ignition CHEVROLET CAVALIER 2000 3.G Owner's Guide

2-71 Malfunction Indicator Lamp
(Check Engine Light)
United States Canada
Your vehicle is equipped with a computer which
monitors operation of the fuel, ignition and emission
control systems.
This system is called OBD II (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 CHECK ENGINE light comes on
to indicate that there is a problem and service is
required. Malfunctions often will be indicated by the
system before any problem is apparent. This may
prevent more serious damage to your vehicle. This
system is also designed to assist your service technician
in correctly diagnosing any malfunction.
NOTICE:
If you keep driving your vehicle with this light
on, after a while, 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.
NOTICE:
Modifications made to the engine, transaxle,
exhaust or fuel system of your vehicle or the
replacement of the original tires with other
than those of the same Tire Performance Criteria
(TPC) can affect your vehicle's emission controls
and may cause the CHECK ENGINE light to
come on. Modifications to these systems could
lead to costly repairs not covered by your
warranty. This may also result in a failure to pass
a required Emission Inspection/Maintenance test.

2-72
This light should come on, as a check to show you it is
working, when the ignition is on and the engine is not
running. If the light doesn't come on, have it repaired.
This light will also come on during a malfunction in one
of two ways:

Light Flashing
-- A misfire condition has been
detected. A misfire increases vehicle emissions and
may damage the emission control system on your
vehicle. Dealer or qualified service center diagnosis
and service may be required.

Light On Steady
-- An emission control
system malfunction has been detected on your
vehicle. Dealer or qualified service center diagnosis
and service may be required.
If the Light Is Flashing
The following may prevent more serious damage to
your vehicle:

Reducing vehicle speed.

Avoiding hard accelerations.

Avoiding steep uphill grades.

If you are towing a trailer, reduce the amount of
cargo being hauled as soon as it is possible.If the light stops flashing and remains on steady,
see ªIf the Light Is On Steadyº following.
If the light continues to flash, when it is safe to do so,
stop the vehicle. Find a safe place to park your vehicle.
Turn the key off, wait at least 10 seconds and restart the
engine. If the light remains on steady, see ªIf the Light
Is On Steadyº following. If the light is still flashing,
follow the previous steps, and drive the vehicle to your
dealer or qualified service center for service.
If the Light Is On Steady
You may be able to correct the emission system
malfunction by considering the following:
Did you recently put fuel into your vehicle?
If so, reinstall the fuel cap, making sure to fully install
the cap. See ªFilling Your Tankº in the Index. The
diagnostic system can determine if the fuel cap has been
left off or improperly installed. A loose or missing fuel
cap will allow fuel to evaporate into the atmosphere.
A few driving trips with the cap properly installed
should turn the light off.

2-74 Oil Pressure Light
If you have a low engine oil
pressure problem, this light
will stay on after you start
your engine, or come on
when you are driving. This
indicates that your engine is
not receiving enough oil.
The engine could be low on oil, or could have some
other oil problem. Have it fixed immediately.
The oil light could also come on in three other situations:

When the ignition is on but the engine is not running,
the light will come on as a test to show you it is
working, but the light will go out when you turn the
ignition to START. If it doesn't come on with the
ignition on, you may have a problem with the fuse
or bulb. Have it fixed right away.

If you're idling at a stop sign, the light may blink
on and then off.

If you make a hard stop, the light may come on for
a moment. This is normal.CAUTION:
Don't keep driving if the oil pressure is low.
If you do, your engine can become so hot that
it catches fire. You or others could be burned.
Check your oil as soon as possible and have
your vehicle serviced.
NOTICE:
Damage to your engine from neglected oil
problems can be costly and is not covered by
your warranty.

2-75 Service Vehicle Soon Light
This light will come on
briefly when you turn on
the ignition.
It will stay on or come on if it detects a problem on
the vehicle. If this happens, see your dealer service
department as soon as possible.
Passlock
Warning Light
United States Canada
This light will come on briefly when you turn the key
to START.
If the light flashes, the Passlock system has entered a
tamper mode. If the vehicle fails to start, see ªPasslockº
in the Index.
On vehicles equipped with the remote keyless entry
system, when the ignition is off and the security system
is armed, the light will flash to indicate that the security
system is active.

