brake light CHEVROLET TRACKER 1997 User Guide

Remember: Anti-lock doesn’t change the time you need
to get your foot up to the brake pedal or always decrease
stopping distance. If you get too close to the vehicle in
front
of you, you won’t have time to apply your brakes
if that vehicle suddenly slows or
stops. Always leave
enough room up ahead to stop, even though you have
anti-lock brakes.
Using Anti-Lock
Don’t pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal down
and let anti-lock work for
you. You may feel the system
working, or
you may notice some noise, but this is normal.
ABS
ACTIVE
When your anti-lock system
is adjusting brake pressure
to help avoid a braking skid,
this light will come on. See
“Anti-Lock Brake System
Active Light” in
the Index.
Braking in Emergencies
At some time, nearly every driver gets into a situation
that requires hard braking.
If you have anti-lock, you can steer and brake at the
same time. However,
if you don’t have anti-lock, your
first reaction
-- to hit the brake pedal hard and hold it
down
-- may be the wrong thing to do. Your wheels
can stop rolling. Once they do, the vehicle can’t respond
to your steering. Momentum will carry it in whatever
direction it was headed when the wheels stopped rolling.
That could be off the road, into the very thing you were
trying to avoid, or into traffic.
If you don’t have anti-lock, use a “squeeze” braking
technique. This will give you maximum braking while
maintaining steering control.
You do this by pushing on
the brake pedal with steadily increasing pressure.
In
an emergency, you will probably want to squeeze the
brakes hard without locking the wheels. If
you hear or
feel the wheels sliding, ease
off the brake pedal. This
will help you retain steering control. (If you
do have
anti-lock, it’s different: see “Anti-Lock Brakes” in
the Index.)
In many emergencies, steering can help you more than
even the very best braking.
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Driving Downhill
When off-roading takes you downhill, you’ll want to
consider a number of things:
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0
0
0
How steep is the downhill? Will I be able to maintain
vehicle control?
What’s the surface like? Smooth? Rough? Slippery?
Hard-packed dirt? Gravel?
Are there hidden surface obstacles? Ruts? Logs?
Boulders?
What’s at the bottom
of the hill? Is there a hidden
creek bank or even a river bottom with large rocks?
If you decide you can go down a hill safely, then try to
keep your vehicle headed straight down, and use a low
gear. This way, engine drag can help your brakes and
they won’t have to do all the work. Descend slowly,
keeping your vehicle under control at all times.
Heavy braking when going down a hill can cause
your brakes to overheat and fade.
This could cause
loss
of control and a serious accident. Apply the
brakes lightly when descending a
hill and use a low
gear to keep vehicle speed under control.
&= Are there some things I should not do when
A: Yes! These are important because if you ignore them
driving down a hill?
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0
you could lose control and have a serious accident.
When driving downhill, avoid turns that take you
across the incline of the hill. A hill that’s not too
steep to drive down may be too steep to drive across.
You could roll over if you don’t drive straight down.
Never
go downhill with the transmission in
NEUTRAL (N), or with the clutch pedal depressed
in a manual shift.
This is called “free-wheeling.”
Your brakes will have to do all the work and could
overheat and fade.
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Driving in Water
Light rain causes no special off-road driving problems.
But heavy rain can mean flash flooding, and flood
waters demand extreme caution.
Find out how deep the water is before you drive through
it. If it’s deep enough to cover your wheel hubs, axles or
exhaust pipe, don’t try
it -- you probably won’t get
through. Also, water that deep can damage your axle
and other vehicle parts.
If the water isn’t too deep, then drive through it slowly.
At fast speeds, water splashes
on your ignition system
and your vehicle can stall. Stalling can also occur if you
get your tailpipe under water. And, as long as your
tailpipe is under water, you’ll never be able to start your
engine. When you go through water, remember that
when your brakes get wet,
it may take you longer
to stop.
Driving through rushing water can be dangerous.
Deep water can sweep your vehicle downstream
and you and your passengers could drown.
If it’s
only shallow water, it can still wash away the
ground from under your tires, and
you could lose
traction and roll the vehicle over. Don’t drive
through rushing water.
See “Driving Through Water” in the Index for more
information on driving through water.
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Driving too fast through large water puddles or even
going through some car washes can cause problems, too.
The water may affect your brakes. Try to avoid puddles.
But if you can’t, try to
slow down before you hit them.
Wet brakes can cause accidents. They won’t work
as well in
a quick stop and may cause pulling to
one side. You could lose control
of the vehicle.
After driving through
a large puddle of water or
a car wash, apply your brake pedal lightly until
your brakes work normally.
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Some driving conditions or climates may cause a brake
squeal when the brakes are first applied or lightly
applied. This does not mean something is wrong with
your brakes.
