1998 BUICK REGAL coolant temperature

To Use the Engine Coolant Heater
1. Turn off the engine.
2. Open the hood and unwrap the electrical cord. The
cord is attached to the underside
of the diagonal
brace located behind the air cleaner.
3. Plug it into a normal, grounded 1 10-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 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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Engine Coolant Temperature Light
This light tells you that your
engine coolant has
overheated or your radiator
- cooling fan is not working.
TEMP
The light will come on briefly when your ignition is
turned on to show you that it is working.
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.
The “Problems on the Road” section of this manual
shows what to
do. See “Engine Overheating” in
the Index.
Engine Coolant Temperature Gage
TEMP
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.
The “Problems on the Road” section of this manual
shows what to
do. See “Engine Overheating” in
the Index.
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Change Oil Soon Light
Your CHANGE OIL SOON
light should come on as a
CHANGE OIL
SOON
bulb check when you start
the engine.
Security Light
SECURITY
This light will come on
when you turn the key
to
START and stay on until the
vehicle starts.
If this light stays on for about
20 seconds after you turn
on the ignition, have the oil changed.
When to change your oil also depends on driving habits
and conditions because
they directly affect engine speed,
coolant temperature and vehicle speed. Because of this,
the CHANGE OIL
SOON light may come on as early as
2,000 miles (3,200 km) or less for harsh conditions.
Also see “Maintenance Schedule” in the Index for
further instructions on when
to change your oil.
To reset the CHANGE OIL SOON light, see “CHANGE
OIL SOON Light, How to Reset” in the Index. Also, see
“Oil Life Monitor”
in the Index. It
will also flash if your ignition key is too dirty or wet
for the PASS-Key I1 system to read the resistor pellet.
See “Pass-Key
11” in the Index.
If the resistor pellet is damaged or missing, the light will
come
on.
If you’re ever driving and the SECURITY light comes
on, you will be able to restart your engine
if you turn it
off. Your PASS-Key I1 system, however, is not working
properly and must be serviced by your dealer. Your
vehicle is not protected by the PASS-Key I1 system.
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Heating
On cold days, use HTR 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 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 VENT 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
FRONT with the temperature knob all the way in the red
area.
To warm passengers while keeping the windows
clear, use
BLEND.
Dual ComforTemp Climate Control
(If Equipped)
~DoooomnoooLr[n~ PASSENGER TEMP
With this system, the driver and passenger can maintain
separate temperatures. The system works best if you
keep your windows closed while using it.
Fan Control
The left knob labeled FAN controls the fan speed selection.
If
the airflow seems very low when the fan knob is
turned to the highest setting regardless
of the mode
setting, your passenger compartment air filter may need
to be replaced. See “Maintenance Schedule” in
the Index.
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FRONT This setting directs most of the air
through the defroster and side window vents. Some of
the air goes to the floor ducts and the side window vents.
The air conditioning compressor will
run automatically
in this setting unless the outside temperature is below
40°F (4°C). (Even when the compressor is running, you
can control the temperature.)
Air Conditioning
On very hot days, open the windows long enough to let
hot, inside air escape. This reduces the time for the
vehicle to cool down.
For a quick cool-down
on very hot days, use MAX with
the temperature knobs all the way
in the blue area. If
this setting is used for long periods of time, the air in
your vehicle may become too dry.
For normal cooling on
hot days, use NORM with the
temperature knobs in the blue area.
The system will
bring in outside air and cool
it.
On cool, but sunny days, the sun may warm your upper
body, but your lower body may not be warm enough.
You can use BI-LEV and set the temperature knob to a
comfortable setting. The system will bring
in outside air
and direct it to your upper body, while sending slightly
warmed air to your lower body. You may notice this
temperature difference more at some times than others.
Heating
On cold days, use HTR with the temperature knob and
lever
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 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
VENT 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
FRONT with
the temperature knob all the way in the red area.
For maximum defroster performance, set both driver and passenger temperature controls to the warmest setting.
To warm passengers while keeping the windows clear,
use
BLEND.
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Heating Ventilation System
On cold days, use HTR with the temperature knobs 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 wm air faster when it’s
cold outside
(0°F (-18°C) or lower). An engine coolant
heater wms the coolant your engine and heating
system use to provide heat. See “Engine Coolant
Heater” in the Index.
Defogging and Defrosting
Your system has two settings for clearing the front and
side windows.
To defrost the windows quickly, press the
FRONT button; set the temperature to 90 OF (32”C),
select high fan speed and turn the DUAL button off. To
warm passengers while keeping the windows clear, push
the AIR
FLOW button until WINDSHIELDFLOOR
appears in the display. Select fan speed for comfort and
windshield clearing performance. Adjust the direction
of airflow by moving
the vents.
Your vehicle’s flow-through ventilation system supplies
outside air into the vehicle when it
is moving. Outside
air will also enter the vehicle when the air conditioning
fan is running.
If the airflow seems very low when the fan knob is
turned
to the highest setting regardless of the mode
setting, your passenger compartment air filter may
need
to be replaced. See “Maintenance Schedule’’
in the Index.
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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
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.
I NOTICE:
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.
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How to Add Fluid
Refer to the Maintenance Schedule to determine what
kind of transaxle fluid to use. See “Recommended
Fluids and Lubricants” in the Index.
If the fluid level is low, add only enough
of the proper
fluid to bring the
level into the cross-hatched area on
the dipstick.
1. Pull out the dipstick.
2. Using a long-neck funnel, add enough fluid at
the
dipstick hole to bring it to the proper level.
It doesn’t take much fluid, generally less than one
pint
(0.5 L). Don’t overfill.
NOTICE:
We recommend you use only fluid labeled
DEXRON@-111, because fluid with that label is
made especially for your automatic transaxle.
Damage caused by fluid other than
DEXRON-I11
is not covered by your new vehicle warranty.
3. After adding fluid, recheck the fluid level as
described under “How to Check.” 4.
When the correct fluid level is obtained, push the
dipstick back in all the way.
Engine Coolant
The cooling s stem in your vehicle is filled with
DEX-COOL engine coolant. This coolant is designed
to remain in your vehicle for 5 years or 150,000 miles
(240
000 km) whichever occurs first, if you add only
DEX-COOL6 extended life coolant.
J
The following explains your cooling system and how to
add coolant when it is low. If
you have a problem with
engine overheating or if you need
to add coolant to your
radiator, see “Engine Overheating”
in the Index.
A 50/50 mixture of water and DEX-COOL@
coolant will:
Give freezing protection down to -34°F (-37°C).
Give boiling protection up to 265 “F (1 29°C).
Protect against rust and corrosion.
0 Help keep the proper engine temperature.
0 Let the warning lights and gages work as they should.
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