1997 PONTIAC PONTIAC coolant temperature

Engine Coolant Heater (Option)
In very cold weather, 0°F (- 18 “C) or colder, the engine
coolant heater can help. You’ll get easier starting and
better €uel economy during engine warm-up. Usually,
the coolant heater should be plugged in a
minimum of
four hours prior to starting your vehicle.
To Use tl Coolant Heater
1. Turn off the engine.
2. Open the hood and unwrap the electrical cord.
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
trying to list everything here, we ask that you contact
your Pontiac dealer in the area where you’ll be parking
your vehicle. The dealer can give you the best advice for
that particular area.
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Low Oil Level Light
Your engine is equipped
with an oil level monitoring
system. When the ignition
key
is turned on, the LOW
OIL
LEVEL light will
briefly flash. If the light
does not flash, have it fixed
so it will be ready to warn
you if there’s
a problem.
Engine Coolant Temperature Light
TEMP
This light tells you that your
engine coolant has
overheated or your radiator
cooling fan is not working.
If the light stays on, stop th’e vehicle on a level surface
and
turn the engine off, Check the oil level using the
engine oil dipstick, (See “Engine Oil” in
the Index.)
The
oil level monitoring system only checks oil level
during the brief period between key ‘on and engine
crank. It
does not monitor engine oil level when the
engine
is running. Additionally, an oil level check is
only performed if the engine has been turned off for a
considerable period of time, allowing the oil normally in
circulation to drain back into the oil pan.
If 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 what to
do.
See “Engine Overheating” in the Index.
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Engine Coolant Temp’erature Gage
You have a gage that shows
the engine coolant temperature.
If the gage
pointer moves into the red
area, your engine is too hot!
That reading means the same thing as the warning light.
It means that your engine coolant has overheated. If 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 what to
do.
See “Engine Overheating” in the Index.
Low Coolant Warning Light
LOW
COOLANT
If this light comes on, your
system is low on coolant
and the engine may
overheat.
See “Engine
Coolant” in the Index and
have your vehicle serviced
as soon as you
can.
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Functions
CHANGE OIL SOON: This light will appear when the
system predicts that the oil’s remaining useful life
is
almost up. The system predicts remaining oil life using
inputs from length of drives, coolant temperature,
engine rpm, and vehicle speed. It alerts you to change
the oil on a schedule consistent with your vehicle’s driving conditions.
To reset your change oil soon system after an oil change,
turn the key to the
ON position, without the engine
running and pump the accelerator
3 times within
5 seconds.
LOW WASHER FLUID: This light will come on when
your ignition is on and the fluid container is low.
CHECK TIRE PRESS: This light alerts you that a tire
is low or flat. See “Check Tire Pressure Light” in
the Index.
TRUNK A JAR: This light alerts you that your trunk is
not fully closed.
DOOR AJAR: If one of your doors is left ajar, a light
will appear next to that door on the vehicle outline.
TRAC SWITCH: If your vehicle has the Trac System
(this is not available with the
3800 Supercharged
engine), you will have
a disable switch on the far right
side of your Driver Information Center.
Your Trac
System is automatically activated when you turn the
ignition on. This switch will activate/deactivate the Trac
System.
If you need to disable the system, such as when
you
are stuck and are rocking your vehicle back and
forth, push this switch. See “Stuck: In Sand, Mud, Ice or
Snow” in the Index.
LOW TRAC: This light will come on when your Trac
System is limiting wheel spin or when your anti-lock
brake system
is active. See “Trac System” or “Low
Traction Light” in the Index.
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Control Buttons
The trip computer has three buttons that control
its functions.
ENG/MET: Press this button to change the display from
English to metric units
or metric t’o English.
RESET Press this button for two seconds to reset the
mode displayed.
MODE: Press this button to change the mode
being displayed.
Functions
FUEL USED: Shows the total amount of fuel used
since you last reset this mode. The amount can be
displayed in gallons or liters.
AVG ECON: Shows your average fuel economy since
you last reset this mode.
