1996 OLDSMOBILE BRAVADA brake light

Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive
in spurts
-- heavy acceleration followed by heavy
braking
-- rather than keeping pace with traffic. This is a
mistake. Your brakes may not have time to cool between
hard stops. Your brakes will wear out much faster
if you
do
a lot of heavy braking. If you keep pace with the
traffic and allow realistic following distances, you will
eliminate a
lot of unnecessary braking. That means
better braking and longer brake life.
If your engine ever stops while you’re driving, brake
normally but don’t pump your brakes. If you do, the
pedal may get harder to push down. If your engine
stops, you will still have some power brake assist. But
you will use it when you brake. Once the power assist is
used up, it may take longer to stop and the brake pedal
will be harder to push.
Anti-Lock Brakes
Your vehicle has anti-lock brakes (ABS). ABS is an
advanced electronic braking system that
will help
prevent a braking skid.
When you start your engine and begin to drive away,
your anti-lock brake system will check itself.
You may
hear a momentary motor or clicking noise while this test
is going on. This is normal.
If there’s a problem
with the
anti-lock brake system, this warning light will stay on.
See “Anti-Lock Brake
System Warning Light”
in
the Index.
4-6
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Driving Downhill
When off-roading takes you downhill, you’ll want to
consider
a number of things:
How steep is the downhill? Will I be able to maintain
vehicle control?
What’s the surface like? Smooth? Rough? Slippery?
Hard-packed dirt? Gravel?
Are there hidden surface obstacles? Ruts?
Logs? Boulders?
What’s at the bottom of the hill? Is there a hidden
creek bank or even
a river bottom with large rocks?
If you decide you can go down a hill safely, then try to
keep your vehicle headed straight down, and use
a low
gear. This way, engine drag can help your brakes and
they won’t have to do all the work. Descend slowly,
keeping your vehicle under control at all times.
Heavy braking when going down a hill can cause
your brakes to overheat and fade. This could cause loss
of control and a serious accident. Apply the
brakes lightly when descending a hill and use a low gear to keep vehicle speed under control.
Are there
some things I should not do when
driving down a hill?
A: Yes! These are important because if you ignore them
you could lose control and have
a serious accident.
When driving downhill, avoid turns that take you
across the incline
of the hill. A hill that’s not too
steep to drive down may be too steep
to drive across.
You could roll over if you don‘t drive straight down.
Never go downhill with the transmission in
NEUTRAL
(N). This is called “free-wheeling.” Your
brakes will have to do all the work and could
overheat and fade.
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Driving in Water
Light rain causes no special off-road driving problems.
But heavy rain can mean flash flooding, and flood
waters demand extreme caution.
Find out how deep the water is before
you drive through
it. If it’s deep enough to cover your wheel hubs, axles or
exhaust pipe, don’t try it
-- you probably won’t get
through.
Also, water that deep can damage your axle
and other vehicle parts.
If the water isn’t too deep, then drive through it
slowly. At fast speeds, water splashes
on your ignition
system and your vehicle can stall. Stalling can also
occur if you get your tailpipe under water. And,
as long
as your tailpipe is under water, you’ll never be able to
start your engine. When you go through water,
remember that when your brakes get wet,
it may take
you longer to stop. Driving through rushing water can be dangerous.
Deep water can sweep your vehicle downstream
and you and your passengers could drown.
If it’s
only inches deep, it can still wash away the
ground from under your tires, and you could lose
traction and roll the vehicle over. Don’t drive
through rushing water.
See “Driving Through Water” in the Index for more
information on driving through water.
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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.
Wet brakes can cause accidents. They won’t worl
well in a quick stop and may cause pulling to one
side. You could lose control of the vehicle.
After driving through a large puddle
of water or
a car wash, apply your brake pedal lightly until
your brakes work normally.
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Trailer Wiring Harness
The light duty trailer wiring is a six-wire harness
assembly. The optional heavy duty trailer wiring is an
eight-wire harness assembly. The harnesses are stored
under the vehicle, on the driver’s side corner frame
crossmember. The heavy duty trailer wiring
has a
30-amp feed wire with an inline fuse located by the
junction block. See “Fuses and Circuit Breakers”
in the
Index. Both harnesses have no connector and should be
wired by a qualified electrical technician. The technician
can use the following color code chart when connecting
the wiring harness to your trailer.
0 DARK BLUE: Use for electric trailer brakes or
auxiliary wiring.
0 RED: Use for battery charging; it connects to the
starter solenoid (eight-wire harness only).
