headlamp PONTIAC FIREBIRD 1998 Owners Manual

Mode 1: All Off (The headlamps will not flash and the
horn
will not sound to provide you feedback that a
lockhnlock command has been received by the remote
keyless entry transmitter.)
Mode 2: Horn and Lamps/Lamps (Your horn will sound
briefly and your parking lamps will flash when you press
LOCK on the remote keyless entry transmitter. Only your parking lamps will flash when you press UNLOCK.)
Mode 3: Horn and Lamps (Your horn will sound briefly
and your parking lamps will flash every time you press
LOCK or UNLOCK.)
Mode 4: Lamps (Your parking lamps will flash every
time you press LOCK or UNLOCK.)
Mode 5: LampdHorn and LampdLamps (Your lamps will
flash upon the first press on LOCK, your lamps will flash
and your horn will sound upon the second press on LOCK
and your lamps will flash upon any press on
UNLOCK.)
Theft-Deterrent Arming Method
Your vehicle comes with this feature set in Mode 3. To
change the factory setting,
do the following:
1. Press the UNLOCK switch on the door.
2. Count the number of chimes you hear. The number
of chimes tells you which mode your vehicle is
set for.
3. Press the UNLOCK switch on the door until you
hear the number of chimes that correspond to the
mode selection you want.
Mode 1: Alarm System Off (The system will not arm.)
Mode 2: Remote Keyless Entry Transmitter Lock
(When you lock your doors using the remote keyless
entry transmitter, the system will arm itself.)
Mode 3: Remote Keyless Entry TransmitterPower
Door Lock Switch
(If you use either the remote keyless
entry transmitter or the power
door lock switch to lock
the doors, the system will
arm itself.)
Mode 4: Passive Arming and Remote Keyless Entry
TransmitterPower Door Lock Switch Arming (The
system will
arm itself after all doors are closed plus
arming per Mode
3).
2-21

Tilt Steering Wheel Turn SignaVMultifunction Lever
A tilt steering wheel allows you to adjust the steering
wheel before you drive.
You can
also raise it to the highest level to give your
legs more room when
you exit and enter the vehicle.
To tilt the wheel, hold the steering wheel and pull the
lever. Move the steering wheel
to a comfortable level,
then release the lever to lock the wheel
in place. The lever on the left
side
of the steering column
includes
your:
0 Turn Signal and Lane Change Indicator
0 Headlamp High/Low-Beam Changer and
Passing Signal
0 Windshield Wipers
0 Windshield Washer
Cruise Control (Option)
2-46

lhrn Signal and Lane Change Indicator
The turn signal has two upward (for right) and two
downward (for left) positions. These positions allow you
to signal a turn
or a lane change.
To signal a turn, move the lever all the way up or down.
When the turn is finished, the lever will retum automatically.
An arrow on the instrument
panel will flash in the
direction of the
turn or
1 lane change.
To signal a lane change, just raise or lower the lever
until
the arrow starts to flash. Hold it there until you
complete your lane change. The lever will return by
itself when you release it.
As you signal a turn or a lane change, if the arrows don’t
flash but just stay on,
a signal bulb may be burned out
and other drivers won’t see your
turn signal. If
a bulb is burned out, replace it
to help avoid an
accident. If the arrows don’t
go on at all when you
signal a turn, check the fuse (see “Fuses and Circuit
B&kers” in the Index).
Headlamp High/Low Beam
When the high-beams are
on, this light on the
instrument panel also will
be on.
To change the headlamps from low beam to high or
from high beam to low, pull the turn signal lever all the
way toward you. Then release it.
2-47

Ending Out of Cruise Control
There are several ways to turn off the cruise control:
Step lightly on the brake pedal or push the clutch
pedal, if you have a manual transmission; or
Move the cruise switch to OFF.
Erasing Speed Memory
When you turn off the cruise control or the ignition,
your cruise control
set speed memory is erased.
Exterior Lamps
-.
The main lamp control is a knob that works these lamps:
Headlamps
Taillamps
Parking Lamps
License Lamps
0 Sidemarker Lamps
0 Instrument Panel Lights
# , This setting turns on your headlamps and other
operating lamps.
pg This setting turns on your parking lamps and other
operating lamps without your headlamps.
Turn the
knob to OFF to turn off the lamps.
-‘a-
Headlamps On Reminder
If you turn the ignition off and leave the lamps on, you
will hear
a chime lasting up to five seconds. If the lamps
are still on when
you open the driver’s door, the chime
will sound
again.
2-52

Headlamp Doors Daytime Running Lamps
The headlamp doors are designed to open when you turn
the headlamps
on and close when
you turn the
headlamps off. The headlamp doors can
be opened
without turning on the headlamps by turning the
headlamps on, then turning the switch back to the
parking lamps position.
The headlamp doors should
be open when driving in
icy or snowy conditions to prevent the doors from
freezing closed, and when washing the vehicle to help
clean the headlamps.
You can open the headlamp doors manually:
1. Open the hood.
2. Remove the plastic cover from the retractor
motor knob.
3. Turn the retractor motor knob counterclockwise until
the headlamp door
is fully open. The knob will get
harder to turn when the headlamp door
is all the
way up.
4. Replace the plastic cover on the retractor motor knob. Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) can make
it easier for
others to
see the front of your vehicle during the day.
DRL can be helpful in many different driving
conditions, but they can be especially helpful in the
short periods after dawn and before sunset.
For Canadian vehicles, a light sensor on top of the
instrument panel automatically turns the headlamps on,
so be sure it isn’t covered.
The DRL system will make your front turn signal lamps
come on when:
0 The ignition is on,
the headlamp switch is OFF,
0 the parking brake is released and
0 it is bright enough outside (on Canadian vehicles).
To manually close the headlamp doors, turn the lamps
off and turn the retractor motor knob clockwise. If the
headlamp doors aren’t working properly, see your dealer
for help.
2-53

