1996 OLDSMOBILE BRAVADA brake light

L
Vehicle Symbols
These are some of the symbols you may find on your vehicle.
For example,
these symbols are used on an
original battery:
POSSIBLE A
CAUTION
INJURY
PROTECT EYES BY
SHIELDING
CAUSTIC
ACID COULD BATTERY
CAUSE
BURNS
AVOID
SPARKS
OR
FLAMES
SPARK
OR ,\I/,
COULD FLAME
EXPLODE BATTERY
These symbols are important
for you and
your passengers whenever your
vehicle is
driven:
DOOR LOCK
UNLOCK
FASTEN SEAT
BELTS
These symbols have
to do with
your lights:
SIGNALS e
TURN
RUNNING
.'*'**o
DAYTIME LAMPS
'**
FOG LAMPS $0
These symbols
are on some of
your controls:
WINDSHIELD
WIPER
WINDSHIELD DEFROSTER
VENTILATING FAN
These symbols are used on
warning and
indicator lights:
ENGINE c
COOLANT - r-
TEMP -
CHARGING I-1
BATTERY
SYSTEM
BRAKE
(@)
COOLANT a
ENGINE OIL e,
PRESSURE
ANTI-LOCK
(@)
BRAKES
Here are some other symbols
you may see:
FUSE
LIGHTER
n
HORN b
SPEAKER
b
FUEL e3
V
ProCarManuals.com

Locking Rear Axle
Your rear axle can give you additional traction on snow,
mud, ice, sand or gravel. It works like
a standard axle
most
of the time, but when one of the rear wheels has no
traction and the other does, the locking feature will
allow the wheel with traction to move the vehicle.
All-Wheel Drive
Your engine’s driving power is sent to all four wheels
for extra traction. All-wheel drive
is like four-wheel
drive, but there is no lever or switch
to engage or
disengage the front axle. It is
fully automatic and adjusts
itself
as needed for road conditions.
Parking Brake
To set the parking brake, hold the regular brake pedal
down with your right foot. Push down the parking brake
pedal with your left
foot. If the ignition is on, the brake
system warning light will come on.
To release the parking brake, hold the regular brake
pedal down. Pull the
BRAKE RELEASE
lever.
It is located on the
bottom driver’s side of the
instrument panel.
NOTICE:
Driving with the parking brake on can cause
your rear brakes to overheat. You may have to
replace them, and you could
also damage other
parts of your vehicle.
If you are towing a trailer and you must park on a hill,
see “Towing
a Trailer” in the Index. That section shows
what to do first to keep the trailer from moving.
2-17
ProCarManuals.com

Using Cruise Control on Hills
How well your cruise control will work on hills depends
upon
your speed, load and the steepness of the hills.
When going up steep hills, you may want to step
on the
accelerator pedal to maintain your speed. When going
downhill, you may have to brake or shift to a lower gear
to keep your speed down.
Of course, applying the brake
takes
you out of cruise control. Many drivers find this to
be too much trouble and don't use cruise control on
steep hills.
Ending Cruise Control
There are two ways to turn off the cruise control:
0 Step lightly on the brake pedal.
0 Move the cruise switch to OFF.
Erasing Speed Memory
When you turn off the cruise control or the ignition,
your cruise control set speed memory is erased.
Lamps
The switches are on the left side of your instrument panel.
Press the top switch
with the parking lamps symbol on it
to turn on:
0 Parking Lamps
Sidemarker Lamps
0 Taillamps
0 License Plate Lamps
0 Instrument Panel Lights
2-30
ProCarManuals.com