0 LIGHT GREEN: Back-up lamps (eight-wire
harness only).
BROWN: Taillamps and parking lamps.
YELLOW: Left stoplamp and turn signal.
DARK GREEN: Right stoplamp and turn signal.
WHITE (Heavy Gage): Ground wire.
WHITE (Light Gage): Auxiliary stoplamp.
Securely attach the harness to the trailer, then tape or
strap
it to your vehicle’s frame rail. Be sure you leave it
loose enough
so the wiring doesn’t bend or break, but
not
so loose that it drags on the ground. Store the
harness
in its original place. Wrap the harness together
and tie
it neatly so it won’t be damaged.
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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).
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 repair wouldn’t be covered by
your warranty.
4 CAUTION:
--I
An electric fan can start up even when the engine
is not running and can injure you. Keep hands,
clothing and tools away from any underhood
electric fan.
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1 NOTICE:
Continuing to drive with worn-out brake pads
could result in costly brake repair.
Some driving conditions or climates may cause a brake
squeal when the brakes are first applied or lightly
applied. This does not mean something is wrong
with
your brakes.
Your rear drum brakes don’t have wear indicators, but
if
you ever hear a rear brake rubbing noise, have the rear
brake linings inspected. Also, the rear brake drums
should be removed and inspected each time the tires are
removed for rotation or changing. When you have
the
front brakes replaced, have the rear brakes inspected, too.
Brake linings should always be replaced as complete
axle sets.
Brake Pedal Travel
See your retailer if the brake pedal does not return to
normal height, or if there is
a rapid increase in pedal
travel. This could be
a sign of brake trouble.
Brake Adjustment
Every time you make a brake stop, your disc brakes
adjust for wear.
If your brake pedal goes down farther than normal, your
rear drum brakes may need adjustment. Adjust them by
backing up and firmly applying the brakes a few times.
Replacing Brake System Parts
The braking system on a modern vehicle is complex.
Its many parts have to be of top quality and work well
together
if the vehicle is to have really good braking.
Vehicles we design and test have top-quality
GM brake
parts
in them, as your Oldsmobile does when it is new.
When you replace parts
of your braking system -- for
example, when your brake linings wear down and
you
have to have new ones put in -- be sure you get new
genuine
GM replacement parts. If you don’t, your
brakes
may no longer work properly. For example, if
someone puts in brake linings that are wrong for your
vehicle, the balance between your front and rear brakes
can change
-- for the worse. The braking performance
you’ve come to expect can change
in many other ways
someone puts
in the wrong replacement brake parts. if
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1 Section 9 Index
.
Accessory Power Outlets ........................ 2-43
Adding Sound Equipment
........................ 3- 14
AirBag
....................................... 1-16
Adding Equipment ............................ 1-2 1
How Does it Restrain .......................... 1-19
How it Works ................................ 1 . 18
Location
.................................... 1-18
Readiness Light
......................... I . 17. 2-5 1
Servicing ................................... 1-2 1
What Makes it Inflate .......................... 1-19
What
You See After it Inflates ................... 1-20
When Should
it Inflate ......................... 1 . 19
Aircleaner
.................................... 6-13
Air Conditioning
................................ 3-3
Refrigerants
................................. 6-58
Alignment and Balance. Tire
...................... 6-42
All-Wheel Drive
.......................... 2.17. 6.17
Aluminum Wheels. Cleaning
...................... 6-49
Antenna. Fixed
................................. 3-15
Anti-Lock Brake System Warning Light
......... 2.54. 4.6
Appearance Care
............................... 6-44
Materials
.................................... 6-5 I
Add-on Equipment ............................. 4-43 Arbitration Program
.............................. 8-6
Armrest. Storage ............................... 2-38
Audio Systems
.................................. 3-6
Automatic Overdrive
........... : ................ 2-16
Automatic Transmission Check
...................................... 7-40
Fluid
....................................... 6-14
Operation
................................... 2-14
Park Mechanism Check
........................ 7-42
Front
....................................... 6-18
Rear
....................................... 6-19
Ashtrays
...................................... 2-41
Axle
Battery ......................................
6-30
ChargeLight ................................ 2-51
Jump Starting
................................. 5-2
Replacement. Keyless Entry
..................... 2-6
Warnings ................................ 5.2. 5.4
BBB Auto Line
................................. 8-6
Better Business Bureau Mediation
................... 8-6
BrakeFluid
.................................... 6-25
Brake. Parking
................................. 2-17
9-1 .
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