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Engine Coolant Temperature Gage
This gage shows the engine coolant temperature. If the
gage pointer moves into the red area, your engine
coolant might have overheated and your engine may be
too hot. You should pull off the road, stop your vehicle
and turn off the engine as soon as possible.
SeeEngine Overheating on page 5-38. If you have a
Caterpillar
®diesel engine, also see your Caterpillar®
Operation & Maintenance Manual.
Low Coolant Warning Light
You have a low coolant
warning light. If this light
comes on, your system is
low on coolant and the
engine may overheat.
The warning light should come on briefly, as a check,
when you turn on the ignition.
When it comes on, you will also hear a warning tone at
several beats per second for 10 seconds. SeeEngine
Coolant (Gas and DURAMAX
®Engines) on page 5-36
orEngine Coolant (Caterpillar®Diesel Engines) on
page 5-38and have your vehicle serviced as soon as
you can.
This light may also come on if your vehicle is equipped
with the automatic engine shutdown system and
engine shutdown has begun. SeeEngine Alarm and
Automatic ShutdownunderStarting the Diesel Engine
on page 2-14. United States
Canada
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Wait to Start Indicator
(Diesel Engine)
If your vehicle has the DURAMAX®6600, you will have
glow plugs. If your vehicle has the DURAMAX®7800,
you will have glow plugs and an inlet heater. If your
vehicle has a Caterpillar
®engine, you will have an
inlet heater.
The light in the center of
the instrument panel will
come on when the
inlet heater is on and the
ignition key is in RUN.
Wait until the indicator light turns off before turning the
ignition key to START.
Malfunction Indicator Lamp
Service Engine Soon Light
If this light comes on or
flashes while you are
driving, two things
may happen.
First, you will not notice any difference in engine
performance, but your tail pipe emissions may increase.
Second, your engine may not run properly or may
stall without warning. If either of these things happen,
drive or tow your vehicle to your dealer for service.
This light should come on when the ignition is on, but
the engine is not running, as a check to show you
it is working. If it does not come on at all, have
it repaired.
Notice:If you keep driving your vehicle with this
light on, after awhile, your emission controls
may not work as well, your fuel economy may not
be as good, and your engine may not run as
smoothly. This could lead to costly repairs that may
not be covered by your warranty.
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Page 153 of 374

Engine Overspeed Warning Light
If your vehicle has this
light, it will come on if your
engine is operating at
too many revolutions per
minute (rpm).
It will also come on for a moment as a check when you
start your engine.
If it comes on when you’re driving, reduce your engine
speed immediately.
Engine Shutdown Warning Light
If your vehicle has the
engine shutdown feature,
this light will come on
when engine shutdown
is active.
For more information, seeEngine Alarm and Automatic
ShutdownunderStarting the Diesel Engine on
page 2-14.
Transmission Temperature Gage
If you have an automatic
transmission and this
gage, it is located
above the switchbank in
the center of the
instrument panel.
When your ignition is on, the gage shows the
temperature of the transmission oil. A reading in the
warning zone, the red area beginning at 300°F (150°C),
means you must stop driving and check into the
cause. One possible cause is a low oil level in the
transmission.
Notice:If you drive your vehicle with the
transmission temperature gage above normal
operating range, you can damage the transmission.
This could lead to costly repairs that would not
be covered by your warranty. Do not drive your
vehicle while the transmission temperature gage
reading is above normal. See your dealer for service.
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Page 156 of 374

