1997 CHEVROLET ASTRO check engine

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Here are some tips on night driving.
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Drive defensively.
Don’t drink and drive.
Adjust your inside rearview mirror to reduce the
glare from headlamps behind you.
Since you can’t see as well, you may need to
slow down and keep more space between you and
other vehicles,
Slow down, especially on higher speed roads. Your
headlamps can light up only
so much road ahead.
In remote areas, watch for animals.
If
you’re tired, pull off the road in a safe place and rest.
You can be temporarily blinded by approaching
headlamps.
It can take a second or two, or even several
seconds, for your eyes to readjust to the dark. When you
are faced with severe glare (as from a driver who
doesn’t lower the high beams,
or a vehicle with
misaimed headlamps), slow down a
little. Avoid staring
directly into the approaching headlamps.
Keep your windshield and all the glass
c-1 your vehicle
clean
-- inside and out. Glare at night is made much
worse by dirt on the glass. Even the inside of the glass
can build up a film caused by dust. Dirty glass makes
lights dazzle and flash more than clean glass would,
making the pupils of your eyes contract repeatedly.
Night Vision
No one can see as well at night as in the daytime. But as
we get older these differences increase. A 50-year-old
driver may require at least twice as much light to see
the
same thing at night as a 20-year-old.
What you do
in the daytime can also affect your night
vision. For example, if you spend the day
in bright
sunshine you are wise
to wear sunglasses. Your eyes will
have less trouble adjusting to night. But if you’re
driving, don’t wear sunglasses at night.
They may cut
down on glare from headlamps, but
they also make a lot
of things invisible. Remember
that your headlamps light up far less of a
roadway when you
are in a turn or curve. Keep your
eyes moving; that way, it’s easier to pick out dimly
lighted objects. Just
as your headlamps should be
checked regularly for proper
aim, so should your eyes
be examined regularly. Some drivers suffer from night
blindness
-- the inability to see in dim light -- and aren’t
even aware of it.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Here are ways to increase your safety in city driving:
0 Know the best way to get to where you are going.
Get a city map and plan your trip into an
unknown part of the city just as you would for
a
cross-country trip.
0 Try to use the freeways that rim and crisscross most
large cities. You’ll save time and energy. (See the
next
part, “Freeway Driving.”)
0 Treat a green light as a warning signal. A traffic light is
there because the corner is busy enough to need it.
When a light turns green, and just before you
start to
move, check both ways for vehrcles that have not
cleared the intersection
or may be running the red light.
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Freeway Driving
Mile for mile, freeways (also called thruways, parkways,
expressways, turnpikes
or superhighways) are the safest
of all roads. But they have their own special rules.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine The most important advice on freeway driving is: Keep
up with traffic and keep to the right. Drive at
the same
speed most of the other drivers are driving. Too-fast or
too-slow driving breaks a smooth traffic flow. Treat the
left lane on a freeway as a passing lane.
At the entrance, there is usually a ramp that leads
to the
freeway. If
you have a clear view of the freeway as you
drive along the entrance ramp, you should begin to
check traffic. Try to determine where you expect
to
blend with the flow. Try to merge into the gap at close to
the prevailing speed. Switch on your turn signal, check
your mirrors and glance over your shoulder as
often as
necessary. Try to blend smoothly with
the traffic flow.
Once you are
on the freeway, adjust your speed to the
posted limit or to the prevailing rate if it’s slower. Stay
in the right lane unless you want to pass.
Before changing lanes, check your mirrors. Then use your turn signal. Just
before you leave the lane, glance quickly over your
shoulder to make sure there isn’t another vehicle
in your
“blind” spot.
Once you are moving
on the freeway, make certain you
allow a reasonable following distance. Expect to move
slightly slower at night.
When
you want to leave the freeway, move to the proper
lane well
in advance. If you miss your exit, do not,
under any circumstances, stop and back up. Drive on to
the next exit.
The exit ramp can be curved, sometimes quite sharply.
The exit speed is usually posted.
Reduce your speed according to your speedometer, not
to your sense of motion. After driving for any distance
at higher speeds, you may tend
to think you are going
slower than you actually are.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Before Leaving on a Long Trip
Make sure you’re ready. Try to be well rested. If you
must start when you’re not fresh -- such as after a day’s
work
-- don’t plan to make too many miles that first part
of the journey. Wear comfortable clothing and shoes you
can easily drive in.
Is your vehicle ready for a long trip? If you keep it
serviced and maintained, it’s ready to go. If it needs
service, have it done before starting
out. Of course,
you’ll find experienced and able service experts
in GM
dealerships all across North America. They’ll be ready
and willing
to help if you need it.
Here are some things
you can check before a trip:
Windshield Washer Fluid: Is the reservoir full? Are
all windows clean inside and outside?