Properly torqued wheel
nuts are necessary to help
prevent brake pulsation. When tires are rotated, inspect
brake pads for wear and evenly torque wheel nuts in the
proper sequence to GM specifications.
Your rear drum brakes don’t have wear indicators, but if
you ever hear a rear brake rubbing noise, have the rear
brake linings inspected. Also, the rear brake drums
should be removed and inspected each time the tires
are removed for rotation or changing. When you
have the front brakes replaced, have
the rear brakes
inspected, too.
Brake linings should always be replaced as complete
axle sets.
See “Brake System Inspection”
in Section 7 of this
manual under Part
C “Periodic Maintenance
Inspections”.
Brake Pedal Travel
See your dealer if the brake pedal does not return to
normal height, or
if there is a rapid increase in pedal
travel. This could be a sign
of brake trouble.
Brake Adjustment
Every time you make a brake stop, your disc brakes
adjust for wear.
Replacing Brake System Parts
The braking system on a modern vehicle is complex. Its
many parts have to be of top quality and work well
together if the vehicle is to have really good braking. Your
vehicle was designed and tested with top-quality
GM
brake parts. When you replace parts of your braking
system
-- for example, when your brake linings wear
down and you have to have new ones put in
-- be sure you
get new approved
GM replacement parts. If you don’t,
your brakes may
no longer work properly. For example, if
someone puts in brake linings that are wrong for your
vehicle, the balance between your front and rear brakes
can change
-- for the worse. The braking performance
you’ve come to expect can change
in many other ways if
someone puts in
the wrong replacement brake parts.
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Main Fuse Block
The main fuse box in your engine compartment protects
all electrical loads.
For access
to the main fuses, pull off the cover. A spare
fuse
is also inside the fuse box.
Fuse
BATT
ABS
IG
LAMP
H/L,
R
H/L, L
FI
AIC
Usage
All Electrical Load
Anti-Lock Brake System
Ignition, Lighter, Radio, Wipermasher,
Rear Defogger, Turn Signals, Back-up
Lamps, Heater
Taillamps, Dome Lamps, Stop Lamps, Horn,
Hazard Lamps
Right Side Headlamp
Left Side Headlamp
Fuel Injection System
Air Conditioning
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Gem Section 9 Index
Adding Equipment to the Outside of Your Vehicle ..... 6-3
AirBag
....................................... 1-25
Adding Equipment
............................ 1-3 1
How Does it Restrain
.......................... 1-29
How it Works
................................ 1-27
Location
.................................... 1-27
Readiness Light
......................... 1-26. 2-63
Servicing ................................... 1-30
What Makes it Inflate
.......................... 1-28
What Will
You See After it Inflates ............... 1-29
When Should it Inflate
......................... 1-28
Aircleaner
.................................... 6-14
Air Conditioning
................................ 3-3
Air Conditioning Refrigerants
..................... 6-64
Alignment and Balance. Tire
...................... 6-46
Aluminum Wheels. Cleaning
...................... 6-55
Antenna
...................................... 3-19
Antifreeze
..................................... 6-23
Anti-Lock Brake System Active Light
................. 2-66. 4-9
Brake System Warning Light
................ 2-65. 4-7
Brakes
...................................... 4-7
Appearance Care
............................... 6-48
Appearance Care Materials
....................... 6-57 Arbitration
Program
.............................. 8-9
Ashtrays ...................................... 2-43
Audio Systems
.................................. 3-6
Automatic
Overdrive
................................... 2-14
Overdrive Off Switch
.......................... 2-14
Automatic Transmission
.......................... 2-9
Check
...................................... 7-50
Fluid
....................................... 6-16
Operation
................................... 2-10
Park Mechanism Check ........................ 7-52
Shifting
..................................... 2-10
Starting Your Engine
........................... 2-9
Axle. Front .................................... 6-23
Axle. Rear
.................................... 6-21
Battery
...................................... 6-33
Jump Starting
................................. 5-3
Warnings
................................ 5-3, 5-5
BBB Auto Line
................................. 8-9
Better Business Bureau Mediation ................... 8-9
Blizzard ...................................... 4-42
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Brake Adjustment
.................................. 6-32
Fluid
....................................... 6-29
Master Cylinder
.............................. 6-29
Parking
..................................... 2-21
PedalTravel
................................. 6-32
Replacing System
Parts ........................ 6-32
System Warning Light
......................... 2-64
Trailer
...................................... 4-53
Transmission Shift Interlock
.................... 2-25
Transmission Shift Interlock Check
............... 7-5 1
Wear
....................................... 6-31
Brakes, Anti-Lock
............................... 4-7
Braking
........................................ 4-6
Braking
in Emergencies ........................... 4-9
Break-In, New Vehicle