Press the bottom switch with the master lamps symbol on
it to turn on all the lamps listed as well as the headlamps.
Press the side of the switch marked
OFF to turn off
your lamps.
Lamps On Reminder
A reminder tone will sound when your headlamps or
parking lamps are turned on and your ignition is in OFF,
LOCK or ACCESSORY. To turn the tone off, press the
OFF switch.
Daytime Running Lamps (If Equipped)
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) can make it easier for
others to see the front of your vehicle during the day.
DRL can be helpful
in many different driving
conditions, but they can be especially helpful
in the
short periods after dawn and before sunset.
The DRL system will make your headlamps come on at
reduced brightness when:
the ignition is on,
the headlamp switch is off, and
the parking brake is released. When the
DRL are
on, only your headlamps will be on.
The taillamps, sidemarker and other lamps won’t be on.
The instrument panel won’t be lit up either.
When
it begins to get dark, your DRL indicator light is
a reminder to turn your headlamp switch on. The other
lamps that come on with your headlamps will also
come on.
When you turn the headlamp switch off, the regular
lamps will go off, and your headlamps will change to
the reduced brightness of
DRL.
To idle your vehicle with the DRL off, set the parking
brake. The DRL will stay off
until you release the
parking brake.
As with any vehicle, you should turn on the regular
headlamp system when
you need it.
ProCarManuals.com

1. Air Vents
2. Instrument Cluster
3. Comfort Controls
4. Glove Box
5. Ashtray
6. Cigarette Lighter/Power Auxiliary Outlets
7. Storage Compartment
8. Audio System
9. Fog Lamps
10. Lamp Controls
11. Rear Endgate Release
12. Brake Release
13. Rear Window WasherNiper
14. Rear Window Defogger
2-47
ProCarManuals.com

Brake System Warning Light
Your Oldsmobile’s hydraulic brake system is divided
into two parts. If one part isn’t working, the other part
can still work and stop you. For good braking, though,
you need both parts working well.
If the warning light comes on, there could be a brake
problem. Have your brake system inspected right away.
BRAKE
This light should come on
briefly when you
turn the
ignition key to
RUN. If it‘
doesn’t come on then, have
it fixed so it will be
ready to warn you
if
there’s a problem.
If the light comes on while you are driving, pull off the
road and stop carefully. You may notice that the pedal is
harder to push. Or, the pedal may go closer to the floor.
It may take longer to stop. If the light is still on, have the
vehicle towed for service. (See “Towing Your Vehicle”
in the Index.)
Your brake system may not be working properly
if the brake system warning light is on. Driving
with the brake system warning light on can lead
to an accident. If the light is still on after you’ve
pulled off the road and stopped carefully, have
the vehicle towed for service.
When the ignition is on, the brake system warning light
will also come on when you set your parking brake. The
light will stay on
if your parking brake doesn’t release
fully. If it stays on after your parking brake is fully
released,
it means you have a brake problem.
ProCarManuals.com

Anti-Lock Brake System Warning Light
With the anti-lock brake
system, this light will come
on when you start your
engine and may stay on
for several seconds.
That‘s normal.
Engine Coolant Temperature Gage
This gage shows the engine
coolant temperature.
If the
gage pointer moves into the
red area, your engine is
too hot!
If the light stays on, or comes on when you’re driving,
your Oldsmobile needs service. If the regular brake
system warning light isn’t
on, you still have brakes, but
you don’t have anti-lock brakes.
If the regular brake
system warning light is also on, you don’t have anti-lock
brakes and there’s a problem with your regular brakes.
See “Brake System Warning Light” earlier in this part.
The anti-lock brake system warning light should come
on briefly when you turn
the ignition key to RUN. If the
light doesn’t come on then, have
it fixed so it will be
ready
to warn you if there is a problem. It
means that your engine coolant has overheated.
Tf you
have been operating your vehicle under normal driving
conditions, you should pull off the road, stop your
vehicle and turn off the engine
as soon as possible.
In “Problems on the Road,”
this manual shows you what
to do. See “Engine Overheating” in the Index.
ProCarManuals.com

Daytime Running Lamps Indicator Light
:::o 0.0
You may have this light on
the instrument panel.
It goes on whenever the
DRL are on, the ignition is
on, the headlamp switch is
off and the parking brake
is released.
Check Gages Light
CHECK
GAGES
The CHECK GAGES 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 coolant
temperature and engine oil
pressure gages
to see if they
are in the warning zones.
ProCarManuals.com