OIL LIFE: Shows a percentage of the oil’s remaining
useful life. The system predicts remaining
oil life using
inputs from length of drives, coolant temperature,
engine rpm and vehicle speed. Each time
you get an oil
change,
be sure to reset this function so that it will give
you an accurate percentage.
To reset the ail life indicator after the oil has been
changed, press the mode button until the light appears
next to
O’IL LIFE. Press and hold the reset button for
three seconds. The oil life percentage should change
to
100%.
RANGE: Shows how much farther you can travel with
the fuel you have before refueling.
CHECK TIRE PREISS: This light alerts you that a tire
is low or flat, See “Check Tire Pressure Light” in
the Index.
LOW WASHER FLUID: This light will come on when
your ignition is on and the fluid container
is low.
DOOR A JAR: If one of your ‘doors is left ajar, a light
will appear next to that
door on the vehicle outline.
PERFORMANCE SHIFT This light comes on when
you press the performance shift button (located on the
console shift)
to indicate that your vehicle is in
performance shifting mode, See “Performance Shifting”
in the Index.
BOOST GAGE: If you have the supercharged engine,
this gage will show the amount of boost your engine
is receiving.
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The HUD will display the “Check Gage” when the
following are lit on the instrument panel:
Oil warning Symbol
0 Coolant Temperature Symbol
0 Charging System Symbol
When you sit straight in your seat, the HUD image will
appear straight ahead near the front bumper.
When
the ignition key is turned to RUN, the HUD
image will come on. Then the Head-Up Display will
operate normally.
NOTICE:
Although the HUD image appears to be near the
front
of the vehicle, do not use it as a parking aid.
The
HUD was not designed for that purpose.
If you try to use it that way, such as in a
parking lot, you may misjudge distance and
run into something.
When the HUD is on, the speedometer reading will be
displayed continually. The current radio station or
CD
track number will only be displayed for three seconds
after the radio or
CD track status changes. This will
happen whenever one
of the radio controls is pressed,
either on the radio itself or on the optional steering
wheel controls.
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Heating
On cold days use FLOOR with the temperature knob all
the
way in the red area. The system will bring in outside
air, heat it and send
it to the floor ducts.
If your vehicle has an engine coolant heater, you can use
it to help your system provide warm air faster when it’s
cold outside
0°F (- 18 “C) or lower. An engine coolant
heater
warns the coolant your engine and heating
system use
to provide heat. See “Engine Coolant
Heater” in the Index.
Ventilation
For mild outside temperatures when little heating or
cooling is needed, use UPPER, with the AK button off,
to direct outside air through your vehicle. Your vehicle
also has the flow-through ventilation system described
later in this section.
Defogging and Defrosting
Your system has two settings for clearing the front and
side windows.
To defrost the windows quickly, use
DEFROST with the temperature knob all the way in the
red area. To warm passengers while keeping the
windows clean, use
DEFOG.
Air Conditioning with Automatic and
Auxiliary Temperature Control
(If Equipped)
With this system, you set a “desired cabin” temperature.
You can then either let the system automatically
control
airflow direction and amount (to maintain the desired
cabin temperature)
or you can manually adjust it. The
system works best
if you keep your windows closed
while using it.
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Heating
On cold days use LOWER. The system will bring in
outside air, heat it and send it to the floor ducts.
If your vehicle has an engine coolant heater, you can
use
it to help your system provide warm air faster when it’s
cold outside
0°F (- 18 O C) or lower. An engine coolant
heater warms the coolant your engine and heating
system use
to provide heat. See “Engine Coolant
Heater” in the Index.
Ventilation
For mild, outside temperatures when little heating or
cooling is needed, use UPPER with the A/C button off,
to direct outside air through your vehicle. Your vehicle
also
has the flow-through ventilation system described
later in this section.
Defogging and Defrosting
Your system has two settings for clearing the front and
side
windows, To defrost the windows quickly, use DEE
To warm passengers while keeping the windows clean,
use
DEFOG.
Ventilation System
r-
I’
Adjust the direction of airflow by moving the louvered vents.
Your vehicle’s flow-through ventilation system supplies
outsid’e air into the vehicle when it
is moving. Outside
air will also enter the vehicle when the air conditioning
fan
is running.
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