2-76
If the light comes on continuously while driving and
stays on, there may be a problem with the Passlock
system. Your vehicle will not be protected by Passlock,
and you should see your dealer.
On vehicles equipped with remote keyless entry, the
Passlock warning light will flash to indicate that the
security system is active when the ignition is OFF
and the security system is armed.
Up-Shift Light (Manual Transaxle)
This light comes on when
you need to shift to the next
higher gear. See ªManual
Transaxleº in the Index.
United States Only
Check Gages Light
United States Canada
This light will come on briefly when you are starting
the engine. If it comes on and stays on while you are
driving, check your various gages to see if they are in
the warning zones or if you are low on fuel.
See ªEngine Coolant Temperature Gageº and
ªFuel Gageº in this section for more information.

2-77 Fuel Gage
United States Canada
Your fuel gage tells you about how much fuel you
have left. When the indicator nears empty, the
CHECK GAGES light will come on. You still have
about 1.5 gallons (5.7 L) of fuel left, but you should
get more soon. See ªCheck Gages Lightº earlier in
this section for more information.Here are four things that some owners ask about.
None of these show a problem with your fuel gage:

At the service station, the gas pump shuts off
before the gage reads full.

It takes a little more or less fuel to fill up that the
gage indicated. For example, the gage may have
indicated the tank was half full, but it actually took
a little more or less than half the tank's capacity to
fill the tank.

The gage moves a little when you turn a corner
or speed up.

The gage doesn't go back to empty when you
turn off the ignition.
For your fuel tank capacity, see ªCapacities and
Specificationsº in the Index.

3-7
Audio Systems
Your audio system has been designed to operate easily
and give years of listening pleasure. You will get the
most enjoyment out of it if you acquaint yourself with it
first. Find out what your audio system can do and how
to operate all its controls, to be sure you're getting the
most out of the advanced engineering that went into it.
Your vehicle has a feature called Retained Accessory
Power (RAP). With RAP, you can play your audio
system even after the ignition is off. See ªRetained
Accessory Powerº in the Index.
Setting the Clock for Systems without
Radio Data System
Setting the Clock
Press and hold the HR or MIN arrow for two seconds.
Then press the HR (down) arrow until the correct hour
appears. Press and hold the MIN (up) arrow until the
correct minute appears. The clock may be set with the
ignition on or off.
Setting the Clock for Systems with
Radio Data System
Press and hold HR or MN for two seconds. Then press
and hold HR until the correct hour appears. AM or PM
will appear on the display. Press and hold MN until the
correct minute appears. The clock may be set with the
ignition on or off. The clock symbol will appear on the
display in time
-set mode.
To set the clock to the time of an FM station
broadcasting Radio Data System (RDS) information,
press and hold HR and MN at the same time for two
seconds until UPDATED and the clock symbol appear
on the display. If the time is not available from the
station, NO UPDAT will appear on the display instead.

3-13
Adjusting the Speakers
BALANCE: Press and release AUDIO until BAL
appears on the display. Then press and hold the up arrow
to move the sound to the right speakers or the down
arrow to move the sound to the left speakers. R and a
number will appear on the display when the sound is
balanced toward the right speakers. L and a number
will appear on the display when the sound is balanced
toward the left speakers. L and a zero will appear on the
display when the the sound is balanced between the
speakers. Release the up or down arrow when you find
the speaker balance you want or when the maximum or
minimum level is reached.
FADE: Press and release AUDIO until FAD appears on
the display. Then press and hold the up arrow to move
the sound to the front speakers or the down arrow to
move the sound to the rear speakers. ªFº and a number
will appear on the display when the sound is balanced
toward the front speakers. ªRº and a number will appear
on the display when the sound is balanced toward the
rear speakers. F and a zero will appear on the display
when the the sound is balanced between the speakers.
Release the up or down arrow when you find the speaker
balance you want or when the maximum or minimum
level is reached.To set BALANCE or FADE to the middle position,
select the desired speaker control. Then press and hold
AUDIO for more than two seconds until you hear a
beep. L and a zero or F and a zero will appear on the
display. To set all of the tone controls and speaker
controls to the middle position, end out of audio mode.
Then press and hold AUDIO for more than two seconds
until you hear a beep. CEN will appear on the display.
Playing a Cassette Tape
Your tape player is built to work best with tapes that are
up to 30 to 45 minutes long on each side. Tapes longer
than that are so thin they may not work well in this
player. The longer side with the tape visible should face
to the right. If the ignition is on, but the radio is off, the
tape can be inserted and will begin playing. If you hear
nothing but a garbled sound, the tape may not be in
squarely. Press the eject button to remove the tape and
start over.
While the tape is playing, use the VOL, FAD, BAL,
TRE, BAS and SEEK controls just as you do for the
radio. The radio will display UP or the
 symbol if the
top side of the tape is playing. DN or the

symbol will
appear if the bottom side is playing.

