towing DODGE SPRINTER 2004 1.G User Guide

180 STARTING AND OPERATINGTowing a TrailerThere are many different laws, including speed limit
restrictions, having to do with trailer towing. Make
sure that your vehicle-trailer combination will be legal,
not only for where you reside, but also for where you
will be driving. A good source for this information can
be the police or local authorities.
Before you start driving with the trailer, check the
trailer hitch, break-away switch, safety chains,
electrical connections, lighting and tires. Also adjust
the mirrors to permit unobstructed view beyond rear
of trailer.
If the trailer has electric brakes, start your vehicle and
trailer moving slowly, and then apply only the trailer
brake controller by hand to be sure the brakes are
working properly.
When towing a trailer, check occasionally to be sure
that the load is secure, and that lighting and trailer
brakes (if so equipped) are functioning properly.
Always secure items in the trailer to prevent load shifts
while driving.Take into consideration that when towing a trailer, the
handling characteristics are different and less stable
from those when operating the vehicle without a
trailer. It is important to avoid sudden maneuvers. The
vehicle and trailer combination is heavier, and
therefore is limited in acceleration and climbing ability,
and requires longer stopping distances. It is more
prone to reacting to side wind gusts, and requires more
sensitive steering input.
In order to gain skill and an understanding of the
vehicle’s behavior, you should practice turning, stopping
and backing up in an area which is free from traffic.If possible, do not brake abruptly, but rather engage
the brake slightly at first to permit the trailer to activate
its brake. Then increase the braking force.
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STARTING AND OPERATING 181
5
WARNING!
Take into consideration that when towing a trail-
er, the handling characteristics are different and
less stable from those when operating the vehicle
without a trailer.
It is important to avoid sudden maneuvers.
Sudden maneuvers may lead to loss of control
over the vehicle-trailer combination. This could
cause an accident resulting in property damage or
injury to you or others.
CAUTION!
If the transmission hunts between gears on
inclines, manually shift to a lower gear (select
"4",
"3", "2" or
"1"). A lower gear and reduction of
speed reduces the chance of engine overloading
and / or overheating.
When going down a long hill, shift into a lower
gear and use the engine’s braking effect. Avoid
riding the brakes, thus overheating the vehicle
and trailer brakes.
If the engine coolant rises to an extremely high
temperature (coolant temperature needle
approaching the red zone) when the air
conditioner is on, turn off the air conditioner.
Engine coolant heat can be additionally vented by
opening the windows, switching the climate
control fan speed to high and setting the
temperature control to the maximum hot position.
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WHAT TO DO IN EMERGENCIES
6
CONTENTS
Hazard Warning Flasher Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Vehicle Tool Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Changing the Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187Spare Wheel Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Jack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192Using the Jack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Removing a Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Installing a Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Towing the Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200If the Engine is Damaged . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201If the Transmission is Damaged . . . . . . . . . . . . 201If the Front Axle is Damaged . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202If the Rear Axle is Damaged . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
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200 WHAT TO DO IN EMERGENCIES1. First connect the positive terminals of the two
batteries (see illustration, Items 1 + 2). Start with the
booster battery.
2. Then connect the negative terminal of the vehicle
with the booster battery to a vehicle ground point
of the vehicle with the discharged battery, such as
to the engine block (see illustration, Items 3 + 4).
Start with the booster battery.
3. Start the engine in the customary manner.
4. Allow the engine to run for a short time.
5. Before disconnecting the jumper cables from the
vehicle with the booster battery, switch on an
electrical consumer (e.g. the blower, but not the
lamps).
6. Disconnect the jumper cables in the reverse order to
that in which they were connected.
7. Disconnect the jumper cable from negative
terminal and vehicle ground point first (see
illustration, items 3 + 4), then from positive
terminals of the batteries (see illustration 1 + 2).
NOTE: Never try to start the engine with the aid of a
battery quick-charge unit.
TOWING THE VEHICLE
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WHAT TO DO IN EMERGENCIES 201
6
If the Engine is DamagedFor towing distances up to 30 miles (about 50 km)
 Shift selector lever to "N" position.
 Do not exceed a towing speed of 30 mph (50 km / h).
For towing distances greater than 30 miles (about
50 km)
 Remove the propeller shafts leading to the drive
axles.
The vehicle can be towed without restriction.If the Transmission is Damaged Remove the propeller shafts leading to the drive
axles.
WARNING!
Do not tow the vehicle if the key cannot be turned
in the ignition lock.
If the key cannot be turned, the ignition lock re-
mains locked and the vehicle cannot be steered.
With the engine not running there is no power
assistance for the braking and steering systems.
In this case, it is important to keep in mind that a
considerably higher degree of effort is necessary
to brake and steer the vehicle.
The vehicle must not be towed with the front axle
raised and the key in position 2 in the ignition
lock as the drive wheels could then lock due to the
acceleration skid control (ASR) or the optional
Electronic Stability Program (ESP).
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202 WHAT TO DO IN EMERGENCIESIf the Front Axle is DamagedRaise the front axle.
 Observe the same towing restrictions as for engine
damage.
If the Rear Axle is Damaged  Raise the rear axle.
NOTE: Comply with local legal regulations regarding
towing vehicles.
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270 INDEXSeats
Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Armrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Driver’s and Front Passenger’s Seat. . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Folding Seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Head Restraint. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Lumbar Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Rear Seat Bench . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Security System with Towing and Passenger
Compartment Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Audible Alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Switching off the Alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Visual Alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Selector Lever Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Service Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Disposal of Service Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Skid Control, Acceleration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Sliding Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Snow Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170Spare Wheel Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Special Maintenance Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Speed Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Sprinter Original Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
SRS Malfunction Indicator Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Standard Fuse and Relay Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Starter Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Stopping the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Suggestions For Obtaining Service For
Your Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Sun Roof
Electrical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Mechanical Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Sun Roof, Electrical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Switch Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Switch,Starter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
TTachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
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INDEX 271
10
Tie Down Rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Tire Grip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Tire Pressure Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Tire Pressures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Tires
Changing the Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Comfort Tire Pressures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Hydroplaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Installing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Jack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Removing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Snow Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Spare Wheel Location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Tire Grip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Tire Pressures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Tire Pressures Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Tires, Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Towing a Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Towing Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Switching off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Towing Protection and Passenger Compartment
Protection Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Towing the Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
If the Engine is Damaged . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
If the Front Axle is Damaged . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
If the Rear Axle is Damaged . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
If the Transmission is Damaged . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Attaching a Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Checking Weights of Vehicle and Trailer . . . . . . 179
Electrical Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Loading a Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Parking a Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Towing a Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Trailer Hitches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Vehicle and Trailer Weights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Transmission, Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Trip Meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90Freightliner-all.book Pag e 271 Monday, December 1, 2003 2:54 PM