turn signal Oldsmobile Aurora 1997 s User Guide

The Aurora instrument panel is designed to let you know at a glance how your vehicle is running. You’ll know how
fast you’re going, how much fuel you’re using, and many other things you’ll need to drive safely and economically.
The main components
of your instrument panel are:
1. Power Mirrors Control Switch
2.
Fog Lamp Switch
3. Turn Signal/Multifunction Lever
4. Instrument Cluster/Gages
5. Hazard Warning Flashers Switch
6.
Horn
7. Windshield Wipermasher Control
8. Driver Information Center
9. Climate Controls
10. Audio System
11. Glove Box (Trunk Security Override Switch inside)
12. Passenger Side Air Bag
13. Accessory Power Outlet
14. Gearshift Lever
15. Selectable Shift
16. Traction Control Button
17. Ashtray and Lighter
18. Fuel Door Release Switch
19. Trunk Release Switch
20. Steering Wheel Touch Controls for Audio System
21. Ignition Switch
22. Driver Side Air Bag
23. Tilt Steering Wheel Lever
24. Steering Wheel Touch Controls for Climate
Control System
25. Twilight Sentinel Control
26. Instrument Panel Intensity Control/Interior
Lamp Control

Care of Your Cassette Tape Player
A tape player that is not cleaned regularly can cause
reduced sound quality, ruined cassettes or a damaged
mechanism. Cassette tapes should be stored in their
cases away from contaminants, direct sunlight and
extreme heat. If they aren’t, they may not operate
properly
or may cause failure of the tape player.
Your tape player should be cleaned regularly after every
50 hours of use. Your radio may display CLN to indicate
that you have used your tape player for
50 hours without
resetting the tape clean timer.
If this message appears on
the display, your cassette tape player needs to be
cleaned.
It will still play tapes, but you should clean it as
soon as possible to prevent damage to your tapes and
player.
If you notice a reduction in sound quality, try a
known good cassette to see if it is the tape or the tape
player at fault. If this other cassette has no improvement
in sound quality, clean the tape player.
Cleaning may be done with a scrubbing action,
non-abrasive cleaning cassette with pads which scrub
the tape head as the hubs of the cleaner cassette
turn.
You may also choose a non-scrubbing action, wet-type
cleaner which uses a cassette with a fabric belt to clean
the tape head. This type of cleaning cassette may not
clean as thoroughly as the scrubbing type cleaner.
After you clean the player, press and hold
EJECT for
five seconds to reset the CLN indicator. The radio will
display
--- to show the indicator was reset.
Cassettes are subject to wear and the sound quality may
degrade over time. Always make sure that the cassette
tape is in good condition before you have your tape
player serviced.
Care of Your Compact Discs
Handle discs carefully. Store them in their original cases
or other protective cases and away from direct sunlight
and dust.
If the surface of a disc is soiled, dampen a
clean, soft cloth
in a mild, neutral detergent solution and
clean it, wiping from the center to the edge.
Be sure never to touch the signal surface when handling
discs. Pick up discs by grasping the outer edges or the
edge
of the hole and the outer edge.
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Do not get too close to the vehicle you want to pass
while you’re awaiting an opportunity. For one thing,
following too closely reduces your area of vision,
especially if you’re following a larger vehicle. Also,
you won’t have adequate space if the vehicle
ahead suddenly slows or stops. Keep back a
reasonable distance.
When it looks like a chance to pass is coming up,
start to accelerate but stay in the right lane and don’t
get
too close. Time your move so you will be
increasing speed
as the time comes to move into the
other lane.
If the way is clear to pass, you will have a
“running start” that more than makes up for the
distance you would lose by dropping back. And if
something happens to cause you to cancel your pass,
you need only slow down and drop back again and
wait for another opportunity.
0 If other cars are lined up to pass a slow vehicle, wait
your turn. But take care that someone isn’t trying to
pass you as you pull out to pass the slow vehicle.
Remember to glance over your shoulder and check
the blind spot.
Check your mirrors, glance over your shoulder, and
start your left lane change signal before moving out
of the right lane to pass. When you are far enough
ahead of the passed vehicle to see its front in your
inside mirror, activate your right lane change signal
and move back into the right lane. (Remember that
your right outside mirror is convex. The vehicle you
just passed may seem to be farther away from you
than it really is.)
0 Try not to pass more than one vehicle at a time on
two-lane roads. Reconsider before passing the
next vehicle.
0 Don’t overtake a slowly moving vehicle too rapidly.
Even though the brake lamps are not flashing, it may
be slowing down or starting to turn.
0 If you’re being passed, make it easy for the
following driver to get ahead of you. Perhaps you
can ease a little to the right.
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Driving in Rain and on Wet Roads
c
Rain and wet roads can mean driving trouble. On a wet
road, you can’t stop, accelerate or
turn as well because
your tire-to-road traction isn’t as good as on dry roads.
And, if your tires don’t have much tread left, you’ll get
even less traction. It’s always wise to go slower and be
cautious if rain starts to fall while you are driving. The
surface may get wet suddenly when your reflexes are
tuned for driving on dry pavement.
The heavier the rain, the harder it is to see. Even if your
windshield wiper blades are in good shape, a heavy rain
can make
it harder to see road signs and traffic signals,
pavement markings, the edge
of the road and even
people walking.
It’s wise
to keep your windshield wiping equipment in
good shape and keep your windshield washer tank filled
with washer fluid. Replace your windshield wiper
inserts when they show signs
of streaking or missing
areas on the Windshield, or when strips
of rubber start to
separate from the inserts.
4-18

