overheating PONTIAC GRAND-AM 1993 Owners Manual

How to Use this Manual
Using Your 1993 Pontiac
Owner’s Manual
Many people read their owner’s manual
from beginning to end when they first
receive their new vehicle. This will help
you learn about the features and controls
for your vehicle. In this manual, you’ll
find that pictures and words work
together to explain things quickly.
There are nine parts with color-tabbed
pages
in this manual. Each part begins
with a brief list of contents,
so you can
usually tell at a glance if that part
contains the information you want.
You can bend the manual slightly to
reveal the color tabs that help you find a
part.
Part 1: Seats & Safety Belts
This part tells you how to use your seats
and safety belts properly.
Part 2: Features & Controls
This part explains how to start and
operate your Pontiac.
Part 3: Comfort Controls & Audio
Systems
This part tells you how to adjust the
ventilation and comfort controls and
how to operate your audio system.
Part 4: Your Driving and the Road
Here you’ll find helpful information and
tips about the road and how to drive
under different conditions.
Part 5: Problems on the Road
This part tells you what to do if you
have a problem while driving, such as
a
flat tire or engine overheating. ’
Part 6: Service & Appearance Care
Here the manual tells you how to keep
your Pontiac running properly and
looking good.
Part 7: Maintenance Schedule
This part tells you when to perform
vehicle maintenance and what fluids and
lubricants
to use.
Part 8: Customer Assistance
Information
This part tells you how to contact
Pontiac for assistance and how to get
service publications. It also gives you
information on
Reporting Safety Defects.
Part 9: Index
Here’s an alphabetical listing of almost
every subject in this manual. You can
use
it to quickly find something you
want to read.
Service Station Information
This is a quick reference of service
information. You can find it
on the last
page
of this manual.
3
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Fuel Gage
Your fuel gage tells you about how
much fuel you have left, when the
ignition is on. When the indicator nears
E (Empty), you still have a little fuel
left, but you should get more soon.
Here are four things that some owners
ask about. None
of these show a
problem with
your fuel gage:
At the gas station, the gas pump shuts
off before the gage reads
F (Full).
It takes a little more or less fuel to fill
up than the gage indicated. For
example, the gage may have indicated
the
tank was half full, but it actually
took a little more or less than half the
tank’s capacity to fill the tank.
The gage moves a little when you turn
The gage doesn’t go back to E when
For your fuel tank capacity, see
Service
Station Information
on the last page of
this manual. a
corner or speed up.
you turn off the ignition.
Engine Coolant Temperature
Warning Light
This light tells you that your engine
coolant has overheated or your radiator
cooling fan is not working.
If you have been operating your vehicle
under normal driving conditions, you
should pull off the road, stop your
vehicle and turn the engine
off as soon
as possible.
HOT
COOLANT CAN BURN YOU
BADLY!
In Problems on the Road, this manual
shows what to do. See the
Index under
Engine Overheating.
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Engine Coolant Temperature Gage
This gage shows the engine coolant
temperature. If the gage pointer moves
into the red area, your engine is too hot!
That reading means the same thing as
the warning light. It means that your
engine coolant has overheated.
If you have been operating your vehicle
under normal driving conditions, you
should pull
off the road, stop your
vehicle and
turn off the engine as soon
as possible.
HOT
COOLANT CAN BURN YOU
BADLY!
In Problems on the Road, this manual
shows what to do. See the
Index under
Engine Overheating.
Low Coolant Warning light
If this light comes on, your system is
low on coolant and the engine may
overheat. See the
Index under Engine
Overheating
and have your vehicle
serviced as
soon as you can.
Oil Warning Llght
If you have a problem with your oil, this
light may stay on after you
start your
engine, or come
on when you are
driving. This indicates that
oil is not
going through your engine quickly
enough to keep it lubricated. The engine
could be low on oil, or could have some
other
oil problem. Have it fixed right
away.
93
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Turn Signals When Towing a ’Railer
When you tow a trailer, your vehicle has
to have a different turn signal flasher
and extra wiring. The green arrows on
your instrument panel will flash
whenever you signal a
turn or lane
change. Properly hooked up, the trailer
lights 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.
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.
On a long uphill grade, use the highest
gear possible. If you cannot maintain
posted speeds, driving at a lower speed
may help avoid overheating your engine
and transaxle.
If you have a manual transaxle with
fifth
gear, it’s better not to use fifth gear. Just
drive in fourth gear (or, as you need to,
a lower gear).
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.
But if you ever have to park your rig on
a hill, here’s how to do it:
1. Apply your regular brakes, but don’t
shift into
P (Park) yet, or into gear
for a manual transaxle.
2. Have someone place chocks under
the trailer wheels.
3. When the wheel chocks are in place,
release the regular brakes until the chocks absorb the load.
165 DDD
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Here you’ll find what to do about
some problems that can occur on
the road.