0 Wiper Blades: Are they in good shape?
Fuel, Engine Oil, Other Fluids: Have you checked
all levels?
Lamps: Are they all working? Are the lenses clean?
Tires: They are vitally important to a safe,
trouble-free trip.
Is the tread good enough for
long-distance driving? Are the tires all inflated
to the
recommended pressure?
Weather Forecasts: What’s the wei----er outlook
along your route? Should
you delay your trip a short
time to avoid
a major storm system?
0 Maps: Do you have up-to-date maps?
Highway Hypnosis
Is there actually such a condition as “highway hypnosis”?
Or is it just
plain falling asleep at the wheel? Call it
highway hypnosis, lack of awareness, or whatever.
There is something about an easy stretch of road with the
same scenery, along
with the hum of the tires on the road,
the
drone of the engine, and the rush of the wind against
the vehicle that can make you sleepy. Don’t
let it happen
to you! If it does, your vehicle can leave the road in
less
than a second, and you could crash and be injured.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine What can you do about highway hypnosis? First, be
aware that it can happen.
Then here
are some tips:
Make sure your vehicle is well ventilated, with a
0 Keep your eyes moving. Scan the road ahead and
comfortably cool
interior.
to the sides. Check your mirrors and your
instruments frequently.
0 If you get sleepy, pull off the road into a rest, service
or parking area and take
a nap, get some exercise, or
both. For safety, treat drowsiness on the highway as
an emergency.
Hill and Mountain Roads
Driving on steep hills or mountains is different from
driving in flat
or rolling terrain.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine If you drive regularly in steep country, or if you’re
planning to visit there, here are some tips that can make
your trips safer and more enjoyable.
* Keep your vehicle in good shape. Check all fluid
levels and also the brakes, tires, cooling system and
transmission. These parts can work hard
on
mountain roads.
* Know how to go down hills. The most important
thing
to know is this: let your engine do some of the
slowing down. Shift
to a lower gear when you go
down a steep or long hill.
hot that’they wouldn’t work well. You would then
have poor braking or even none going down
a hill.
You could crash. Shift down to let your engine
assist your brakes on
a steep downhill slope.
A CAUTION:
Coasting downhill in NEUTRAL (N) or with the
ignition
off is dangerous. Your brakes will have to
do all the work of slowing down. They could get
so hot that they wouldn’t work well. You would
then have poor braking
or even none going down
a hill. You could crash. Always have your
engine running and your vehicle in gear when
you go downhill.
Know how to go uphill. You may want to shift down
to a lower gear. The lower gears help cool your engine
and transmission, and you can climb the hill better.
Stay in your own lane when driving on two-lane
roads
in hills or mountains. Don’t swing wide or cut
across the center
of the road. Drive at speeds that let
you stay
in your own lane.
As you go over the top of a hill, be alert. There could be
something in your lane, like
a stalled car or an accident.
You may see highway signs on mountains that warn of
special problems. Examples are
long grades, passing or
no-passing zones, a falling rocks area or winding
roads. Be alert to these and take appropriate action.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Trailer Brakes
If your trailer weighs more than 1,000 lbs. (450 kg)
loaded, then it needs its own brakes
-- and they must be
adequate. Be sure to read and follow the instructions for
the trailer brakes
so you’ll be able to install, adjust and
maintain them properly.
Your trailer brake system can tap into your vehicle’s
hydraulic brake system, except:
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Don’t tap into your vehicle’s brake system if the
trailer’s brake system will use more than
0.02 cubic
inch
(0.3 cc) of fluid from your vehicle’s master
cylinder. If
it does, both braking systems won’t work
well.
You could even lose your brakes.
Will the trailer parts take
3,000 psi (20 650 kPa) of
pressure? If not, the trailer brake system must not be
used with your vehicle.
If everything checks out this far, then make the brake
fluid tap at the port on the master cylinder that sends
fluid
to the rear brakes. But don’t use copper tubing
for this. If you do,
it will bend and finally break off.
Use steel brake tubing.
Driving with a Trailer
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If you have a rear-most window open and you
pull a trailer with your vehicle, carbon monoxide
(CO) could come into your vehicle. You can’t see
or smell
CO. It can cause unconsciousness or
death. (See “Engine Exhaust” in the Index.) To
maximize your safety when towing a trailer:
0 Have your exhaust system inspected for
leaks, and make necessary repairs before
starting on your trip.
0 Keep the rear-most windows closed.
If exhaust does come into your vehicle
through a window in the rear or another
opening, drive with your front, main
heating or cooling system on and with the
fan on any speed. This will bring fresh,
outside air into your vehicle.
Do not use
MAX A/C because it only recirculates the
air inside your vehicle. (See
‘‘ Comfort
Controls” in the Index.)
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