headlights BUICK REGAL 1993 Owners Manual

To signal a turn, move the lever all the way up or down.
When the turn
is finished, the lever will return
automatically.
A green arrow on the
instrument panel will flash in the direction of the turn
or lane change.
To signal a lane change, just raise or lower the lever
until the green arrow starts to flash. Hold it there
until
you complete your lane change. The lever will return by
itself when
you release it.
As you signal a turn or a lane change, if the arrows don’t
flash but just stay
on, a signal bulb may be burned out
and other drivers won’t see your
turn signal. If
a bulb
is burned out, replace it to help avoid an
accident. If the green arrows don’t
go on at all when you
signal a turn, check the fuse (see “Fuses” in the Index)
and for burned-out bulbs.
Turn Signal “ON” Chime
A chime will sound if your turn signal is left on after
having gone
3/4 mile, to remind you to turn your signal
off.
Operation of Lights
Although your vehicle’s lighting system (headlights,
parking lights, fog lamps, side marker lights and
taillights) meet
all applicable federal lighting
requirements, certain states and provinces may apply
their own lighting regulations that may require special
attention before you operate these lights. For example,
some jurisdictions may require that you operate your
lower beam lights with fog lamps at all times, or that
headlights be turned on whenever you must use your
windshield wipers. In addition,
most jurisdictions
prohibit driving solely with parking lights, especially at
dawn or dusk. It is recommended that you check with
you own state or provincial highway authority for
applicable lighting regulations.
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Headlight High-Low Beam
rc
To change the headlights
from low beam to high or
high to low, pull the turn
signal lever all the way
toward you. Then release
it.
When the high beams are
on, this blue light on the
instrument panel also will
be on.
Flash-To-Pass Feature
This feature lets you use your high beam headlights to
signal a driver
in front of you that you want to pass. It
works even if your headlights are off.
To use it, pull the headlight beam lever toward you a
little (but
not so far that you hear a click). When you do:
If your headlights are off Your high beam headlights
will
turn on. They’ll stay on as long as you hold the
lever there. Release the lever
t.o turn them off.
If your headliphts are on, but on low beam: The system
works normally. Just pull the lever until
it clicks. Your
headlights will shift to high beam and stay there.
To
return to low beam, just pull the lever toward you.
If
you have fog lamps, they go off whenever the high
beams go on. When the high beams
go off, the fog
lamps will come
on again.
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To Get Out of Cruise Control To Erase Speed Memory
When you turn off the Cruise Control or the ignition, or
shift into “P” (Park)
or “N” (Neutral) your Cruise
Control set speed memory
is erased.
Lights
The light controls are on the instrument panel.
It controls these light systems:
There are two
ways to turn
off the Cruise Control:
1. Step lightly on the brake
pedal
; OR
Headlights
Taillights
Parking Lights License Lights
Sidemarker Lights
Instrument Panel
Lights
Interior Courtesy
Lights 0
;o
:o
io 2. Move the Cruise switch
to “OFF.” 10 I (The “CRUISE” light
will go out.)
io
i
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Headlight “On” Warning
If the light switch is left on you’ll hear a warning tone
when you turn the ignition
off and open the driver’s
door.
Fog Eights (GS Only Option)
If you have the fog light
feature, the control is on the
instrument. The parking
lights must be on, for the
fog lights to work. The fog
lights will turn off
when
you switch to high beam
headlights. When you
switch back to
low beam
headlights they
will turn
back on.
Daytime Running Lights (Canada Only)
The Canadian Federal Government has decided that
“Daytime Running Lights”
(DRL) are a useful feature,
in that DRL can make your vehicle more visible to
pedestrians and other drivers during daylight hours.
DRL are required on new vehicles sold
in Canada.
Your DRL work
with a light sensor on top of the
instrument panel. Don’t cover
it up.
The low beam headlights will come on at reduced
brightness
in daylight when:
0 The ignition is on
The headlight switch is off, and
The parking brake is released.
At dusk, the exterior lights will come on automatically
and the low beams will change to.full brightness.
At
dawn, the exterior lights will go out and the low beams
will change to the reduced brightness of DRL (if the
headlight switch
is off>. Of course, you may still turn on
the headlights any time you need to. To idle your vehicle
with the DRL off. set the parking brake while the
ignition
is in the “Off“ or “l,ock” position. Then start
the vehicle. The DRL
will stay off until you release the
parking brake.
