engine PONTIAC FIREBIRD 1995 Owner's Manual

Running Your Engine While You’re
Parked (Automatic Transmission)
It’s better not to park with the engine running. But if you
ever have to, here are some things to know.
Follow the proper steps to be sure your vehicle won’t
move. See “Shifting Into
PARK (P)” in the Index.
If you are parking on a hill and if you’re pulling a
trailer, also see “Towing a Trailer” in the Index.
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in either miles (used in the U.S.) or kilometers (used in
Canada).
Your Pontiac’s odometer is tamper-resistant. If you can
see silver lines between the numbers, probably someone
has tried to
turn it back. The numbers may not be true.
You may wonder what happens if your Pontiac needs a
new odometer installed.
If possible, the new one has to be
set to the same reading the old one had.
If it can’t be, then
it’s set at zero, but a label on the driver’s door must show
the old reading and when the new one was installed.
Trip Odometer
The trip odometer can tell you how far your car has been
driven since you last set the trip odometer to zero.
To set the trip odometer to zero, press the knob.
Tachometer
The tachometer displays the engine speed in thousands
of revolutions per minute (rpm).
I NOTICE:
I
Do not operate the engine with the tachometer in
the red area, or engine damage may occur.
Warning Lights, Gauges and Indicators
This part describes the warning lights and gauges that
may be on your vehicle. The pictures will help you
locate them.
Warning lights and gauges can signal that something is
wrong before it becomes serious enough to cause an
expensive repair or replacement. Paying attention to
your warning lights and gauges could also save you or
others from injury.
Warning lights go on when there may be or is, a problem
with one of your car’s functions.
As you will see in the
details on the next few pages, some warning lights come
on briefly when you turn the ignition key just to let you
know they’re working. If you are familiar with this
section, you should not be alarmed when this happens.
Gauges can indicate when there may be or is a problem
with one of your car’s functions. Often gauges and
warning lights work together to let you know ,when
there’s a problem with your car.
When one of the warning lights comes on and stays on
when you are driving, or when one of the gauges shows
there may be a problem, check the section that tells you
what to do about it. Please follow the manual’s advice.
Waiting to do repairs can be costly- and even
dangerous.
So please get to know your warning lights
and gauges. They’re a big help.
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Anti-Lock Brake System Warning Light
ABS
INOP
With the anti-lock brake system, this light will come on when
you
start your engine and it will stay on for three seconds.
That’s normal.
If the light doesn’t come on, have it fixed so it
will be ready
to warn you if there is a problem.
If the light flashes when you’re driving, you don’t have
anti-lock brakes and there could be a problem with your
regular brakes. 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.
Have the vehicle towed for service. (See “Towing Your
Car” in the Index.)
If the anti-lock brake system warning light stays on
longer than normal after you’ve started your engine, turn
the ignition off. Or, if the light comes on and stays on
when you’re driving, stop as soon as possible and
tum
the ignition off. Then start the engine again to reset the
system.
If the light still stays on, or comes on again
while you’re driving, your Pontiac needs service.
If the
light
is on but not flashing and the regular brake system
warning light isn’t
on, you still have brakes, but you
don’t have anti-lock brakes.
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Low Traction Light Engine Coolant Temperature Gage
LOW
TRAC
When your anti-lock system is adjusting brake pressure to
help avoid a braking skid, the
LOW TRAC light will
appear
on your instrument cluster. If you have the traction
control system,
this light will also come on when the
system is limiting wheel spin. Slippery road conditions
may
exist if this light comes on, so adjust your driving
accordingly. The light will stay on for a few seconds after
the
anti-lock system stops adjusting brake pressure or the
traction control system stops limiting wheel spin.
This gage shows the engine coolant temperature. If the
gage pointer moves into the red area, your engine is too
hot! 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.
The LOW TRAC light also comes on briefly, as a bulb
check, when the engine is started.
If the light doesn’t
come
on then, have it fixed so it will be there to tell you
when the anti-lock brake system or traction control
system
is active.
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Low Coolant Light (V8 Engine)
COOLANT
I I
I NOTICE:
Driving with the LOW COOLANT light on caul4
cause your Pontiac to overheat. See “Engine Overheating” in the Index. Your Pontiac&ul@ be
damaged and it wouldn’t be covered
by your
warranty.
This red warning light should come on while you are
starting your engine.
If the light doesn’t come on, have it
repaired. The light also comes
on when the coolant in
your radiator
is low. You may need to add coolant. See
“Engine Coolant” in the Index.
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Malfunction Indicator Lamp (Service Engine Soon Light)
I SERVICE ~
ENGINE
SOON
..
A computer
monitors operation of your fuel, ignition
and emission control systems. 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 fixed right away. If it stays on, or it comes
on while
you are driving, the computer is indicating that
you have a problem. You should take your vehicle in for
service soon.