3-14
If the player detects a tight or broken tape, Err (error)
will appear on the display and the player will eject the
tape. The radio will go back to playing the last
station selected.
If you want to insert a tape when the ignition is off,
first press the eject button or the RCL knob.
PREV (1): Press this button or the left SEEK arrow to
go to the previous selection on the tape if the selection
has been playing for less than 3 seconds. If the PREV
button or the left SEEK arrow is pressed and the current
selection has been playing for more than 13 seconds,
it will go to the beginning of the current selection. If the
PREV button or the left SEEK arrow is pressed and the
current selection has been playing from 3 to 13 seconds,
it will go to the beginning of the previous selection or
the beginning of the current selection, depending on the
position on the tape. FR will flash on the display while
the cassette player is in PREV mode. Your tape must
have at least three seconds of silence between each
selection for PREV to work. The sound will mute
while seeking.NEXT (2): Press this button or the right SEEK arrow to
go to the next selection on the tape. FF will flash on the
display while the cassette player is in NEXT mode. Your
tape must have at least three seconds of silence between
each selection for NEXT to work. The sound will mute
while seeking.
REV (3): Press this button to reverse the tape rapidly.
FR will appear on the display. Press it again to return
to playing speed. The radio will play the last selected
station while the tape reverses. You may select stations
during REV operation by using TUNE, SEEK, SCAN
or PRESET SCAN.
FWD (4): Press this button to advance quickly to
another part of the tape. FF will appear on the display.
Press the button again to return to playing speed. The
radio will play the last selected station while the tape
advances. You may select stations during FWD
operation by using TUNE, SEEK, SCAN or
PRESET SCAN.
SIDE (5): Press this button to play the other side of
the tape.

3-18
Adjusting the Speakers
BALANCE: Press and release AUDIO until BAL
appears on the display. Then press and hold the up arrow
to move the sound to the right speakers or the down
arrow to move the sound to the left speakers. ªRº and
a number will appear on the display when the sound is
balanced toward the right speakers. ªLº and a number
will appear on the display when the sound is balanced
toward the left speakers. L and a zero will appear on the
display when the the sound is balanced between the
speakers. Release the up or down arrow when you find
the speaker balance you want or when the maximum or
minimum level is reached.
FADE: Press and release AUDIO until FAD appears on
the display. Then press and hold the up arrow to move
the sound to the front speakers or the down arrow to
move the sound to the rear speakers. ªFº and a number
will appear on the display when the sound is balanced
toward the front speakers. ªRº and a number will appear
on the display when the sound is balanced toward the
rear speakers. F and a zero will appear on the display
when the the sound is balanced between the speakers.
Release the up or down arrow when you find the speaker
balance you want or when the maximum or minimum
level is reached.To set BALANCE or FADE to the middle position,
select the desired speaker control. Then press and hold
AUDIO for more than two seconds until you hear a
beep. L and a zero or F and a zero will appear on the
display. To set all of the tone controls and speaker
controls to the middle position, end out of audio mode.
Then press and hold AUDIO for more than two seconds
until you hear a beep. CEN will appear on the display.
Playing a Compact Disc
Insert a disc partway into the slot, label side up. The player
will pull it in. The disc should begin playing. The display
will show CD. If you want to insert a compact disc with
the ignition off, first press RCL or the eject button.
If you're driving on a very rough road or if it's very
hot, the disc may not play and Err (error) may appear
on the display. When the road becomes smooth or the
temperature returns to normal, the disc should play.
If the disc comes out, it could be that:

The disc is upside down.

It is dirty, scratched or wet.

It is very humid. (If so, wait about an hour and
try again.)
If any error occurs repeatedly or if an error can't be
corrected, please contact your dealer.