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Courtesy Lights
When any door is opened, several lights turn on. They
make it easy for you to enter and leave the car. The
courtesy lights
go off when the doors are closed.
The interior courtesy lights can be turned on by sliding
the light switch to INT or by sliding the switch to
OFF.
You can also change the brightness of the instrument
panel lights by sliding the switch between
OFF and
BRT.
The instrument panel lights
will come on when a door is
opened and closed. The instrument panel lights
will
automatically go off after approximate1.y 30 seconds,
unless the headlights or parking lights have been turned
on.
Mirrors
Inside Mirror
When you are sitting in a comfortable driving position,
adjust the mirror
so you can see clearly behind your car.
The day-night adjustment allows you to adjust the
mirror to avoid glare
from the lights behind you.
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Here are some tips on night driving.
0 Drive defensively. Remember, this is the most
dangerous time.
0 Don’t drink and drive. (See “Drunken Driving” in
the Index for more on this problem.)
0 Adjust your inside rearview mirror to reduce the
glare from headlights behind
you.
Since you can’t see as well, you may need to slow
down and keep more space between
you and other
vehicles. It’s hard
to tell how fast the vehicle ahead
is going just by looking at its taillights.
0 Slow down, especially on higher speed roads. Your
headlights can light up
only so much road ahead.
In remote areas, watch for animals.
0 If you’re tired, pull off the road in a safe place and
rest.
Night Vision
No one can see as well at night as in the daytime. But as
we get older these differences increase.
A 50-year-old
driver may require at least twice as much light
to see the
same thing at night as a 20-year-old. What
you do in the daytime can also affect your night
vision. For example, if you spend the day
in bright
sunshine
you are wise to wear sunglasses. Your eyes will
have less trouble adjusting to night.
But
if you’re driving, don’t wear sunglasses at night.
They may cut down on glare from headlights, but they
also make a lot of things invisible that should remain
visible
- such as parked cars, obstacles, pedestrians, or
even trains blocking railway crossings.
You may want to
put
on your sunglasses after you have pulled into a
brightly-lighted service or refreshment area. Eyes
shielded from that glare may adjust more quickly to
darkness back on the road. But be sure
to remove your
sunglasses before you leave the service area.
You can be temporarily blinded by approaching lights. It
can take a second or two, or even several seconds, for
your
eyes to readjust to the dark. When you are faced
with severe glare (as from a driver who doesn’t lower
the high beams, or a vehicle with misaimed headlights),
slow down a little. Avoid staring directly into
the
approaching lights. If there is a line of opposing traffic,
make occasional glances over the line of headlights
to
make certain that one of the vehicles isn’t starting to
move into your lane. Once you are past the bright lights,
give your eyes time to readjust before resuming speed.
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High Beams
If the vehicle approaching you has its high beams on,
signal by flicking yours
to high and then back to low
beam. This is the usual signal to lower the headlight
beams. If the other driver still doesn’t lower the beams,
resist the temptation to put your high beams on. This
only makes two half-blinded drivers.
On a freeway, use your high beams only in remote areas
where you won’t impair approaching drivers. In some
places, like cities, using high beams is illegal.
When
you follow another vehicle on a freeway or
highway, use low beams. True, most vehicles now have
day-night mirrors that enable the driver
to reduce glare.
But outside mirrors are not
of this type and high beams
from behind can bother the driver ahead.
A Few More Night Driving Suggestions
Keep your windshield and all the glass on your vehicle
clean
-- inside and out. Glare at night is made much
worse by dirt on the glass. Even the inside of the glass
can build up a film caused by dust. Tobacco smoke also
makes inside glass surfaces very filmy and can be
a
vision hazard if it’s left there.
Dirty glass makes lights dazzle and flash more than
clean glass would, making the pupils of your eyes
contract repeatedly.
You might even want to keep a cloth
and some glass cleaner in your vehicle if you need
to
clean your glass frequently.
Remember that your headlights light up far less of a
roadway when you are in a turn or curve.
Keep your eyes moving; that way, it’s easier to pick out
dimly lighted objects.