NOTICE:
If you keep driving your vehicle with this light
on, after a while the emission controls won’t
work as well, your fuel economy won’t be as good
and your engine may not run as smoothly. This
could lead to costly repairs not covered by your
warranty.
OBD I1 3.8L Engine (Code K)
Certain vehicles are equipped with a new emission
diagnostic system. You can tell whether your vehicle has
this system by reading our tune-up label located under
the hood.
If the label says OBD 11 on it, the following
instructions apply.
Your Pontiac Firebird is equipped with an onboard
computer which monitors operation of the emission
control system. This system is called OBD
11 (On-
Board Diagnostics-Second Generation) and is intended
to assure that emissions
are at acceptable levels for the
life
of the vehicle, helping to produce a cleaner
environment. The SERVICE
ENGINE SOON light
comes on to indicate when service is required.
Malfunctions often will be indicated by the system
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before any problem is apparent, which may prevent more serious damage to your vehicle. The system is also
designed to assist your service technician in correctly
diagnosing any malfunction.
The SERVICE ENGINE SOON light should come on,
as
a check to show you it is working, when the ignition
is on and the engine is not running. This light will also
come on during a malfunction in one or two ways:
Light on steady - - indicates a system malfunction
has been detected. Drive the vehicle to the dealer for
service at your first opportunity.
Light Flashing - - indicates a misfire has been
detected which may damage the emission control
system. The damage may be reduced'by lowering the
vehicle speed, reducing the amount of cargo being
hauled or trailered, avoiding hard acceleration, or by
avoiding steep uphill grades.
If these actions are
effective, the light will stop flashing and remain on
steady. Drive the vehicle to a dealer for service.
If
the light continues to flash, stop the vehicle. Wait for
a steady light to come on, then drive the vehicle to
the nearest dealer for service.
These following conditions also may cause the
SERVICE ENGINE
SOON light to come on.
Low Fuel/Out of Fuel - - As the vehicle starts to run out
of fuel the SERVICE ENGINE SOON light may come
on as a result of
an engine misfire. Filling your gasoline
tank should correct this condition. Make sure to install
the gas cap fully. It will require a few driving trips to
turn the light
off.
Poor Quality Fuel - - Be sure to fuel your vehicle with
quality fuel. Your engine may not run efficiently on poor
fuel. Poor fuel may cause stalling, hesitation or misfire.
These conditions may go away when the engine is
warmed-up. However, poor quality fuel may cause the
SERVICE ENGINE SOON light to come
on.
Have a dealer check the vehicle. If no problems are
found, you may want to change to another brand of fuel.
Driving Through Standing Water -- Driving your
vehicle through puddles
of deep standing -w.a&r may
result in a temporary misfire condition. This condition
will usually correct itself- shortly after the electrical
system dries out.
It will require a few driving trips to
turn the light off.
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Enghe Oil Pressure Gauge
3.8L Engine Only
This gage tells you if there could be a problem with your
engine oil pressure.
The engine oil pressure gauge shows the engine oil
pressure in psi (pounds per square inch) in the
U.S., or
kPa (kilopascals) in Canada, when the engine is running.
Oil pressure should be
20 to 80 psi (140 to 550 kPa). It
may
vary with engine speed, outside temperature and oil
viscosity, but readings above the red area show the
normal operating range. Readings in the red area tell
you that the engine is low on oil, or that you might have
some other oil problem. See “Engine Oil”
in the Index.
NOTICE:
Damage to your engine from neglected oil
problems can be costly and is not covered by your
warranty.
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Low Oil Light
LOW
OIL
I NOTICE.:
The oil level monitoring system only checks the
oil level when you are starting your engine.
It
does not keep monitoring the level once your
engine is running. Also, the oil level check only
works when the engine has been turned
off long
enough for the oil to drain back into the oil pan.
Your vehicle is equipped with an oil level monitoring
system. When you start your engine, the red warning
light
will come on briefly. If the light doesn’t come on,
have it repaired.
If the light stays on after starting your
engine, your engine oil level may be too low. You may
need to add oil. See “Engine Oil” in the Index.
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Voltmeter If you idle your engine for a while, the voltmeter
reading might move into the yellow zone.
If the reading
stays
in the yellow zone while you are driving, you may
have a problem with the electrical charging system.
Have it checked.
While the voltmeter reads in the yellow
zone, your battery may not be able to power certain
electrical accessories, like
ABS. (If this happens, your
ABS INOP light will come on. See “Anti-Lock Brake
System Warning Light” in this part.)
If you must drive a short distance with the voltmeter
reading in a warning zone,
turn off all your accessories,
including your comfort control and audio systems.
You can read battery voltage on your voltmeter. If it
reads less than
11 volts or more than 16 volts while your
engine
is running, and it stays there, you may have a
problem with the electrical charging system. Have it
checked right away. Driving with the voltmeter reading
in a warning zone could drain your battery.
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