When the DlU are on, only your front turn signal
lamps will be on. The taillamps, sidemarker and other
lamps won’t be on. Your instrument panel won’t be lit
up either.
For Canadian vehicles, when it’s dark enough outside,
your front turn signal lamps will go out and your
headlamps will come on. The other lamps that come on
with your headlamps will also come on. When it’s bright
enough outside, the regular lamps will go
off, and your
front turn signal lamps will come on.
On a non-Canadian vehicle, the
DRL have to be turned
on manually when you need them. On Canadian and
domestic vehicles, when the headlamps are turned on,
the front
turn signal lamps will go out. When you use
your turn signals, the front turn signal lamp and the
taillamp on the desired side will flash.
As with any vehicle, you should turn on the regular
headlamp system when
you need it.
Fog Lamps
Use your fog lamps for better vision in foggy or misty
conditions. Your parking lamps must be on or your fog
lamps won’t work.
To turn the fog lamps on,
push the right side of the
fog lamp switch.
Push the
left side of the switch to
turn the fog lamps
off. A
light on the switch will
come on when the fog
lamps are on.
Fog lamps will
go off whenever your high-beam
headlamps come on. When the high beams go
off, the
fog lamps will come on again.
If your vehicle is equipped with the Content
Theft-Deterrent System
and your fog lamp switch is on,
the fog lamps may flash to indicate operation of the
Content Theft-Deterrent System. See “Content
Theft-Deterrent System” in the Index.

Here are some tips on night driving.
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Drive defensively.
Don’t
drink and drive.
Adjust your inside rearview mirror to reduce the
glare from headlamps behind you.
Since
you can’t see as well, you may need to
slow down and keep more space between you
and other vehicles.
Slow down, especially
on higher speed roads. Your
headlamps can light up only so much road ahead.
In remote areas, watch for animals.
If you’re tired, pull off the road in a safe place
and rest.
Night Vision
No one can see as well at night as in the daytime. But as
we get older these differences increase.
A 50-year-old
driver may require at least twice as much light to see the
same
thing at night as a 20-year-old.
What you do in the daytime
can also affect your night
vision. For example,
if you spend the day in bright
sunshine you are wise to wear sunglasses. Your eyes will have
less trouble adjusting to night. But if you’re
driving, don’t wear sunglasses at night. They may cut
down on glare from headlamps, but they
also make a lot
of things invisible.
You can be temporarily blinded by approaching
headlamps. It
can take a second or two, or even several
seconds, for your eyes to readjust to the dark. When you
are faced
with severe glare (as from a driver who
doesn’t lower the high beams, or a vehicle with
misaimed headlamps), slow down a little. Avoid staring
directly into the approaching headlamps.
Keep your windshield and all the glass on your vehicle
clean
-- inside and out. Glare at night is made much
worse by dirt on the glass. Even the inside of the glass
can build up a film caused by dust. Dirty glass makes
lights dazzle and flash more than clean glass would,
making the pupils of
your eyes contract repeatedly.
Remember that your headlamps light up far less of a
roadway when you are in a
turn or curve. Keep your
eyes moving; that way, it’s easier to pick out dimly
lighted objects. Just as your headlamps should be
checked regularly for proper aim,
so should your eyes
be examined regularly. Some drivers suffer from night
blindness
-- the inability to see in dim light -- and
aren’t even aware of it.
4-16 ~~

I A CAUTION:
I
Snow can trap exhaust gases under your vehicle.
This can cause deadly CO (carbon monoxide)
gas
to get inside. CO could overcome you and kill
you.
You can’t see it or smell it, so you might not
know it is
in your vehicle. Clear away snow from
around the base of your vehicle, especially any
that
is blocking your exhaust pipe. And check
around again from time to time to be sure snow
doesn’t collect there.
Open
a window just a little on the side of the
vehicle that’s away
f’rom the wind. This will help
keep
CO out.
Run your engine only as long as you must. This saves
fuel. When you run the engine, make it go a little faster
than just idle. That is, push the accelerator slightly.
This
uses less fuel for the heat that you get and it keeps the
battery charged. You will need a well-charged battery to
restart the vehicle, and possibly for signaling later on
with your headlamps. Let the heater run for a while.
Then, shut the engine
off and close the window almost
all the way
to preserve the heat. Start the engine again
and repeat this only when you feel really uncomfortable
from the cold. But do it as little as possible. Preserve the
fuel as long as you can.
To help keep warm, you can get
out
of the vehicle and do some fairly vigorous exercises
every half hour or
so until help comes.
4-29

Bulb Replacement
For the proper type of replacement bulb, see
“Replacement Bulbs” in the Index.
Halogen Bulbs
1 A CAUTION:
Halogen bulbs have pressurized gas inside and
can burst
if you drop or scratch the bulb. You or
others could be injured. Be sure to read and
follow the instructions on the bulb package.
Headlamps
To replace a headlamp:
1. Open the headlamp door by turning the headlamps
on, then turning the switch back to the parking lamps
position. See “Headlamp Doors” in the Index.
2. Remove the bezel using a Phillips screwdriver on the
three main screws.
6-38

t
I
3. Remove the headlamp plate that holds the bulb to the
housing, by removing the two screws on top
of the
bulb with a torx screwdriver.
'7
I
4. Pull out the bulb and disconnect the electrical connector.
5. Reverse the steps with a new bulb.
Front limn Signal
1. Using a screwdriver, remove the screws from the
access panel under the vehicle. Move the access
panel out
of the way.
2. Turn the bulb and socket counterclockwise and
gently pull out.
3. Pull out the bulb.
4. Reverse the steps with a new bulb.
6-39