2003 CHEVROLET SILVERADO light

·Put on extra clothing or wrap a blanket around you.
If you have no blankets or extra clothing, make
body insulators from newspapers, burlap bags, rags,
¯oor mats ± anything you can wrap around
yourself or tuck under your clothing to keep warm.
You can run the engine to keep warm, but be careful.
{CAUTION:
Snow can trap exhaust gases under your
vehicle. This can cause deadly CO (carbon
monoxide) gas to get inside. CO could
overcome you and kill you. You can not 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 does
not collect there.
Open a window just a little on the side of the
vehicle that is 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 a while.
4-51

Rocking Your Vehicle To Get It Out
First, turn your steering wheel left and right. That will
clear the area around your front wheels. If you have a
four-wheel-drive vehicle, shift into 4HI. If your vehicle
has the Traction Assist System, you should turn it off by
pressing the TAS on/off button. Then shift back and
forth between REVERSE (R) and a forward gear (or with
a manual transmission, between FIRST (1) or
SECOND (2) and REVERSE (R)), spinning the wheels
as little as possible. Release the accelerator pedal
while you shift, and press lightly on the accelerator pedal
when the transmission is in gear. By slowly spinning
your wheels in the forward and reverse directions, you
will cause a rocking motion that may free your
vehicle. If that doesn't get you out after a few tries, you
may need to be towed out. Or, you can use your
recovery hooks if your vehicle has them. If you do need
to be towed out, see
Towing Your Vehicle on
page 4-55.
Using the Recovery Hooks
Your vehicle may be equipped with recovery hooks. The
hooks are provided at the front of your vehicle. You may
need to use them if you're stuck off-road and need to be
pulled to some place where you can continue driving.
4-53

·Consider using a sway control if your trailer will
weigh less than 5,000 lbs. (2 270 kg) for light duty
vehicles, or less than 7,500 lbs. (3 405 kg) for heavy
duty vehicles. You should always use a sway control
if your trailer will weigh more than these limits. You
can ask a hitch dealer about sway controls.
·Don't tow a trailer at all during the ®rst 500 miles
(800 km) your new vehicle is driven. Your engine,
axle or other parts could be damaged.
·Then, during the ®rst 500 miles (800 km) that you tow
a trailer, don't drive over 50 mph (80 km/h) and don't
make starts at full throttle. This helps your engine
and other parts of your vehicle wear in at the heavier
loads.
·If you have an automatic transmission, you can tow
in DRIVE (D). You may want to shift the transmission
to THIRD (3) or, if necessary, a lower gear selection
if the transmission shifts too often (e.g., under heavy
loads and/or hilly conditions). If you have a manual
transmission and you are towing a trailer, it's better
not to use the highest gear. See
Tow/Haul Mode
Light on page 3-53.
Three important considerations have to do with weight:
·the weight of the trailer,
·the weight of the trailer tongue
·and the weight on your vehicle's tires.
Tow/Haul Mode
Tow/haul is a feature on automatic transmission
equipped vehicles that assists when pulling a heavy
trailer or a large or heavy load. The purpose of
the tow/haul mode is to:
·Reduce the frequency and improve the predictability
of transmission shifts when pulling a heavy trailer or
a large or heavy load.
·Provide the same solid shift feel when pulling a
heavy trailer or a large or heavy load as when
the vehicle is unloaded.
·Improve control of vehicle speed while requiring
less throttle pedal activity when pulling a heavy
trailer or a large or heavy load.
Automatic transmission equipped vehicles are provided
with a button at the end of the shift lever which when
pressed enables tow/haul. When the button is pressed,
a light on the instrument panel will illuminate to
indicate that tow/haul has been selected. Tow/haul may
be turned off by pressing the button again, at which
time the indicator light on the instrument panel will turn
off. The vehicle will automatically turn off tow/haul
every time it is started.
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Tow/haul is designed to be most effective when the
vehicle and trailer combined weight is at least 75% of
the vehicle's Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR).
See
Weight of the Trailerlater in the section. Tow/haul
is most useful under the following driving conditions:
·When pulling a heavy trailer or a large or heavy load
through rolling terrain.
·When pulling a heavy trailer or a large or heavy
load in stop and go traffic.
·When pulling a heavy trailer or a large or heavy
load in busy parking lots where improved low
speed control of the vehicle is desired.
Operating the vehicle in tow/haul when lightly loaded or
with no trailer at all will not cause damage. However,
there is no bene®t to the selection of tow/haul when the
vehicle is unloaded. Such a selection when unloaded
may result in unpleasant engine and transmission driving
characteristics and reduced fuel economy. Tow/haul
is recommended only when pulling a heavy trailer or a
large or heavy load.
Weight of the Trailer
How heavy can a trailer safely be?
It depends on how you plan to use your rig. For
example, speed, altitude, road grades, outside
temperature and how much your vehicle is used to pull
a trailer are all important. And, it can also depend
on any special equipment that you have on your vehicle.
Use one of the following charts to determine how
much your vehicle can weigh, based upon your vehicle
model and options.
Maximum trailer weight is calculated assuming the
driver and one passenger are in the tow vehicle and it
has all the required trailering equipment. The weight
of additional optional equipment, passengers and cargo
in the tow vehicle must be subtracted from the
maximum trailer weight.
Above the 5,000 lbs. (2 268 kg) trailer rating, the
handling/trailering suspension is required on
C-1500 models and the handling/trailering or off-road
suspension is required on K-1500 models.
4-70

