Alfa Romeo 156 2004 Owner handbook (in English)

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR59
A.Speedometer (mileage recorder) - B. Odometer with double counter (total and partial) display -C. Check panel - D.Rev counter -
E.Fuel level gauge with reserve warning light - F.Clock - G.Engine coolant temperature gauge with maximum temperature warning light -
H.Warning lights - L.Q-System gearbox display (where fitted).fig. 82 - 2.5 V6 24V versions
A0B0696m
t
Warning light fitted
only on Q-System
gearbox versions

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR60
A.Speedometer (mileage recorder) - B. Odometer with double counter (total and partial) display -C. Check panel - D.Rev counter - E.
Fuel level gauge with reserve warning light - F.Clock - G.Engine coolant temperature gauge with maximum temperature warning light - H.
Warning lights.fig. 83 - JTD versions (equipped with VDC system)
A0B0586m
´
- Warning light fitted
for versions/markets
where applicable

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR61
A0B0597m
fig. 83a - JTD versions
A.Speedometer (mileage recorder) - B. Odometer with double counter (total and partial) display -C. Check panel - D.Rev counter - E.
Fuel level gauge with reserve warning light - F.Clock - G.Engine coolant temperature gauge with maximum temperature warning light - H.
Warning lights.
´
- Warning light fitted
for versions/markets
where applicable

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR62
REV COUNTERThe rev. counter shows engine rpm. The
needle pointed to the danger area (red) in-
dicates excessive high engine speed. Do not
drive for long periods with the needle in this
area.
WARNINGThe electronic injection con-
trol system gradually shuts off the flow of
fuel when the engine is “over-revving” re-
sulting in a gradual loss of engine power.
The rev counter may, when the engine is
idling, indicate gradual or sudden increase
of engine revs as the case may be; such be-
haviour is normal and must not be inter-
preted as a faulty condition as it occurs dur-
ing normal operation, for instance when
climate control or electric fan are switched
on. In particular, slow revs variation helps
keep the battery charged.
FUEL GAUGE AND RESERVE
WARNING LIGHTThis shows the amount of fuel left in the
fuel tank.
This warning light
ç
comes on to indicate
that approximately 7 litres of fuel are left in
the tank.
WARNINGUnder certain conditions
(heavy slopes, for instance), the reading on
the gauge may differ from the actual
amount of fuel in the tank and changes in
level may be indicated late.
This condition falls within the operation log-
ics of the electronic control circuit to avoid
highly unstable readings due to swaying of
the fuel when travelling.
WARNINGRefuelling shall always be
performed with engine off and ignition key
to STOP. If the engine is off but the key
is to MAR, a wrong fuel level could tem-
porarily be indicated. This is due to the in-
ternal system control logic and cannot be
considered as a system malfunctioning.
ENGINE COOLANT
TEMPERATURE GAUGE AND
MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE
WARNING LIGHTThis shows the temperature of the engine
coolant fluid and begins when the fluid tem-
perature exceeds approx. 50°C.
The pointer should normally be towards
the middle of the scale. If the pointer
reaches the higher temperature values of
the scale (red area), the request for vehi-
cle performance should be decreased.
The illumination of the warning light
ç
(together with the message shown by the
Infocenter display) indicates an excessive
temperature of the engine cooling fluid. In
this case, stop the car and contact Alfa
Romeo Authorized Services.
WARNINGThe temperature of the en-
gine coolant may rise towards the maximum
values (red) when the vehicle is driven at
low speeds, especially when the ambient air
temperature is high. In this case, the vehi-
cle should be stopped and the engine
switched off for a few minutes after which
the journey can be resumed, preferably at
a higher speed.

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR63
MILEAGE DISPLAY
(with double meter display)The display shows:
– the mileage on the first line (6 figures)
– the trip meter on the second line (4 fig-
ures)
To reset the trip meter, keep button (A-
fig. 84) pressed for a few seconds.fig. 84
A0B0489m
INFOCENTER DISPLAY
RHEOSTAT LIGHTS
ADJUSTMENT (where
required)This function makes it possible to adjust
the brightness (dimming/brightening) of
the Infocenter display during night and day.
To perform the desired brightness adjust-
ment (night or day), use buttons
â
or ã
,
bearing in mind that:
– if the outside lights are on, the message
BRIGHTN. ADJUST. NIGHT will appear on the
display (fig. 85)
– if the outside lights are OFF, the mes-
sage BRIGHTN. ADJUST. DAY will appear on
the display (fig. 86).Pressing button
â
, or after about 5 sec-
onds from last operation performed, returns
to previous screen.
WARNING During failure indication dis-
playing, brightness cannot be adjusted since
under these conditions the display gets au-
tomatically to max. brightness.
fig. 85
A0B2124g
fig. 86
A0B2125g

