1996 PONTIAC GRAND-AM brake

Charging System Indicator Light
The charging system
indicator light will come on
briefly when
you turn on the
ignition, but the engine
is
not running, as a check to
show you it is working.
Then it should go out. .. 1.
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If it stays on when your engine is running, OF comes on
while you are driving, you may have a problem with the
electrical charging system. It could indicate that you
have a loose generator drive belt or another electrical
problem. Have it checked right away. Driving while this
light
is on could drain your battery.
If you mast drive a short distance with the light on, be
certain to turn off all your accessories, such as themdio
and
air conditioner,
Brake System Warning Light
Your Pontiac’s hydraulic brake system is divided into
two parts. If one part isn’t working, the other part can
still w’ork and
stop you. For good braking, though, you
need both
parts workmg 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 ow
briefly when you turn the
ignitibn 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 €or
service, (See “Towing Your Vehicle”
in the Index.)
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Your brake system may not be working properly
if the brake system warning light is on. Driving
with the brake system warning lighlt 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 parlung brake doesn’t release
fully.
If it stays on after your parking brake is fully
released,
it means you have a brake problem.
Anti-Lock Brake System Warning Light
With the anti-lock brake
system,
this light will come
on when you
start your
engine
and it will stay on for
three seconds. That’s normal.
If the light stays on, turn the ignition off. Or, if the light
comes on when you’re driving, stop
as soon as possible
and turn the ignition off. &. 1
Then start the engine again to reset the system. If the .I ‘I
light still stays on, or comes on again while you’re
driving, your Pontiac 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.
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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.
Enhanced,T’raction Syst’em Warning Light
(Option)
!
ETS
OFF
With the Enhanced Traction
System
(ETS), this warning
light should come on briefly
as
you start the engine. If
the warning light doesn’t
come on then, have it fixed
so it will be ready to warn
you if there’s a problem.
If it stays on, or comes on when you’re driving, there
may
be a problem with your Enhanced Traction System
and
your vehicle may need service. When this warning
light is on, the system will not limit wheel spin. Adjust
your driving accordingly. The Enhanced Traction
System warning light may come
on for the following reasons:
0 If you turn the system off by pressing the button on
the shift lever
knob, the warning light will come on
and stay an. To turn the system back on, press the
button
again. The warning light should go off. (See
“Enhanced Traction System” in the Index for more
information.)
The warning light will come on when you set your
parking brake with the engine running,
and it will
stay on if your parking brake doesn’t release fully. If :‘.
the system is turned on and the warning light stays
on after your parking brake is fully released, it
means there’s a problem with the system.
If the Enhanced Traction System warning light comes
on and stays on
for an extended period of time when the
system is turned on and the paking brake is fully
released, your vehicle needs service.
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Section 4 Your Driving and the Road
Here you’ll find information about driving on different
kinds of roads and in varying weather conditions. We’ve
also included many other useful tips on driving.
Defensive Driving
The best advice anyone can give about driving is: Drive
defensively.
Please start with a very important safety device in your
Pontiac: Buckle up. (See “Safety Belts” in the Index.)
Defensive driving really means “be ready for anything.”
On city streets, rural roads or freeways, it means .
“always expect the unexpected.”
Assume that pedestrians
or other drivers are going to be
careless and make mistakes. Anticipate what they might do. Be ready for their mistakes;
Rear-end collisions are about ‘the most preventable
of
accidents. Yet they are common. Allow enough
following distance. It’s the best defensive driving
maneuver, in both city and sural driving. You never
know when the vehicle
in front of you is going to brake
or turn suddenly.
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Control of a Vehicle
You have three systems that make your vehicle go where
you want it to
go. They are the brakes, the steering and
the accelerator. All three systems have to do their work
at the places where the tires meet the road.
Sometimes, as when you’re driving on snow or ice, it’s
easy to
ask more of those control systems than the tires
and road can provide. That means you can lose control
of your vehicle.
Braking
Braking action involves perception time and reaction
time.
First, you have to decide to push on the brake pedal.
That’s
perception time. Then you have to bring up your
foot and do it. That’s reaction time.
Average reaction time is about 3/4 of a second. But
that’s only an average. It might be less with one driver
and as long as two or three seconds or more with
another. Age, physical condition; alertness, coordination
and eyesight all play a part.
So do alcohol, drugs and
frustration. But even in
3/4 of a second, a vehicle
moving at
60 mph (100 h/h) travels 66 feet (20 m).
That could be a lot of distance in an emergency, so
keeping enough space between your vehicle and others
is important.
And,
of course, actual stopping distances vary greatly
with the surface
of the road (whether it’s pavement or
gravel); the condition
of the road (wet, dry, icy); tire
tread; and the condition
of your brakes.
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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
hut 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 m’ay take longer to stop and the brake pedal
will be harder to push.
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AntbLsck 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, or when you 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, and you may even notice that your
brake pedal moves
a little. This is- normal.
(e)
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.
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The anti-lock system can change the brake pressure
faster than any driver
could. The computer is
programmed to make the most of available tire and road
conditions.
Here’s how anti-lock works. Let’s say the road is wet.
You’re driving safely. Suddenly an animal jumps out in
front
of you.
You slam on the brakes. Here’s what happens with ABS.
A computer senses that wheels are slowing down. If one
of the wheels is about to stop rolling, the computer will
separately
work the brakes at each front wheel and at the
rear wheels. You
can steer around the obstacle
while braking hard.
As you brake, your computer keeps receiving updates on
wheel speed and controls braking pressure accordingly.
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Remember: Anti-lock doesn’t change the time you need
to get your foot up to the brake pedal or always decrease
stopping distance.
If you get too close to the vehicle in
front of you, you won’t have time to apply your brakes.
if that vehicle suddenly slows or stops. Always leave
enough
room up ahead to(stop, even though you hav’e
anti-lock
brakes.
Using AntkLock
Don’t pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal down
and let anti-lock work for you.
You may feel the system
working, or you may notice some noise, but this is
normal.
Enhanced Traction System
If your vehicle has the optional four-speed automatic
transaxle, it
also has an Enhanced Traction System
(ETS) that limits wheel spin. This is especially useful in
slippery road condittons. The system operates only if it
senses that one or both of the front wheels we spinning
or beginning to lose traction. When this happens, the
system reduces engine power and may also upshift the
transaxle to limit wheel spin.
I
LOW
TRAC
This light will come on
when your Enhanced
Traction System is limiting
wheel
spin. See “Enhanced
Traction System Active
Light”
in the Index. You
may feel or hear the system
working, but this
is normal.
The
Enhanced Traction System operates in all transaxle
shift lever positions. But the system can upshift the
transaxle only
as high as the shift lever position you’ve
chosen,
so you should use the lower gears only when
necessary.
See “Automatic Transaxle” in the Index.
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