light PONTIAC GRAND AM 1998 Service Manual

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.
Care of Your Compact Disc Player
The use of CD lens cleaner discs is not advised, due to
the
risk of contaminating the lens of the CD optics with
lubricants internal to the CD mechanism.
Fixed Mast Antenna
The fixed mast antenna can withstand most car washes
without being damaged.
If the mast should ever become
slightly bent, you can straighten it out by hand.
If the
mast is badly bent, as it might be by vandals, you should
replace it.
Check every once in a while to be sure the mast is still
tightened to the fender.

Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive in
spurts
-- heavy acceleration followed by heavy
braking
-- rather than keeping pace with traffic. This is a
mistake. Your brakes may not have time to cool between
hard stops. Your brakes will wear out much faster if you
do a lot of heavy braking. If you keep pace with the
traffic and allow realistic following distances, you will
eliminate a lot of unnecessary braking. That means
better braking and longer brake
life.
If your engine ever stops while you’re driving, brake
normally but don’t pump your brakes.
If you do, the
pedal may get harder to push down.
If your engine
stops, you will still have some power brake assist. But
you
will use it when you brake. Once the power assist is
used up, it may take longer to stop and the brake pedal
will be harder to push.
Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS)
Your vehicle has anti-lock brakes (ABS). ABS is an
advanced electronic braking system that will help
prevent a braking
skid.
When you start your engine, or when you begin to drive
away, your anti-lock brake system will check itself. You
may hear
a momentary motor or clicking noise while
this test is going on, and you may even notice that your
brake pedal moves or pulses a little.
This is normal.
If there’s a problem with the
anti-lock brake system,
this
warning light will stay on.
See “Anti-Lock Brake
System Warning Light” in
the Index.

Remember: Anti-lock doesn’t change the time you need to get your foot up to the brake pedal or always decrease
stopping distance.
If you get too close to the vehicle in
front of you, you won’t have time to apply your brakes
if that vehicle suddenly slows or stops. Always leave
enough room up ahead to stop, even though you have
anti-lock brakes.
Using Anti-Lock
Don’t pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal down
firmly and let anti-lock work for you. You may feel a
slight brake pedal pulsation
or notice some noise, but
this is normal.
Enhanced Traction System
If your vehicle has the optional four-speed automatic
transaxle,
it also has an Enhanced Traction System
(ETS) that limits wheel spin. This is especially useful in
slippery road conditions. The system operates only if it
senses that one
or both of the front wheels are spinning
or beginning to lose traction. When this happens, the
system reduces engine power and may also upshift the
transaxle
to limit wheel spin.
LOW
TRAC
This light will come on
when your Enhanced
Traction System
is limiting
wheel spin. See “Enhanced
Traction System Active
Light” in the Index.
You may
feel or hear the system working, but this
is normal.
The Enhanced Traction System operates
in all transaxle
shift lever positions. But the system can upshift the
transaxle only as high
as the shift lever position you’ve
chosen,
so you should use the lower gears only when
necessary. See “Automatic Transaxle” in the Index.
ETS
OFF
When the system is on and
the parking brake is fully
released,
this warning light
will come on to let you
know
if there’s a problem
with the system.
See “Enhanced Traction System
Warning Light” in the
Index. When
this warning light is on, the system will not
limit wheel spin. Adjust your driving accordingly.
4-9

To limit wheel spin, especially in slippery road
conditions, you should always leave the Enhanced
Traction System
on. But you can turn the system off if
you ever need to. (You should turn the system off if your
vehicle ever gets stuck in sand, mud, ice
or snow. See
“Rocking Your Vehicle” in
the Index.)
To turn the system on or off,
press the button on the shift
lever knob.
When
you turn the system off, the Enhanced Traction
System warning light will come on
and stay on. If the
Enhanced Traction System is limiting wheel spin when
you press the button to
turn the system off, the warning
light will come on
-- but the system won’t turn off right
away. It
will wait until there’s no longer a current need
to limit wheel spin. You
can turn the system
back on at any time by pressing
the button again. The Enhanced Traction System
warning light should go off.
Braking in Emergencies
With anti-lock, you can steer and brake at the same
time. In many emergencies, steering can help you more
than even the
very best braking.
Steering
Power Steering
If you lose power steering assist because the engine
stops
or the system is not functioning, you can steer but
it will take much more effort.
Variable Effort Steering (If Equipped)
This steering system provides lighter steering effort for
parking and at low vehicle speeds. Steering effort will
increase at higher speeds for improved road feel.
4-10

