Starting And Driving - Saab 900 1983 Owner's Manual

D. Starting and Driving
STARTING THE ENGINE
General
Do not operate the starter for more than 10·15
seconds at a stretch; wait 20·30 seconds to let
the battery recover before attem pting to sta rt
the eng ine ag ain. Make sure that th e lights and
electrically heated rea r window are switched off
before starting In wintertime. Avoid warm ing
the engine by idling at a standstil l. Start driving
as soon as the oil pressure light has gone ou t to
heat the eng ine up to its proper working tem·
perature as quickly as possible.
WARNINGI Do not start or let the engine
run In a closed area. Exhaust gases can·
lain carbon monoxide which may be fa·
tallf Inhaled.
Starting Injection engines
The eng ine has an automati c co ld star ting
enrichmen t system . Start as follows:
1. Apply the handbrake and put the gear lever in
neutral (manual transmission ) or se lect P ar
N (automat ic transmiss ion).
NOTEI Cars with automatic transmls·
sian can only be started when the selec·
tor lever Is at P or N. On cars with air
conditioning turn the AC unit OFF to reo
duce starter load when cranking.
2. Fully depress the clutch pedal (man ual tran s·
mission).
3. Turn the key to the start position and let it
spring back as soon as the engine has
started. Allow the eng ine 10 idle for about 10
seconds before touching the accelerator. Do
not depress the accelerator for full throttle
until the engine has run for at least 2-3
minutes.
For restarting a warm engine use the same pro·
cedure . If the outside temperature Is high, de·
pressing the accelerator during cranking may
assist start up. Turn the air conditioner control
off before cranking .
NOTE! Saab 900 Turbo: STARTING·Don 't
rev the engine Immediately after starting
or permanent damage to the turbo ·
charger will result. STOPPING·Let Ihe
engine Idle 20·30 seconds before switch·
Ing It off after driving to allow time for the
turbocharger to coast down from high
rpm before all pressure at the bearing Is
depleted. For the same reason , DON'T
rev the engine Immediately before
switching It off. Permanent turbo ·
charger damage will result.
After hard driving let the engine Idle
about a minute to let the all cool the
turbocharger bearing somewhat. This
will also help prevenl breakdown of the
all. If the engine Is very hot, the radiator
fan may cut In and continue to run for a
while after the engine has been switched
off.
GEAR CHANGING
Manual Transmission
When shi fting gears, release the clutch pedal
smoothly and caref ully. There are only two
proper clutch positions for driving: Either out
(pedal fully depressed) or in (pedal released). It
is poor practice to drive with a slipping clutch or
wilh the foot resting on the clutch pedal, as this
causes heavy wear on the clutch assembly.
When the car is standing stili with the engine
running, the gear lever should be In neutral and
the clutch pedal released . In all shifts, move the
lever gently but firmly and with a Slight, barely
perceptible, pause In neutral. The gear selector
must be In reverse III order to remove the Ignl ·
tion key.
Before shifting to reverse, make sure that the
car Is at a standstill, the accelerator pedal Is
fully released , and the catch on the gear lever Is
pulled upward .
Cars with Automatic Transmission
The engine should be at Idling speed when the
gear selector lever Is moved from one position
to another and the car is at a standstill. If you
depress the accelerator at the same time as you
move the lever, this will cause abnormally high
wear on the transmission. Always keep your
foot on the brake to prevent the car from rOiling
when you select a drive position.
Selecting gears
D. The D (Drive) position is for normal forward
driving. Whichever of the three forward gears
best matches the speed and load on the engine
is automatically engaged.
2. Position 2 gives automatic changing be·
tween first and second gears but top gear will
not be engaged. If the lever is moved from 0 to 2,
this gives an immediate change·down for more
engine braking power. Position 2 must be se·
lected at road speeds below 55 miles per hour
(90
km/h).
1. Position 1 is used to obtain maximum engine
braking power on steep downgrades. Road
speed must be reduced to below about 12 mph
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