1997 BUICK REGAL open hood

To Use the Coolant Heater
1. Turn off the engine.
2. Open the hood and unwrap the electrical cord. The
cord is attached to the diagonal brace near the
coolant recovery tank.
3. Plug it into a normal, grounded 110-volt AC outlet.
Plugging the cord into an ungrounded outlet
could cause an electrical shock. Also, the wrong
kind
of extension cord could overheat and cause
a fire. You could be seriously injured. Plug the
cord into
a properly grounded three-prong
110-volt AC outlet.
If the cord won’t reach, use a
heavy-duty three-prong extension cord rated for
at least
15 amps.
4. Before starting the engine, be sure to unplug and
store the cord
as it was before to keep it away
from moving engine parts. If you don’t, it could
be damaged. How long should you keep the coolant heater plugged
in? The answer depends on the outside temperature, the
kind
of oil you have, and some other things. Instead of
wing to list everything here, we ask that you contact
your Buick dealer in the area where you’ll be parking
your vehicle. The dealer can give you the best advice for
that particular area.
AI natic Transaxle Operation . ~
Your automatic transaxle
will have a shift lever on the
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Rearview Mirror Reading Lamps
(If Equipped)
Use the switch next to each lamp to turn them on
and off.
Dome Lamp
The dome lamp will come on when you open the doors.
Battery Rundown Protection
Your vehicle has a feature to help prevent you from
draining the battery in case you accidentally leave
the interior courtesy lamps, reading/map lamps, visor
vanity lamps, trunk lamp, underhood lamp or glove box
lamps on. If you leave any
of these lamps on, they will
automatically turn off after
20 minutes, if the ignition is
in the OFF position. The lamps won’t come back on
again until you:
Turn the ignition on,
0 Turn the lamp switch off, then on; or
Open a door.
Note that if your vehicle has less than
15 miles (25 km)
on the odometer, the battery saver will turn off the lamps
after only three minutes.
Retained Accessory Power
With retained accessory power, your power windows,
audio system and sunroof will continue
to work up to
10 minutes after the ignition key is turned to the OFF
position and none of the doors is opened.
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2.
3.
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 Buick, and the bad grounding could
damage the electrical systems.
To avoid the possibility of the vehicles rolling, set
the parking brake firmly on both vehicles involved
in
the jump start procedure. Put your automatic
transaxle in
PARK (P) before setting the
parking brake.
Turn
off the ignition on both vehicles. Unplug
unnecessary accessories plugged into the cigarette
lighter
or accessory power outlet. 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. (Your
vehicle’s battery is located under the windshield
washer fluid reservoir.)
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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Engine Overheating
You will find a coolant temperature gage and a hot
engine warning light on your instrument panel. See
“Engine Coolant Temperature Gage” and “Engine
Coolant Temperature Warning Light” in the Index.
You
also have a low coolant light on your instrument panel.
See “Low Coolant Light” in the Index.
If Steam Is Coming From Your Engine
L
Steam from an overheated engine can burn you
badly, even if you just open the hood. Stay away
from the engine if you see or hear steam coming
from it. Just turn it off and get everyone away
from the vehicle until it cools down. Wait until
there
is no sign of steam or coolant before you
open the hood.
If you keep driving when your engine
is
overheated, the liquids in it can catch fire. You or
others could be badly burned. Stop your engine if
it overheats, and get out of the vehicle until the
engine is cool.
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1 NOTICE:
I I
If your engine catches fire because you keep
driving with no coolant, your vehicle can
be
badly damaged. The costly repairs would not be
covered by your warranty.
If No Steam Is Coming From Your Engine
If you get the overheat warning but see or hear no
steam, the problem may not be too serious. Sometimes
the engine can get a little too hot when you:
0 Climb a long hill on a hot day.
0 Stop after high-speed driving.
0 Idle for long periods in traffic.
0 Tow a trailer. If you
get the overheat warning with no sign of steam,
try this for
a minute or so:
1. Turn off your air conditioner.
2. Turn on your heater to full hot at the highest fan
speed and open the window as necessary.
3. If you’re in a traffic jam, shift to NEUTRAL (N);
otherwise, shift to the highest gear while
driving
-- AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (@).
If you no longer have the overheat warning, you can
drive. Just to be safe, drive slower
for about 10 minutes.
If the warning doesn’t come back
on, you can
drive normally.
If the warning continues, pull over, stop, and park your
vehicle right away.
If there’s still no sign of steam, you can idle the engine
for two or three minutes while you’re parked, to see if
the warning stops. But then, if you still have the
warning, turn ofthe engine
and get everyone out of the
vehicle until it cools down.
You may decide not to lift the hood but to get service
help right away.
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If your vehicle is certified to meet California Emission
Standards (indicated on the underhood emission control
label), it
is designed to operate on fuels that meet
California specifications. If such fuels are not available
in states adopting California emissions standards, your
vehicle will operate satisfactorily on fuels meeting
federal specifications, but emission control system
performance may be affected. The malfunction indicator
lamp on your instrument panel may turn
on and/or
your vehicle may fail a smog-check test. If this occurs,
return to your authorized Buick dealer for diagnosis
to determine the cause of failure. In the event it is
determined that the cause of the condition is the type of
fuels used, repairs may
not be covered by your warranty.
Some gasolines that are not reformulated
for low
emissions contain an octane-enhancing additive called
methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT);
ask your service station operator whether or not his fuel
contains MMT. General Motors does not recommend the
use of such gasolines.
If fuels containing MMT are used,
spark plug life may be reduced and your emission
control system performance may be affected. The
malfunction indicator lamp
on your instrument panel
may turn on. If this occurs, return to your authorized
Buick dealer for service.
To provide cleaner air, all gasolines in the United States
are now required to contain additives
that will help
prevent deposits from forming in your engine and
fuel
system, allowing your emission control system to
function properly. Therefore, you should not have
to
add anything to the fuel. In addition, gasolines
containing oxygenates, such as ethers and ethanol, and
reformulated gasolines may be available
in your area to
help clean the air. General Motors recommends that you
use these gasolines
if they comply with the
specifications described earlier.
I NOTICE:
Your vehicle was not designed for fuel that
contains methanol. Don’t use it. It can corrode
metal parts
in your fuel system and also damage
plastic and rubber parts. That damage wouldn’t be covered under your warranty.
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Hood Release
To open the hood, first
pull the handle inside
the vehicle, located just
below the instrument
panel and to the left
of
the steering column.
Then
go to the front of the vehicle and release the
secondary hood release. Lift the hood.
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When you open the hood on the 3800 (Code K) Engine, you’ll see:
A. Windshield Washer Fluid Reservoir
F. Engine Oil Fill Cap
B. Radiator Fill Cap
G. Automatic Transaxle Fluid Dipstick
C. Remote Positive Battery Terminal H. Brake Fluid Reservoir
D. Power Steering Fluid Reservoir
I. Engine Coolant Recovery Tank
E. Engine Oil Dipstick J. Air Cleaner
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