City Driving Here are ways to increase your safety in city driving:
Know the best way to get to where you are going.
Get a city map and plan your trip into an unknown
part
of the city just as you would for a
cross-country trip.
Try to use the freeways that rim and crisscross most
large cities. You’ll save time and energy. (See the
next part, “Freeway Driving.”)
Treat a green light as a warning signal. A traffic light
is there because the corner is busy enough to need it.
When a light turns green, and just before you start to
move, check both ways for vehicles that have not
cleared
the intersection or may be running the
red light.
One of the biggest problems with city streets is the
amount of traffic
on them. You’ll want to watch out for
what the other drivers are doing and pay attention to
traffic signals.
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Freeway Driving The most important advice on freeway driving is: Keep
up with traffic and keep to the right. Drive at the same
speed most of the other drivers are driving. Too-fast or
too-slow driving breaks a smooth traffic flow. Treat the
left lane on a freeway as a passing lane.
At the entrance, there is usually a ramp that leads to the
freeway. If you have a clear view of the freeway as you
drive along the entrance ramp, you should begin to
check traffic. Try to determine where you expect to
blend with the flow. Try to merge into the gap at close to
the prevailing speed. Switch on your
turn signal, check
your mirrors and glance over your shoulder as often as
necessary. Try to blend smoothly with the traffic flow.
Once you are on the freeway, adjust your speed to the
posted limit or to the prevailing rate
if it’s slower. Stay
in the right lane unless you want to pass.
Before changing lanes, check your mirrors. Then use
your turn signal.
Mile
for mile, freeways (also called thruways, parkways,
expressways, turnpikes or superhighways)
are the safest
of all roads. But they have their own special rules.
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Making Turns
I NOTICE:
Making very sharp turns while trailering could
cause the trailer to come in contact with the
vehicle. Your vehicle could be damaged. Avoid
making very sharp turns while trailering.
When you’re turning with a trailer, make wider turns than
normal.
Do this so your trailer won’t strike soft shoulders,
curbs, road signs,
trees or other objects. Avoid jerky or
sudden maneuvers. Signal well in advance.
Turn Signals When Towing a Trailer
The green arrows on your instrument panel will flash
whenever you signal a turn or lane change. Properly
hooked up, the trailer lamps will also flash, telling other
drivers you’re about to turn, change lanes or stop.
When towing a trailer, the green arrows
on your
instrument panel will flash for turns even
if the bulbs on
the trailer are burned out. Thus, you may think drivers
behind you
are seeing your signal when they are not. It’s
important to check occasionally to be sure the trailer
bulbs are still working. Your
vehicle may have bulb warning messages. When
you plug a trailer lighting system into your vehicle’s
lighting system, its bulb warning messages may not let
you know
if one of your lamps goes out. So, when you
have a trailer lighting system plugged in, be sure to
check your vehicle and trailer lamps from time
to time
to be sure they’re all working. Once you disconnect the
trailer lamps, the bulb warning messages again can tell
you if one
of your vehicle lamps is out.
Driving On Grades
Reduce speed and shift to a lower gear before you start
down a long or steep downgrade.
If you don’t shift
down, you might have
to use your brakes so much that
they would get hot and no longer work well.
Parking on Hills
You really should not park your vehicle, with a trailer
attached, on a hill. If something goes wrong, your rig
could start to move. People can be injured, and both
your vehicle and the trailer can be damaged.
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Hazard Warning Flashers
I
Your hazard warning flashers let you warn others. They
also let police know you have a problem. Your front and
rear turn signal lamps will flash on and
off.
The HAZARD light on the
instrument panel will also
come on.
Your hazard flashers work
your key
is in, and even if
the key isn't in. HAZARD A no matter what position
To turn off the flashers, press the button down again.
When the flashers are on, your turn signals won't work.
5-2

Exterior Front Bulbs If more hand clearance is required, remove the air
cleaner assembly as follows:
A. Front Wrn Signal
B. Headlamps
The entire front headlamp assembly must be removed to
replace the headlamps and front turn signal bulbs.
You
may find it easier to remove the air cleaner assembly
when replacing bulbs on the driver’s side.
1. Remove the radiator hose fi-om the resonator channel.
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Front Turn Signal
The turn signal bulb is on the inboard edge of the
headlamp assembly.
To replace a bulb, do the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Remove the headlamp assembly if you need more
hand clearance.
Reach in and press the locking tab while twisting the
bulb assembly one-quarter of a turn
counterclockwise.
Replace the bulb and reverse Step
2 to reassemble.
If you removed the headlamp assembly, reassemble
it by aligning the pin and tightening the two bolts to
secure
it.
Headlamp Aiming
Your vehicle has the composite headlamp system. These
headlamps have horizontal and vertical aim indicators.
The aim has been pre-set at the factory and should need
no further adjustment.
If your vehicle is damaged in an accident and the
headlamp aim seems
to be affected, see your Aurora
retailer. Headlamps on damaged vehicles may require
recalibration
of the horizontal aim by your Aurora retailer.
To check the aim, the vehicle should be properly
prepared as
follows:
e
0
e
The vehicle must have all four tires on a perfectly
level surface.
The vehicle should not have
any snow, ice or mud
attached to it.
There should not be any cargo or loading of the
vehicle, except it should have a full tank
of gas and
one person or
160 lbs. (75 kg) on the driver’s seat.
Tires should be properly inflated.
I NOTICE:
To make sure your headlamps are aimed
properly, read all the instructions before
beginning. Failure to
follow these instructions
could cause damage to headlamp parts.
State inspection stations will allow a vertical reading of
plus
0.76 degrees or minus 0.76 degrees from the center
of the bubble.
It is recommended that the upper limit not exceed plus
0.4 degrees from the center of the bubble. Other drivers
may flash their high beams at
you if your adjustment is
much above plus
0.4 degrees.
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