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR64
INFOCENTER DISPLAY(where required)The Infocenter display is able to display all
the useful and necessary information during
driving, in particular:
INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON STANDARD
SCREEN
– Date (A-fig. 87)
– Outside temperature (B)
– Failure and warning symbol (e.g.: pos-
sible presence of ice on the road C).The standard screen will remain on until
a function is activated which requires be-
ing shown on the display (e.g. “Infocenter
display rheostat lights adjustment”).
INFORMATION ABOUT VEHICLE
CONDITION (for each event)
– Scheduled maintenance programme ex-
piry
– Trip computer information
– Rheostat brightness adjustment
– Engine oil level (only JTD versions).
Moreover, a menu is available which al-
lows the driver to perform, by operating the
control buttons (see “Control buttons” in the
next pages) the following controls and set-
tings:Set-up menu
SPEED LIMIT
– Switching on/off the relevant signal
(ON/OFF)
– Speed limit setting
TRIP B ON/OFF
– Switching on/off the relevant function
(ON/OFF)
DATE SETTING/TIME SETTING
– Day setting
– Month setting
– Year setting
– Hour setting
– Minute setting
LANGUAGE SELECTION
– Setting the language for the messages
shown on the displayfig. 87
A0B2126g

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR65
PROGRAMMED MAINTENANCE
– Displaying the expiry date of the next
car service check (strictly related to the
Programmed Maintenance Schedule)
DISPLAY CONTRAST ADJUSTMENT
– Infocenter display graphics brightness
setting (dimming/brightening) UNITS SELECTION
– Selection of the following units: km or
mi (miles), °C or °F, l/100 km or km/l
WARNING/FAILURE BUZZER VOLUME
SETTING
– Volume setting of warning/failure
buzzer
“WINTER” TYRES SPEED LIMIT
– Switching on/off the relevant function
(ON/OFF)
– Setting the limit speed value among the
available ones (160 km/h, 190 km/h
or 210 km/h)DEFAULT VALUE RESET
– Switching on/off the relevant function
(ON/OFF)
EXIT MENU
– Exiting the menu
WARNINGThe use of polarized glasses
may reduce Infocenter display readability.

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR66
CONTROL BUTTONS
(fig. 88-89)
To make use of the information that the Infocenter display (with the key in the MAR position) is able to provide, you should first get fa-
miliar with the relevant control buttons (placed on the central console aside the climate control/ventilation controls and on top of the left
lever for the Trip computer function) and use them in accordance with the descriptions below. It is also recommended that you read over this
chapter before performing any operation.
fig. 88fig. 89
ã
SET button
A single press for less than 2 seconds (pulse), shown by
ä
in the following
screens, to scroll the different Trip computer information screens
A single press for more than 2 seconds, shown by
å
in the following screens,
to reset the Trip computer information (reset) and initiate a new mission INFO,
â
, ã
buttons
Depending on the cases: to scroll the menu screens and their respective options
upwards or to increase the displayed value
Depending on the cases: to scroll the menu screens and their respective options
downwards or to decrease the displayed value A single press for less than 2 seconds (pulse), shown by
ç
in the following
screens, to confirm the desired option and/or switch to the next screen or ac-
cess the menu
A single press for more than 2 seconds, shown by
é
in the following screens,
to confirm the desired option and return to the previous screen
A0A0013m
A0A0014m

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR67
MENU OFFSPEED
TRIP B
DATE
DEFAULT VALUES
CONTRAST
WINTER TYRESLANGUAGE
UNITS
BUZZER SERVICE
MENU DESCRIPTIONThe menu is made up of a set of functions arranged in a “circular fashion”, which can be selected by means of buttons
â
and
ã
, for ac-
cess to the different select operations and settings (see the examples “LANGUAGE” and “DATE” in the table below); for further details, also
refer to “Access to the menu screen” in the following pages.
English
Nederlands
EspãnolFrançais
DeutschItalianoPortoguese
Day
Minutes
MonthYear
Hour
ç
ç ç

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR68
If the display shows an anomaly message, see paragraph
“Warning lights and indications” in this chapter.
INITIAL CHECK
By turning the ignition key to the MARposition, the Infocenter display will show the message CHECK ACTIVE: this indicates the start of the
diagnosis phase for all the electronic systems available on the vehicle; this phase lasts a few seconds (in diesel versions only, the Infocenter
display is able to provide the engine oil level indication too, see following paragraph “Engine oil level check”). If, during this phase, no anom-
aly is found and after the engine has been started, the display will show the message CHECK OK.
Standard screen display
JTD versions only
If no
failures
are
present
Is the
engine
started?
YES
NO
or
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