Turn Signals When Towing a Trailer
The arrows on your instrument panel will ¯ash whenever
you signal a turn or lane change. Properly hooked up,
the trailer lamps will also ¯ash, telling other drivers
you're about to turn, change lanes or stop.
When towing a trailer, the arrows on your instrument
panel will ¯ash for turns even if the bulbs on the trailer
are burned out. Thus, you may think drivers behind
you are seeing your signal when they are not. It's
important to check occasionally to be sure the trailer
bulbs are still working.
Driving On Grades
Reduce speed and shift to a lower gearbeforeyou start
down a long or steep downgrade. If you don't shift
down, you might have to use your brakes so much that
they would get hot and no longer work well.
If you have an automatic transmission, you can tow in
DRIVE (D). You may want to shift the transmission
to lower gear selection if the transmission shifts too often
(e.g., under heavy loads and/or hilly conditions).
You may also want to activate the tow/haul mode if the
transmission shifts too often. See
Tow/Haul Mode
Light on page 3-53.If you have a 5-speed manual transmission and you are
towing a trailer, it's better not to use FIFTH (5) gear.
Just drive in FOURTH (4) gear (or, as you need
to, a lower gear).
If you have a 6-speed manual transmission and you are
towing a trailer, it's better not to use SIXTH (6) gear.
Drive in FIFTH (5) gear (or, as you need to, a lower gear).
When towing at high altitude on steep uphill grades,
consider the following: Engine coolant will boil at a lower
temperature than at normal altitudes. If you turn your
engine off immediately after towing at high altitude
on steep uphill grades, your vehicle may show signs
similar to engine overheating. To avoid this, let the
engine run while parked (preferably on level ground)
with the automatic transmission in PARK (P) (or
the manual transmission out of gear and the parking
brake applied) for a few minutes before turning the
engine off. If you do get the overheat warning,
see
Engine Overheating on page 5-33.
4-87

The six-wire harness contains the following trailer
circuits:
·Yellow: Left Stop/Turn Signal
·Dark Green: Right Stop/Turn Signal
·Brown: Taillamps
·White: Ground
·Light Green: Back-up Lamps
·Light Blue: Center High-Mounted Stoplamp
(CHMSL)
If you need to upgrade your trailer wiring harness, an
additional 2±wire harness and 7 pin universal trailer
connector are available from your dealer.
Heavy-DutyTrailer Wiring Harness
Package
Your pickup may be equipped with the eight-wire trailer
towing harness. This harness with a seven-pin
universal trailer connector is attached to a bracket on
the hitch platform.*
* The Center High-Mounted Stoplamp (CHMSL) wire is
tied next to the trailer wiring harness for use with a
trailer, slide-in camper or cap.
4-90

The eight-wire harness contains the following trailer
circuits:
·Yellow: Left Stop/Turn Signal
·Dark Green: Right Stop/Turn Signal
·Brown: Taillamps
·White: Ground
·Light Green: Back-up Lamps
·Light Blue: CHMSL
·Red: Battery Feed
·Dark Blue: Trailer Brake
If your trailer is equipped with electric brakes, you can
get a jumper harness (electric trailer brake control)
with a trailer battery feed fuse from your dealer.
If you need to tow a light-duty trailer with a standard
four-way round pin connector you can also get an
adapter from your dealer.
Camper/Fifth-Wheel Trailer Wiring Package
The eight-wire camper harness is located under the
front edge of the pickup box on the driver's side of the
vehicle, attached to the frame bracket. A connector
will have to be added to the wiring harness which
connects to the camper.
The eight-wire harness contains the following
camper/trailer circuits:
·Yellow: Left Stop/Turn Signal
·Dark Green: Right Stop/Turn Signal
·Brown: Taillamps
·White: Ground
·Light Green: Back-up Lamps
·Light Blue: Center High-Mounted Stoplamp
(CHMSL)
·Red: Battery Feed
·Dark Blue: Trailer Brake
4-91

Power Take-Off (PTO)
Before using a PTO, if equipped, refer to the
manufacturer's or installer's instructions.
To engage a PTO on a vehicle with a manual
transmission do the following:
1. Hold the clutch pedal down.
2. Set the parking brake.
3. Shift the transmission into NEUTRAL (N).
4. Engage the PTO. Refer to the manufacturer's
or installer's for instructions on electrically
engaged PTOs.
5. For mobile operations, shift the transmission into
the gear you want, apply the regular brakes and
release the parking brake. For stationary operations,
leave the parking brake applied.
6. Release the clutch and regular brakes as you
normally would. When the clutch is released,
the PTO will start.
7. Turn the PTO rotary switch to ON.To engage a PTO on a vehicle with an automatic
transmission do the following:
1. For stationary use shift the transmission into
PARK (P).
2. Turn the PTO rotary switch ON.
3. If the engine speed is below the PTO engage
speed limit, the PTO will start. The blinking LED
on the PTO control switch indicates PTO engage is
requested. When PTO engages the LED will
switch from blinking to a steady light.
To use PTO speed control in Preset Mode (Factory
Setting) do the following:
1. Engage the PTO
2. Select PARK (P) or NEUTRAL (N) range. Apply the
parking brake if NEUTRAL (N) is selected. Torque
Converter Clutch (TCC) is not available in
NEUTRAL (N) and is available only in PARK (P)
when engine speed is above 1,100 rpm.
3. Make sure your foot is off the brake pedal (and off
the clutch on vehicles equipped with a manual
transmission).
4. Select the desired engine speed for PTO operation.
Read the following preset mode information
regarding operation.
4-95