (+) will go
to positive (+) and negative (-) will go to
negative (-) or a metal engine part. Don’t connect
positive
(+) to negative (-) or you’ll get a short that
would damage the battery
and maybe other
parts too.
Fans or other moving engine pa, can injure you
badly. Keep your hands
away from moving parts
once the engines are running.
5-4