light Alfa Romeo 156 2004 Owner handbook (in English)

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
106
l
DIRECTION INDICATORS IF A TRAILER IS TOWEDThe warning light on the dial comes on when the direction indicator control lever is moved up or
down, or when the hazard warning light button is pressed.
Warning light Message
on display1
MAIN-BEAM HEADLIGHTSThe warning light comes on when these lights are turned on.
3Ü
SIDELIGHTS AND DIPPED-BEAM HEADLIGHTSThe warning light on the dial comes on when the sidelights or dipped-beam headlights are
switched on.CONSTANT SPEED ADJUSTMENT (CRUISE CONTROL)
(where applicable)The warning light on the check panel turns on, with the knurled ring of the cruise control in the
ON position, when the device starts to intervene on the engine.

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
107
Warning light
on the dialMessage
on display
SELESPEED GEARBOX FAILURETurning the ignition key to MAR, the warning light on the cluster shall come on and then go off af-
ter about 4 seconds. If the warning light stays on, it indicates that a fault has been detected in the Se-
lespeed gearbox; at the same time, the buzzer beeps intermittently for 4 seconds to draw the atten-
tion of the driver. Contact Alfa Romeo Authorised Services as soon as possible to remove the fault.Q-SYSTEM AUTOMATIC GEARBOX FAILURETurning the ignition key to MAR, the warning light on the cluster shall come on and then go off
after about 4 seconds. If the warning light stays on or turns on when travelling, it indicates over-
heated gearbox oil (glowing steadily) or a gearbox fault (flashing).
Warning light glowing steadily: it indicates that the gearbox oil has reached the maxi-
mum established temperature.
To make oil cooling down, stop the car, move the lever to Por Nand let the engine idle until the
warning light goes out. Resume driving without demanding high performance from the engine. If
the warning light comes on again, it is necessary to stop again with the engine idling until it goes
out again. If the interval between one lighting up of the warning light and next is below 15 minutes,
you are advised to stop the car, turn the engine off and wait for the engine-gearbox unit to cool down
completely. Contact Alfa Romeo Authorised Services as soon as possible.
Warning light flashing: it indicates a fault in the automatic gearbox.
The automatic control system provides an emergency programme. Under these circumstances,
you are advised to stop the car and turn the engine off; in fact, the next time the engine is started,
the self-diagnostic system could cut off the fault which will however be memorised. Conversely, if
the fault remains (warning light flashing), it is necessary to select the gears manually as if driving
a car with mechanical gearbox, bearing in mind that the only two speeds available are the 2
ndand
4
thgear. Contact Alfa Romeo Authorised Services as soon as possible.
t
t

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
127
CLIMATE CONTROL
COMPRESSOR ON/OFF
ENABLE BUTTON
√
(fig. 109)
Pressing button (12)
√
enables the turn-
ing on of the climate control compressor.
This condition is shown by the lighting up of
the led placed on the button itself.
When the climate control compressor is
turned off, the leds on buttons (14)
AUTO
and (12)
√
go off; automatic inside air re-
circulation control is also excluded (both leds
off on button 7
v
) which always stays
off to prevent window misting; in any case,
the automatic operation of inside air recir-
culation can be resumed (though it is not
recommended) by pressing button 7
v
.
fig. 109
A0B0070m

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
131
BUTTON AUTO AUTOMATIC
OPERATION
(fig. 112)
When button (14)
AUTO
is pressed, the
system automatically regulates the amount
and distribution of the air admitted into the
passenger compartment, clearing all the pre-
vious manual settings.
This condition is indicated by the lighting
of both button leds.
When the right led, on button (14)
AUTO
,
is OFF, it indicates that one or several man-
ual operations have been carried out and,
therefore, that automatic control is not com-
plete (except for temperature control, which
is always automatic) indicated by the left
led on.
fig. 112
A0B0073m

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
135
ADDITIONAL HEATER(JTD engines) (for versions/
markets where applicable)
The car is equipped with an additional
heater (not programmable) which supports
the engine during cold or winter weather
to quickly reach a comfortable temperature
inside the passenger compartment.
The heater operates with the engine run-
ning when the outside temperature is below
20°C and the engine has not yet reached
normal operating temperature.
HAZARD WARNING LIGHTS(fig. 116)
They are switched on by pressing button
(A), regardless of the position of the igni-
tion key.
When the hazard warning lights are
switched on, the switch itself begins to flash
together with the direction indicator warn-
ing lights and the emergency indicator on
the instrument panel. This functions is
switched off by pressing the button again.
CONTROLSTAILGATE OPENING
(fig. 115)
To open the boot pull the lever (A) at the
side of the driver’s seat.
fig. 115
A0B0042m
fig. 116
A0B0036m
Do not operate the boot re-
lease lever with the car on
the move.
WARNING
Use of the hazard warning
lights is ruled by the High-
way Code of the country in which
the car is used. Observe regula-
tions.
WARNING