Problems on the Road
Hazard Warning Flashers .......................................... .170
Jumpstarting
.................................................... 17 1
TowingYourPontiac .............................................. 175
Engine Overheating
.............................................. .179
If a Tire Goes Flat ............................................... -185
Changing a Flat Tire
............................................. .186
CompactSpare
................................................... 192
If You’re Stuck: In Sand, Mud, Ice or Snow ........ ............ .193
169 ...
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Engine Overheating
You will find a coolant temperature gage
or the warning light about
a hot engine
on your Pontiac’s instrument panel. See
the
Index under Coolant Temperature
Gage
and Coolant Temperature Warning
Light.
You will also find a low coolant warning
light on your Pontiac’s instrument panel.
If Steam is Coming from Your Engine:
/1 Steam from an overheated
L L engine can burn 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 everyone away
from the vehicle
until it cools down.
Wait until there is no sign of steam
or coolant before opening 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.
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Problems on the Road
Engine Overheating (CONT)
If No Steam is Coming from Your
Engine:
If you get the 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:
Climb a long hill on a hot day.
Stop after high speed driving.
Idle for long periods in traffic.
Tow a trailer.
180
If you get the overheat warning with no
sign of steam, try this for a minute or so:
1 . If you have an air conditioner, turn it
off.
2. Turn your heater to full hot at the
highest fan speed and open the window as necessary.
3. Try to keep your engine under load
(in a drive gear where the engine
runs slower).
If you no longer have the overheat
warning,
you can drive. Just to be safe,
drive slower for about ten minutes.
If
the warning doesn’t come back on, you
can drive normally.
If the warning continues, pull over, stop,
and park your vehicle right away. If there’s
still no sign of steam, you can
idle the engine for two or three minutes
while you’re parked, to
see if the
warning stops.
But then, 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.
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Cooling System
When you decide it’s safe to lift the
hood, here’s what you’ll see:
(A) Coolant surge tank with pressure cap
(B) Electric engine fan
bAU I IVIV
1 /r An electric fan under the hood
- b can start up even when the
engine is not running and can injure you. Keep hands, clothing
and tools away from any
underhood electric fan.
[f the coolant inside the coolant surge
tank is boiling, don’t do anything else
until
it cools down.
’he coolant level should be at or above
TJLL COLD.
f it isn’t, you may have a leak in the
adiator hoses, heater hoses, radiator,
dater pump or somewhere else
in the
ooling system.
A
Heater and radiator hoses, and
other engine parts, can be
very hot. Don’t touch them.
If you
do, you can be burned.
Don’t run the engine if there is a
leak. If
you run the engine, it
could lose all coolant. That could
cause an engine fire, and you could
be burned. Get any leak fixed
before
you drive the vehicle. Engine damage
from
runni
engine without coolant isn’
covered by your warranty.
there seems to be no leak, check
to
x if the electric engine fan is running.
C the engine is overheating, the fan
hould be running.
If it isn’t, your
chicle needs service.
181
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Problems on the Road
Engine Overheating (CONTJ
How to Add Coolant to the Coolant
Surge Tank:
If you haven’t found a problem yet, but
the coolant level isn’t at or above
FULL
COLD, add a 50/50 mixture of clean
water
(preferably distilled) and a proper
antifreeze at the coolant surge
tank, but
be sure the cooling system, including
the coolant surge
tank pressure cap, is
cool before
you do it. (See the Index
under Engine Coolant for more
information about the proper coolant
mix.)
182
L Steam and scalding liquids
L from a hot cooling system can
blow out and burn you badly. They
are under pressure, and if you turn
cap-evm a little-they can come
out at high speed. Never turn the
pressure cap when the cooliag
tank pressure cap, is hot. Wait for
the cooling system and coolant
you ever have to turn the pmsure
MP.
the coolant surge tank pressure
system, including the COoIant surge
surge tank pressure cap to cool if
Adding only plain water to
dangerous. Plain water, or some
other liquid like alcohol, can boil
before the proper coolant mix will.
Your vehicle’s coolant warning
system is set for the proper coolant
mix. With plain water or the
wrong mix, your engine could get
too hot but you wouldn’t get the overheat warning. Your engine
could catch fire and you or others
could be burned. Use a
50/50 mix
of
clean water and a proper
antifreeze.
k your cooling system can be I
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Problems on the Road
,
Engine Overheating (CONT.)
2. Then keep turning the pressure cap, and remove it.
Once the pressure cap is
off, look
inside the surge
tank opening and
look for a small cylinder at the base
of the opening. This should be
covered with coolant. If the cylinder
is uncovered, the coolant in your
system is low.
184
3. Fill the coolant surge tank with the
proper mix, up to
FULL COLD, or
just above the small cylinder at the
base of the opening.
4. With the coolant surge tank pressure
cap off,
start the engine and let it run
until you can feel the upper radiator
hose getting hot. Watch out for the
engine fan.
By this time, the coolant level inside
the coolant surge
tank may be lower.
If the level is lower, add more
of the
proper mix to
the coolant surge tank
until the level reaches F'ULL COLD,
or just above the small cylinder at the
base
of the opening.
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