heater BUICK REGAL 1996 Owners Manual

Engine Coolant Heater (Option)
In very cold weather,
0°F (-1 8°C) or colder,
the engine coolant
heater can help. You’ll
get easier starting and
better fuel economy
during engine warm-up.
Usually, the coolant heater should be plugged
in a
minimum of four hours prior to starting your vehicle.
To Use the Coolant Heater
I. Turn off the engine.
2. Open the hood and unwrap the electrical cord.
3. Plug it into a normal, grounded 110-volt AC outlet.
Plugging the cord into an ungrounded outlet
could cause an electrical shock.
Also, the wrong
kind
of extension cord could overheat and cause
a fire. You could be seriously injured. Plug the
cord into a properly grounded three-prong
110-volt
AC outlet. If the cord won’t reach, use a
heavy-duty three-prong extension cord rated for
at least
15 amps.
4. After you’ve used the coolant heater, be sure to store
the cord as it was before to keep it away from moving
engine parts.
If you don’t, it could be damaged.
How long should
you keep the coolant heater plugged
in? The answer depends on the outside temperature,
the
kind of oil you have, and some other things. Instead of
trying to list everything here, we ask that you contact
your Buick dealer
in the area where you’ll be parking
your vehicle. The dealer can give you the best advice for
that particular area.
ProCarManuals.com

Illuminated Entry
Your courtesy lamps will come on and stay on for a set
time whenever you:
Pull a front door handle.
Press UNLOCK on the Remote Keyless Entry
Press DOOR on the Remote Keyless Entry
transmitter
(if equipped).
transmitter (if equipped).
If you open a door, the lamps will stay on while it’s open
and then turn
off automatically about 18 seconds after
you close it. If you don’t open
a door, the lamps will
turn
off after about 18 seconds, unless you pressed
UNLOCK
on the Remote Keyless Entry transmitter. If
you pressed UNLOCK and don’t open a door, the lamps
will turn off after about
55 seconds.
Illuminated entry includes a feature called theater
dimming. With theater dimming, the lamps don’t just
turn off at the end
of the delay time. Instead, they slowly
dim during the delay time until they go out. The delay
time is cancelled if you turn the ignition key to RUN or
START,
so the lamps will go out right away.
When the ignition
is on, illuminated entry is inactive,
which means the courtesy lamps won’t come on.
Rearview Mirror Reading Lamps
These lamps go on when you open the doors. When the
doors are closed, use
the switch next to each lamp to
turn them on and off.
ProCarManuals.com

Heating
On cold days, use HTR with the temperature lever all
the way to
WARM. The system will bring in outside air,
heat it and send it
to the floor ducts.
If your vehicle has an engine coolant heater, you can use
it to help your system provide warm air faster when it’s
cold outside
(0°F (-18°C) or lower). An engine coolant
heater warms the coolant your engine and heating
system use to provide heat. See “Engine Coolant
Heater” in the Index.
Ventilation System
Adjust the direction of airflow by moving the
louvered vents.
Your vehicle’s flow-through ventilation system supplies
outside air into the vehicle when
it is moving. Outside
air will also enter the vehicle when the air conditioning
fan
is running.
ProCarManuals.com

Ventilation Tips
0
0
0
0
For mild outside temperatures when little heating or
cooling is needed, use VENT to direct outside air
through your vehicle.
Keep the hood and front air inlet free of ice, snow or
any other obstruction, such
as leaves. The heater and
defroster will work far better, reducing the chance of
fogging the inside of your windows.
When you enter
a vehicle in cold weather, adjust the
mode to HTR and the fan to the highest speed for a
few moments before driving off. This helps clear the
intake ducts
of snow and moisture and reduces the
chance
of fogging the inside of your windows.
Keep the air path under the front seats clear of
objects. This helps air to circulate throughout
your vehicle.
Defogging and Defrosting
Your system has two settings for clearing the front and
side windows.
To defrost the windows quickly, use
FRONT with the temperature lever all the way to
WARM.
To warm passengers while keeping the
windows clean, use BLEND.
For maximum defrost performance, both the driver’s
and passenger’s temperature controls should be
in the
full warm position. To do this, push the DUAL button so
that the light goes out. The driver can then control both
sides with the main temperature control. Slide the lever
all the way toward WARM.
ProCarManuals.com

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’t 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
doesn’t collect there.
Open
a window just a little on the side of the
vehicle that’s away from the wind. This will help
keep CO out.
Run your engine only as long as you must. Ths 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 awhile.
Then, shut the engine
off and close the window almost
all
the way to preserve the heat. Start the engine again
and repeat this
only when you feel really uncomfortable
from the cold. But do it as little as possible. Preserve the
fuel as long as you can.
To help keep warm, you can get
out of the vehicle and do some fairly vigorous exercises
every half hour or
so until help comes.
ProCarManuals.com