Just as your headlights should be checked regularly for
proper aim,
so should your eyes be examined regularly.
Some drivers suffer from night blindness
-- the inability
to see in dim light
-- and aren’t even aware of it.
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more is low. It can happen if a lot of water is standing
on the road. If you can see reflections from trees,
telephone poles, or other vehicles, and raindrops
“dimple” the water’s surface, there could be
hydroplaning.
Hydroplaning usually happens at higher speeds. There
just isn’t a hard and fast rule about hydroplaning. The
best advice is to slow down when it is raining, and be
careful.
Some Other Rainy Weather Tips
a
a
0
0
Turn on your headlights -- not just your parking
lights
-- to help make you more visible to others.
Look for hard-to-see vehicles coming from behind.
You may want
to use your headlights even in
daytime if it’s raining hard.
Besides slowing down, allow some extra following
distance. And be especially careful when
you pass
another vehicle. Allow yourself more clear room
ahead, and be prepared
to have your view restricted
by road spray. If the road spray is
so heavy you are
actually blinded, drop back. Don’t pass until
conditions improve. Going more slowly is better
than having an accident.
Use your defogger if it helps.
0 Have good tires with proper tread depth. (See
“Tires” in the Index.)
Driving in Fog, Mist and Haze
Fog can occur with high humidity or heavy frost. It can
be
so mild that you can see through it for several
hundred feet (meters).
Or it might be so thick that you
can see only a few feet (meters) ahead.
It may come
suddenly to an otherwise clear road. And
it can be a
maj or hazard.
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When you drive into a fog patch, your visibility will be
reduced quickly. The biggest dangers are striking the
vehicle ahead or being struck by the one behind. Try to
“read” the fog density down the road. If the vehicle
ahead starts to become less clear or, at night, if the
taillights are harder to see, the fog is probably
thickening. Slow down to give traffic behind
you a
chance to slow down. Everybody then has a better
chance to avoid hitting the vehicle ahead.
A patch of dense fog may extend only for a few feet
(meters) or for miles (kilometers); you can’t really tell
while you’re
in it. You can only treat the situation with
extreme care.
One common fog condition
-- sometimes called mist or
ground fog
-- can happen in weather that seems perfect,
especially at night or in the early morning in valley and
low, marshy areas.
You can be suddenly enveloped in
thick, wet haze that may even coat your windshield. You
can often spot these fog patches or mist layers with your
headlights. But sometimes they can be waiting for
you
as you come over a hill or dip into a shallow valley.
Start your windshield wipers and washer, to help clear
accumulated road dirt. Slow down carefully.
Tips on Driving in Fog
If you get caught in fog, turn your headlights on low
beam, even in daytime. You’ll see
-- and be seen --
better. Use your fog lights if your vehicle has them.
Don’t use your high beams. The light will bounce
off
the water droplets that make up fog and reflect back at
you.
Use your defogger. In high humidity, even a light
buildup of moisture on the inside of the glass will cut
down on your already limited visibility. Run your
windshield wipers and washer occasionally. Moisture
can build up on the outside glass, and what seems to be
fog may actually be moisture on the outside of your
windshield.
Treat dense fog as an emergency. Try to find
a place to
pull off the road. Of course
you want to respect
another’s property, but
you might need to put something
between
you and moving vehicles -- space, trees,
telephone poles, a private driveway, anything that
removes you from other traffic.
If visibility is near zero and
you must stop but are
unsure whether
you are away from the road, turn your
lights on, start your hazard warning flashers, and sound
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stopped by the snow. 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, floor 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.
naust ases under your veh'ick
Snow can
trap 1
This can cause deadly CO (carbon monoxide)
gas to get inside.
CO could overcome you and
II you. You can't see it or smell it, so you mighl
not know
it is in your vehicle. Clear away snow
from around the base of your vehicle
, especial11
any that is blocking your exhaust pipe. And
r':.:%--l check around again from time to time to be surel ..,;I
. . ,;-< 4
Snow doesn't collect there. k, ..;:-- :,: -;-'-- , " ~ ' -. :< . . . ..',.;.L ,:--; .: ., ; ,&': - .. 1 .' . . . ,'--I -..
, , CA,UTION: (Continued)
I
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 headlights. Let the heater run for awhile.
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