Off-Road Recovery
You may find that your right wheels have dropped off the
edge of a
road onto the shoulder while you’re driving.
If the level of the shoulder is only slightly below the
pavement, recovery should
be fairly easy. Ease off the
accelerator and then,
if there is nothing in the way, steer so
that your vehicle straddles the edge of the pavement. You
can tum the steering wheel up to one-quarter turn until the
right fkont tire contacts the pavement edge. Then turn your
steering wheel to go straight down the roadway.
Passing
The driver of a vehicle about to pass another on a
two-lane highway waits for just the right moment,
accelerates, moves around the vehicle ahead, then
goes
back into the right lane again. A simple maneuver?
Not necessarily! Passing another vehicle on a two-lane
highway is a potentially dangerous move, since the
passing vehicle occupies the same lane
as oncoming
trafEc for several seconds.
A miscalculation, an error in
judgment, or
a brief surrender to frustration or anger can
suddenly
put the passing driver face to face with the
worst of all tr&k accidents -- the head-on collision.
So here are some tips for passing:
“Drive ahead.” Look down the road, to the sides and to
crossroads for situations that might affect your passing
patterns. If you have any doubt whatsoever about
making a successful pass, wait for a better time.
Watch for traffic signs, pavement markings and lines.
If you can see a sign up ahead that might indicate a
turn or an intersection, delay your pass. A broken
center line usually indicates it’s all right to pass (providing the road ahead is clear). Never
cross a solid
line on your side of the lane or a double solid line,
even if the road seems empty of approaching traffic.
4-13

Driving at Night
Night driving is more dangerous than day driving. One
reason is that some drivers are likely to be impaired -- by
alcohol or
drugs, with night vision problems, or by fatigue.
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.
4-16

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.
4-17

. .. ,
Driving too fast through large water puddles or even
going through some car washes
can cause problems, too.
The water may affect your brakes. Try to avoid puddles.
But
if you can't, try to slow down before you hit them.
Wet brakes can cause accidents. They won't work
as well in a quick stop and may cause pulling to
one side. You could lose control of the vehicle.
After driving through a large puddle of water
or
a car wash, apply your brake pedal lightly until
your brakes work normally.
4-19

Hydroplaning
Hydroplaning is dangerous. So much water can build up
under your tires that they can actually ride
on the water.
This can happen if the road is wet enough and you’re
going fast enough. When your vehicle is hydroplaning,
it
has little or no contact with the road.
Hydroplaning doesn’t happen often. But it can if your
tires do not have much tread or if the pressure in one or
more
is low. It can happen if a lot of water is standing on
the road.
If you can see reflections from trees, telephone
poles or other vehicles,
and raindrops “dimple” the
water’s surface, there could be hydroplaning.
Hydroplaning usually happens at higher speeds. There
just isn’t a hard and fast rule about hydroplaning. The
best advice
is to slow down when it is raining.
Driving Through Deep Standing Water
NOTICE:
If you drive too quickly through deep puddles or
standing water, water can come in through your
engine’s air intake and badly damage your
engine. Never drive through water that is slightly
lower than the underbody
of your vehicle. If you
can’t avoid deep puddles or standing water, drive
through them very slowly.
Some Other Rainy Weather Tips
Besides slowing down, allow some extra following
distance. And be especially careful when you pass
another vehicle. Allow yourself more clear
room
ahead, and be prepared to have your view restricted
by road spray.
Have good tires with proper tread depth. (See
“Tires” in the Index.)
4-20

City Driving
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. 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.”)
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.
Treat a green light as a warning signal. A traffic
4-21