........................... 2-7
Brightness Control
.............................. 2-38
BTSI
......................................... 2-25
BTSICheck
................................... 7-51
Bulb Replacement
.............................. 6-33
Canadian Roadside Assistance
.................... 8-7
Canvas Top Lowering and Raising
......................... 2-50
Preparing for Storage
.......................... 2-56
Removing and Installing
....................... 2-55
Capacities and Specifications
...................... 6-62
Carbon Monoxide
..................... 2-5,2-27, 4-43
Cassette Deck Service
........................... 7-49
Cassette Tape Player
........................ 3-8, 3-11
Cassette Tape Player Care
........................ 3- 1 8
CD Player Theft-Deterrent Feature ................. 3 - 15 Center
High-Mounted Stoplamp Bulb Replacement
.... 6-39
Certification Label
.............................. 4-47
Chains. Safety
................................. 4-53
Chains. Tire
................................... 6-48
Changing a Flat Tire
............................. 5-23
Charging System Light
.......................... 2-63
Checking Your Restraint Systems
.................. 1-45
Chemical Paint Spotting
.......................... 6-56
Child Restraints
........................... 1-35. 1-36
Securing in a Rear Seat Position
................. 1-37
Securing in the Right Front Seat Position
.......... 1-39
TopStrap
................................... 1-37
WheretoPut
................................ 1-36
Circuit Breakers and Fuses
....................... 6-59
Cleaner. Air
................................... 6-14
Cleaning Aluminum Wheels
............................ 6-55
Canvas Top and Plastic Window
................. 6-54
Exterior LampsLenses
........................ 6-53
Fabric
...................................... 6-49
Glass Surfaces
............................... 6-52
Inside of Your Ceo
............................ 6-49
Instrument Panel
............................. 6-51
Outside of Your Geo .......................... 6-53
Stains
...................................... 6-50
Tires
....................................... 6-55
Vinyl
....................................... 6-51
Wheels
..................................... 6-55
Cigarette Lighter
............................... 2-43
Special Problems
............................. 6-50
Windshield and Wiper Blades
................... 6-52
Climate Control System
........................... 3-2
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Methanol ...................................... 6-4
Mirrors
....................................... 2-39
Convex Outside
.............................. 2-41
ManualAdjust
............................... 2-40
Power Remote Control
......................... 2-40
MMT
......................................... 6-4
ModelReference
................................. 111
Mountain Roads ................................ 4-38
Multifunction Lever
............................. 2-29
...
Neutral. Automatic Transmission ................. 2- 12
Neutral. Manual Transmission
..................... 2- 15
New Vehicle Break-In
............................ 2-7
Nightvision
................................... 4-31
Odometer
.................................... 2-61
Odometer. Trip
................................. 2-61
Off-Road Driving
.............................. 4- 15
Off-RoadRecovery
............................. 4-12
Oil. Engine
.................................... 6-10
Oil Pressure Light
......................... 2.69. 6. IO
Overdrive. Automatic Transmission ................ 2- 14
Overdrive Off Light ............................. 2-71
Overheating Engine
............................. 5 . 13
Owner Checks and Services
....................... 7-49
Owner Publications. Ordering
..................... 8- 11
Paint Spotting. Chemical
........................ 6-56
Park
Automatic Transmission
....................... 2- 10 Shifting Into
................................. 2-23
Shifting Out of
............................... 2-25
AtNight
..................................... 2-6
Brake
...................................... 2-21
Brake Mechanism Check
....................... 7-52
Over Things That Burn
........................ 2-26
With a Trailer
................................ 4-55
Your Vehicle. Manual Transmission
.............. 2-26
Parking Lamp Bulb Replacement
.................. 6-35
Passenger Position
......................... 1.25. 1-31
Parking
Passing
....................................... 4-12
Periodic Maintenance Inspections
.................. 7-53
DoorLocks
................................... 2-4
Remote Control Mirror
........................ 2-40
Steering
.................................... 4-10
Steering Fluid
................................ 6-26
Windows
................................... 2-28
Power Indicator Light
........................... 2-70
Power Mode Selector Switch
...................... 2-14
Pregnancy. Use of Safety Belts
.................... 1-24
Problems on the Road
............................ 5-1
Publications. Service and Owner ................... 8-11
Radiator. Coolant .............................. 5-20
Radiator Pressure Cap
........................... 6-26
Radio Reception
................................ 3-17
Radios ............................... 3-7.3-8. 3-11
Rain. Driving In
................................ 4-32
Preparing
Your Canvas Top for Storage ............. 2-56
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