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
136
DASHBOARD LIGHTING
ADJUSTMENT
(fig. 118)
When the outside lights are on, the dash-
board lighting is adjusted by pressing button
(A).
Each press of the button (A) cyclically se-
lects one of the three lighting levels pro-
vided: low-medium-high.
FRONT FOGLIGHTS
(fig. 117)
(where required)
These come on when button (A) is
pressed and when the external lights are al-
ready on.
The warning light
5
will light up on the
instrument panel.
By turning the ignition key to STOP, the
fog lights are turned off automatically and
do not come on the next time the engine
is started without pressing button (A).
Press the button (A) again to switch the
front foglights off.
WARNINGThe front foglights should be
used in compliance with the local traffic
laws.
REAR FOG GUARDS
(fig. 117)
These are turned on, with the dipped beam
headlamps or fog lights on, by pressing but-
ton (B).
At the same time, warning light
4
on the
instrument cluster lights up.
By turning the ignition key to STOP, the
fog guards are automatically turned off and
they do not come on the next time the en-
gine is started unless button (B) is pressed.
Press button (B) to turn them off.
WARNINGAlways use the rear fog
guards in accordance with local regulations
in force.
fig. 117
A0B0740m
fig. 118
A0B0326m

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
138
HEADLIGHT CORRECTOR (fig. 121)
If the car is fitted with xenon headlights,
beam aiming is electronic and therefore con-
trol (A) on the mask near the steering col-
umn is not present.
The headlights should be aimed correctly
depending on the vehicle load.
The control (A) on the plate at the side of
the steering column can be moved to four
positions corresponding to the vehicle loads
given below:
position 0: 1 or 2 people occupying front
seats, full fuel tank, on-board equipment pre-
sent;
position 1: 5 people on-board;fig. 121
A0B0240m
HAND BRAKE
(fig. 122)
The hand brake lever is located between
the two front seats.
To operate the brake when the vehicle is
“stationary”, pull the lever (A) upwards un-
til the required braking action is obtained.
When the ignition key is in the MARpo-
sition, the
x
warning light will come on on
the instrument panel.
fig. 122
A0B0288m
position 2: 5 people on-board, luggage
compartment full (50 kg approximately);
position 3: Driver and 300 kg in luggage
compartment.
Check the positioning of
the headlight beams every
time you change the load to be car-
ried.
WARNING

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
139
To release the hand brake:
– slightly lift the lever (A) and press the
release button (B);
– holding the button down lower the lever.
The
x
warning light on the instrument
panel will go out.
To prevent the car from moving acciden-
tally, keep the brake pedal pressed when
engaging the handbrake.WARNINGThe handbrake lever (A) is
fitted with a safety device which prevents
the brake from being released when, if the
lever is pulled, button (B) is pressed. There-
fore, to release the brake, in addition to
pressing button (B), it is also necessary to
pull lever (A) further upwards to release the
safety device, then lower the lever com-
pletely
GEARSHIFT LEVER
(fig. 123)
Depending on the versions the car is fitted
with a five or six speed mechanical gearbox
(see “Technical specifications” chapter).
The position of the individual gears is
shown by the pictogram on the gearshift
lever knob.
When changing gear, always fully depress
the clutch pedal. Before engaging reverse
gear (R) wait for the car to be stationary.
fig. 123
A0B0290m
The wheels should be
locked after a few clicks of
the hand brake. If this does not oc-
cur, contact Alfa Romeo Authorized
Services to have the hand brake
adjusted.
WARNING

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
140
For 2.5 V6 24V versions and Diesel ver-
sions, to engage reverse gear (R), it is nec-
essary to wait for the car to be stationary,
then raise the ring under the grip (with the
fingers of the same hand holding the lever).
After engaging reverse gear, release the
ring. It is not necessary to raise the ring on
the lever when shifting from reverse to an-
other gear.WARNINGReverse gear can only be en-
gaged with the vehicle completely stopped.
With the engine running, before engaging
reverse gear it is necessary to wait for at
least 3 seconds with the clutch pedal fully
pressed, to avoid grating and the possibil-
ity of damaging the gears.Do not drive with your
hand resting on the
gearshift lever, since the
applied pressure, though slight,
may, with the passing of time,
damage parts inside the gear.
To change gear smoothly,
the clutch pedal must be
fully depressed. Therefore, there
should be no hindrances under the
pedal unit. Make sure that any
mats are well laid and do not in-
terfere with the pedals.
WARNING

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
142
Failures of Selespeed gearbox are signalled
to the driver through a warning light (B-fig.
126) accompanied by an acoustic signal. The gearbox can work in two operating
modes:
– the first is semiautomatic(then called
MANUAL), in which the driver directly re-
quests gearshifting through the lever on the
centre console or pressing the buttons at the
steering wheel;
– the second is automatic, calledCITY
(mode selectable with the specific button
B-fig. 124, the CITYsign appears on the
display fig. 126fitted on rev-counter), in
which the system decides directly when to
shift gear.With the gearbox in the CITYmode it is
still possible to carry out manual gearshift-
ing, both using the gear lever and the steer-
ing wheel controls. The gearbox remains in
the CITYmode.
The gear engaged (fig. 126) is always
signalled on the display regardless of the se-
lected mode.
N= neutral;
1= first gear;
2 = second gear;
3= third gear;
4= fourth gear;
5= fifth gear;
R= reverse.
fig. 126
A0B0384m