Low Washer Fluid Warning Light
This light will come on
when your vehicle is low
on windshield washer fluid.
For more information, seeWindshield Washer Fluid on
page 5-46.
Check Gages Warning Light
This light will come on as
you’re starting the engine,
just as a check.
If this light comes on and stays on while you are driving.
it means that either your engine coolant temperature
gage or your engine oil pressure gage may be showing
a reading in the warning zone.When the check gages light comes on, you will also
hear a warning tone. The tone and the light will
stay activated until the problem is corrected.
This light may also come on if your vehicle is equipped
with the optional automatic engine shutdown system
and engine shutdown has begun. SeeEngine Alarm and
Automatic ShutdownunderStarting the Diesel Engine
on page 2-14.
Fuel Gage
Your fuel gage is located
on the right side of your
instrument panel cluster.
When the ignition is on, your fuel gage lets you know
about how much fuel you have left. When the gage first
shows empty, you’ll still have a little fuel left, but you
should get more fuel soon.
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If your vehicle has dual fuel tanks, the reading on the
gage is the total fuel left in both tanks.
Here are four concerns of some operators. None of
these shows a problem with your fuel gage:
•The gage moves a little when you turn a corner or
speed up.
•The gage does not go back to empty when you turn
off the ignition.
•At the gas station, the pump shuts off before the
gage reads full.
•It takes a little more or less fuel to fill up than the
gage indicated.
If you have a Caterpillar
®diesel engine, also see your
Caterpillar®Operation & Maintenance Manual.
Water in Fuel Warning Light
If your vehicle has the 6.6L
or 7.8L DURAMAX®diesel
engine, this light will
come on to warn you that
there is water in the
fuel system.
For more information on how this light works, seeWater
in Fuel on page 5-10.
Air Filter Restriction Indicator
If your vehicle has this
feature, the gage is
located above the
switchbank in the center of
the instrument panel. It
monitors the engine
air filter.
As the filter gets dirty, the yellow indicator will begin to
rise. When it reaches 25 inches of vacuum on the
scale, the filter should be replaced.
After replacing the filter, reset the gage by pressing in
the yellow reset button at the bottom of the gage.
If you have a Caterpillar
®diesel engine, also see your
Caterpillar®Operation & Maintenance Manual.
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Air Pressure Gage
If your vehicle has air
brakes, the air pressure
gage is located above the
switchbank in the center
of the instrument panel.
This gage shows the air pressure for both your front
and rear brake systems.
If the needle on the gage indicates that the air pressure
is below 60 to 75 psi (415 to 517 kPa), the low air
warning light will come on. An alarm will also sound if
this happens.
The top pointer shows the pressure available for the
front system, while the bottom pointer shows pressure
for the rear. There should be no more than 4 psi
(28 kPa) difference showing between the systems.
Don’t drive until both pointers are showing at least
120 psi (827 kPa), so you’ll have enough air if you need
to apply your brakes.
Hourmeter Gage
To access the engine hourmeter gage, press the trip
odometer button three times.
The instrument panel cluster displays the accumulated
engine run time hours using the reconfigurable
odometer display. The engine run time hours displays
only when the ignition is in the LOCK or ACCESSORY
position and the trip reset button is pressed for about
four seconds. The value of the accumulated hours does
not change when the battery is disconnected.
The hourmeter resets to 0.0 when 10,000 hours are
accumulated. The instrument panel cluster begins to
reaccumulate the engine run time hours from 0.0 hours.
Audio System(s)
Notice:Before adding any sound equipment to
your vehicle, such as an audio system, CD player,
CB radio, mobile telephone, or two-way radio, make
sure that it can be added by checking with your
dealer. Also, check federal rules covering mobile
radio and telephone units. If sound equipment can
be added, it is very important to do it properly.
Added sound equipment may interfere with
the operation of your vehicle’s engine, radio, or
other systems, and even damage them. Your
vehicle’s systems may interfere with the operation
of sound equipment that has been added.
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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.
If your engine ever stops while you are driving, brake
normally but do not 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.
Hydraulic Brake Systems
If your engine stops running, or if your primary brake
system stops working, your vehicle has a reserve power
assist system to help you slow down. Just slowly and
steadily apply the brake pedal until you can safely get off
the road. The pedal will seem harder to push down.
Do not pump the pedal; the system will not work well or
at all that way.You may find that the steering wheel seems hard to turn
when you are turning and braking at the same time.
Also, the primary brake warning light may come on and
the warning tone may sound. This is normal because
the main hydraulic brake system and power steering
both use the power steering pump. If this ever happens,
let up on the brake pedal a little. When you let up on
the brake pedal in that situation, it lets the steering get a
little more help from the pump.
Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS)
Your vehicle has anti-lock brakes. 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.
If there is a problem with
the anti-lock brake system,
this warning light will
stay on. SeeAnti-Lock
Brake System Warning
Light on page 3-34.
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Page 195 of 374

City Driving
One of the biggest problems with city streets is the
amount of traffic on them. You will want to watch out for
what the other drivers are doing and pay attention to
traffic signals.Here are ways to increase your safety in city driving:
•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.
•Larger vehicles cannot be driven everywhere
smaller ones can. There are low underpasses, truck
routes and other special situations. Usually these
are well marked, so be sure to watch for the signs.
•Try to use the freeways that rim and crisscross most
large cities. You will save time and energy. See
Freeway Driving on page 4-22.
•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 vehicles
that have not cleared the intersection or may
be running the red light.
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