1998 GMC SIERRA brake

Instrument Panel Cluster
CHECK
GAGES SECURITY
MPH
lolololo1 TRIP loo 0 0 oolol
LOCK ANTI -
I APPLY BRAKE TO SHIFT FROM PARK I
United States version shown, Canada similar
Your instrument cluster is designed to let you know at a glance how your vehicle is running. You'll know how fast you're
going, about
how much fuel you have and many other things you'll need to know to drive safely and economically.
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After the engine starts, the light should go out. If it stays
on or comes on while you are driving, you may have a
problem with your charging system. It could indicate a
problem with the generator
drive belt, or some other
charging system problem. Have it checked right away.
Driving while this light
is on could drain your battery.
If you must drive a short distance with this light on, it
helps to turn off all your accessories, such as the radio
and the
air conditioner.
Voltmeter
19
When your engine is not
running, but the ignition is
in RUN, this gage shows
your battery’s state of
charge in
DC volts.
When the engine is running, the gage shows the
condition of the charging system. Readings between the
low and high warning zones indicate the normal
operating range. Readings
in the low warning zone may occur when a
large number
of electrical accessories are operating in
the vehicle and the engine is left at an idle for an
extended period.. This condition is normal since the
charging system
is not able to provide full power at
engine idle. As engine speeds are increased, this
condition should correct itself as higher engine speeds
allow the charging system to create maximum power.
You can only drive for a short time with the reading in
either warning zone. If you must drive, turn off all
unnecessary accessories.
Readings in either warning zone indicate a possible
problem in the electrical system. Have the vehicle
serviced as soon as possible.
Brake System Warning Light
When the ignition is on, the brake system warning light
will come on when you set your parking brake. The light
will stay on
if your parking brake doesn’t release fully.
If it stays on after your parking brake is fully released, it
means you have a brake problem.
Your vehicle’s hydraulic brake system is divided into
two parts. If one part isn’t working, the other part can
still work and stop you. For good braking, though,
you
need both parts working well.
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If the warning light comes on, there co11ld be a brake
problem. Have your brake system inspected right away.
This light should come on
(a) (@)
briefly when you turn the
ignition 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. BRAKE
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
for service. (See “Towing Your Vehicle”
in the Index.)
Your brake system may not be working properly
if the brake system warning light is
on. Driving
with the brake system warning light 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.
Anti-Lock Brake System Warning Light
With the anti-lock brake
system,
this light will
come on when you start
ANTI -
LOCK
your engine and may stay
on for several seconds.
That’s normal.
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If the light stays on, or comes on when you’re driving,
your vehicle 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 section.
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.
Engine Coolant Temperature Gage
1
This gage shows the engine
coolant temperature.
It also provides an indicator of how hard your vehicle is
working. During a majority of the operation, the gage
will read
210°F (100°C) or less. If you are pulling a
load or going up hills, it is normal for the temperature to
fluctuate and approach the
260°F (1 25 “C) mark. If the
gage reaches the
260°F (125°C) mark, it indicates that
the cooling system is working beyond its capacity.
The “Problems on
the Road,” section of this manual shows
what
to do. See “Engine Overheating” in the Index.
Malfunction Indicator Lamp (Service
Engine
Soon Light) (Gasoline Engine)
SERVICE
ENGINE
SOON
Your vehicle is equipped
with a computer which
monitors operation
of the
fuel, ignition and emission
control systems.
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Defensive Driving
The best advice anyone can give about driving is: Drive defensively.
Please start
with a very important safety device in your
vehicle: 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 rural driving. You never
know when the vehicle in front
of you is going to brake
or turn suddenly.
Defensive driving requires that a driver concentrate on the
driving task. Anything that distracts from the driving
task
-- such as concentrating on a cellular telephone call,
reading, or reaching for something on the
floor -- makes
proper defensive driving more difficult and can even cause
a collision, with resulting injury. Ask a passenger to help
do things like this, or pull
off the road in a safe place to do
them yourself. These simple defensive driving techniques
could save your life.
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The body takes about an hour to rid itself of the alcohol
in one drink. No amount of coffee or number of cold
showers will speed that up.
“I’ll be careful” isn’t the
right answer. What
if there’s an emergency, a need to
take sudden action, as when a child darts into the street?
A person with even a moderate BAC might not be able
to react quickly enough to avoid the collision.
There‘s something else about drinking and driving that
many people don’t know. Medical research shows that
alcohol
in a person’s system can make crash injuries
worse, especially injuries to the brain, spinal cord or
heart. This means that when anyone who has been
drinking
-- driver or passenger -- is in a crash, that
person’s chance of being killed or permanently disabled
is higher than if the person had not been drinking.
A CAUTION:
Drinking and then driving is very dangerous.
Your reflexes, perceptions, attentiveness and
judgment can be affected by even a small amount
of alcohol. You can have a serious
-- or even
fatal
-- collision if you drive after drinking.
Please don’t drink and drive or ride with
a driver
who has been drinking. Ride home in
a cab; or if
you’re with
a group, designate a driver who will
not drink.
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.
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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 km/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; the condition of your brakes; the weight of the
vehicle and the’amount of brake force applied.
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.
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If your engine ever stops while you’re driving, brake
normally but 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 may take longer to stop and the brake pedal
will be harder to push.
Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS)
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 and 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. This is normal.
(@!
ANTI -
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
I LOCK I the Index. 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
both rear wheels.
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