open hood Oldsmobile Bravada 2003 Owner's Manuals

To Use the Engine Coolant Heater
1. Turn off the engine.
2. Open the hood and unwrap the electrical cord. The
cord is located on the driver’s side of the engine
compartment, behind the battery.
3. Plug it into a normal, grounded 1 IO-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
CAUTION: (Continued) three-prong 110-volt
AC
o-.-.et. If the cc. -
won’t reach, use a heavy-duty three-prong
extension cord rated for at least 15 amps.
4. Before starting the engine, be sure to unplug and
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 dealer in the area where you’ll be parking your
vehicle. The dealer can give you the best advice for that
particular area.
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California Fuel
If your vehicle is certified to meet California Emission
Standards (see the underhood emission control label), it
is designed
to operate on fuels that meet California
specifications. If this fuel is not available in states
adopting California emissions standards, your vehicle
will operate satisfactorily on fuels meeting federal specifications, but emission control system performance
may be affected. The malfunction indicator lamp may
turn on (see
Malfunction Indicator Lamp on page 3-35 )
and your vehicle may fail a smog-check test. If this
occurs, return
to your authorized GM dealer for
diagnosis. If it is determined that the condition is caused
by the type of fuel used, repairs may not
be covered
by your warranty.
Additives
To provide cleaner air, all gasolines in the United States
are now required
to contain additives that will help
prevent engine and fuel system deposits from forming,
allowing your emission control system
to work
properly. You should not have
to add anything to your
fuel. Gasolines containing oxygenates, such as
ethers and ethanol, and reformulated gasolines may be
available in your area
to contribute to clean air.
General Motors recommends
that you use these
gasolines, particularly
if they comply with the
specifications described earlier.
5-6
Notice: Your vehicle was not designed for fuel that
contains methanol. Don’t use fuel containing
methanol. It can corrode metal parts in your fuel
system and also damage the plastic and rubber
parts.
That damage wouldn’t be covered under your
warranty.
Some gasolines that are not reformulated for low
emissions may contain an octane-enhancing additive
called methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl
(MMT); ask the attendant where you buy gasoline
whether the fuel contains
MMT. General Motors does
not recommend the use
of such gasolines. Fuels
containing MMT can reduce the life of spark plugs and
the performance of the emission control system may
be affected. The malfunction indicator lamp may turn on.
If this occurs, return to your authorized GM dealer for
service.
Fuels in Foreign Countries
If you plan on driving in another country outside the
United States or Canada, the proper fuel may be hard
to find. Never use leaded gasoline or any other fuel
not recommended in the previous text on fuel. Costly
repairs caused by use of improper fuel wouldn’t be
covered by your warranty.
To check the fuel availability, ask an auto club, or
contact a major oil company that does business in the
country where you’ll be driving.

Checking Things Under the Hood
Things that burn can get on hot engine parts
and start
a fire. These include liquids like fuel,
oil, coolant, brake fluid, windshield washer and
other fluids, and plastic or rubber. You or
others could be burned. Be careful not to drop
or spill things that
will burn onto a hot engine.
Hood Release
To open the hood, first
pull the handle located
inside the vehicle
on the lower driver’s side
of the instrument
panel.
5-1 0

Engine Compartment Overview
When you open the hood you’ll see the following:
5-1 2
. .

If Steam Is Coming From Your Engine
Stean, ,;on, ,n c,,rheated engine L.. ,urn
you badly, even
if you just open the hood. Stay
away from the engine
if you see or hear steam
coming from
it. Just turn it off and get
CAUTION: (Continued)
U
everyone away from the vehicle until it cools
down. Wait until there is no
sign of steam or
coolant before you open the hood.
If you keep driving when your engine
is
overheated, the liquids in it can catch fire. You
or others could be badly burned. Stop your
engine if
it overheats, and get out of the
vehicle
until the engine is cool.
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 an engine 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:
0 Climb a long hill on a hot day
Stop after high-speed driving
Idle for long periods in traffic
9 Tow a trailer
5-25

If you get the overheat warning with no sign of steam,
try this for a minute or
so:
1. In heavy traffic, let the engine idle in neutral while
stopped.
If it is safe to do so, pull off the road, shift
to
PARK (P) or NEUTRAL (N) and let the
engine idle.
speed and open the window as necessary.
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 and you have not stopped, pull
over, stop, and park your vehicle right away.
2. Turn on your heater to full hot at the highest fan
If there’s still no sign of steam, you can push down the
accelerator until the engine speed
is about twice as
fast as normal idle speed for at least three minutes while
you’re parked.
If you still have the warning, turn off
the 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.
Cooling System
When you decide it’s safe to lift the hood, here’s what
you’ll see:
A. Coolant Recovery Tank
B. Radiator Pressure Cap
C. Engine Fan
If the coolant inside the coolant recovery tank is boiling,
don’t do anything else until it
cools down. The vehicle
should be parked on a level surface.
5-26

4. Open both hoods and locate the batteries. Find the positive
(+) and negative (-) terminals on each
battery. Your vehicle has a remote negative
(-) jump
starting terminal. You should always use this
remote terminal instead of the terminal on the
battery. The remote negative
(-) terminal is located
on the front engine lift bracket and
is marked
“GND.” See Engine Compartment Overview on
page 5-72 for more information on location.
Using a match near
a battery can cause battery
gas to explode. People have been hurt doing
this, and some have been blinded. Use a flashlight
if you need more light.
Be sure the battery has enough water. You
don’t need to add water to the ACDelco@
battery installed in your new vehicle. But if a battery has filler caps, be sure the right
amount of fluid
is there. If it is low, add water
to take care of that first.
If you don’t, explosive
gas could be present.
CAUTION: (Continued) Battery fluid contains acid thal
~ m bul..
you.
Don’t get
it on you. If you accidentally get it in
your eyes or on your skin, flush the place with water and get medical help immediately.
Fans
or other moving engine parts can in,-.-’e
you badly. Keep your hands away from moving
parts once the engine is running.
5-40