NOTICE:
If your engine catches fire because you keep
driving with no coolant, your vehicle can be
badly damaged. The costly repairs would not be
covered by your warranty.
If No Steam Is Coming From Your Engine
If you get the overheat warning but see or hear no
steam, the problem may not be too serious. Sometimes
the engine can get a little too hot when you:
Climb a long hill on a hot day.
Stop after high-speed driving.
Idle for long periods in traffic.
Tow a trailer. If you
get the overheat warning with no sign of steam,
try this for a minute or
so:
I. Turn off your air conditioner.
2. Turn on your heater to full hot at the highest fan
speed and open the window as necessary.
3. If you’re in a traffic jam, shift to NEUTRAL (N);
otherwise, shift to the highest gear while
driving
-- AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (@) or
THIRD
(3).
If you no longer have the overheat warning, you can drive.
Just to be safe, drive slower for about
10 minutes. If the
warning doesn’t come back on, you can drive normally.
If the warning continues, pull over, stop, and park your
vehicle right away.
If there’s still no sign
of steam, you can idle the engine
for two or three minutes while you’re parked, to see
if the warning stops. But
then, if you still have the
warning,
turn ofSthe engine and get everyone out of
the vehicle until it cools down.
You may decide not to lift the hood but to get service
help right away.
ProCarManuals.com

If the coolant inside the coolant recovery tank is boiling,
don’t do anything else until it cools down.
The coolant level should be at or above the COLD mark. If it
isn’t, you may have a leak in the radiator hoses, heater hoses,
radiator, water
pump or somewhere else in the cooling system.
Heater and radiator hoses, and other engine
parts, can be very hot. Don’t touch them.
If you
do, you can be burned.
Don’t run the engine if there is
a leak. If you run
the engine, it could lose all coolant. That could
cause an engine
fire, and you could be burned.
Get any leak fixed before you drive the vehicle.
I NOTICE:
Engine damage from running your engine
without coolant isn’t covered by your warranty.
If there seems to be no leak, with the engine on, check to
see
if the electric engine fans are running. If the engine
is overheating, both fans should be running. If they
aren’t, your vehicle needs service.
ProCarManuals.com

How to Add Coolant to the Coolant
Recovery Tank
If you haven’t found a problem yet, but the coolant
level isn’t at the COLD mark, add a
50/50 mixture of
clean water (preferably distilled) and DEX-COOL TM
(orange-colored, silicate-free) antifreeze at the coolant
recovery tank. (See “Engine Coolant” in the Index for
more information.)
I
Adding only plain water to your cooling system ‘
can be dangerous. Plain water, or some other
liquid like alcohol, can boil before the proper
coolant
mix will. Your vehicle’s coolant warning
system is set for the proper coolant
mix. With
plain water or the wrong mix, your engine could
get
too hot but you wouldn’t get the overheat
warning. Your engine could catch fire and you or
others could be burned. Use a
50/50 mix of clean
water and
DEX-COOL TM antifreeze.
NOTICE:
In cold weather, water can freeze and crack the
engine, radiator, heater core and other parts.
.Use the recommended coolant and the proper
coolant mix.
ProCarManuals.com

NOTICE:
When adding coolant it is important that you use
DEX-COOL TM (orange-colored, silicate-free)
coolant meeting
GM Specification 6277M.
If silicated coolant is added to the system,
premature engine, heater core or radiator corrosion may result. In addition, the engine
coolant will require change sooner
-- at
30,000 miles (50 000 km) or 24 months whichever
occurs first
.
What to Use
Use a mixture
of one-half clean water (preferably
distilled) and one-half
DEX-COOL TM (orange-colored,
silicate-free) antifreeze that meets GM Specification
6277M, which won’t damage aluminum parts. Use
GM Engine Coolant Supplement (sealer) (GM Part
No. 3634621) with any complete coolant change. If you
use this mixture, you don’t need to add anything else.
CAUTION
-
Adding only plain water to your cooling system
can be dangerous. Plain water, or some other
liquid like alcohol, can boil before the proper
coolant mix will. Your vehicle’s coolant warning
system is set for the proper coolant mix. With
plain water or the wrong mix, your engine could
get too hot but you wouldn’t get the overheat
warning.
Your engine could catch fire and you or
others could be burned. Use a 50/50 mix of clean
water and
DEX-COOL TM (orange-colored,
silicate-free) antifreeze.
6-21
ProCarManuals.com

NOTICE:
If you use an improper coolant mix, your engine
could overheat and be badly damaged. The
repair cost wouldn’t be covered by your
warranty. Too
much water in the mix can freeze
and crack the engine, radiator, heater core and
other parts.
If you have to add coolant more than four times a year,
have your dealer check your cooling system.
I NOTICE:
If you use the proper coolant, you don’t have to
add extra inhibitors or additives which claim to
improve the system. These can be harmful.
-1
:king Coolant
When your engine is cold, the coolant level should be
at the
COLD mark or a little higher. When your engine
is warm, the level should be up to the HOT mark or a
little higher.
ProCarManuals.com