oil temperature Alfa Romeo 156 2006 Owner handbook (in English)

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 CAR
100
Warning light Message
on displaym
GLOW PLUGS (JTD engines)When the ignition key is turned to MAR, the dial warning light comes on and go out when the
glow plugs have reached the pre-established temperature.
Start the engine as soon as the warning light has gone out.
WARNINGWith a high environment temperature, the warning light may turn on for an imper-
ceptible length of time. For versions/markets where applicable, the warning light flashes for approx.
30 seconds after starting the engine, which means that there is a fault in the glow plug warming
system, contact Alfa Romeo Authorized Services.
c
WATER IN THE FUEL OIL FILTER (JTD engines)The warning light switches on with fixed light when driving, to indicate the presence of water in
the fuel oil filter.
The presence of water in the fuel circuit may cause serious damage to
the entire injection system and cause irregular engine operation. If warn-
ing light
c
comes on the dial, contact Alfa Romeo Authorized Services
as soon as possible to have the system relieved. Should the above warning in-
dication come one immediately after topping up, water has probably been poured
into the tank: turn the engine off immediately and contact Alfa Romeo Autho-
rized Services.

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
110
REAR SWIVEL OUTLET
ADJUSTMENTFig. 98: front seats (on dashboard ends)
Fig. 99: rear seat (on the console be-
tween seats)
MANUAL CLIMATE
CONTROL SYSTEM (fig. 99a - where applicable)CONTROLS1 Air temperature adjustment knob (mix-
ing warm / cold air)
2Climate control compressor on / off but-
ton
3Inside air re-circulation on / off button
4Fan knob
5Maximum defrosting / demisting on /
off button for windscreen and front side win-
dows and wing mirror coils
6Rearscreen heating and wing mirror de-
frosting on / off button.
7Air distribution knob.
fig. 98
A0B0038m
fig. 99
A0B0289m
Air flow can be adjusted by means of vanes
(A) with press-on opening and closing.
Air flow can be directed by rotating the out-
let by means of the vanes.

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
118
CONTROLS
(fig. 101)
1- Inside temperature adjustment knob
(driver’s side)
2- Inside temperature set display (driver’s
side)
3- Knob for adjusting the fan speed and
switching the system off
4- Fan speed set, air distribution and sys-
tem off display (OFF
)
5- Inside temperature set display (pas-
senger’s side)
6- Inside temperature adjustment knob
(passenger’s side)
7- Inside air recirculation on/off button
v
(manual/automatic)
8- Air distribution selection button
9- Rearscreen heating and wing mirror de-
frosting on/off button
(
10- Maximum defrosting/demisting
on/off button for windscreen and front side
windows, rearscreen heating and wing mir-
ror coils (function
MAX
-DEF
- -
)
11- Button for aligning the temperature
set on the passenger’s side with that on the
driver’s side
MONO
12- Climate control compressor on/off
enable button
√
13- Inside air temperature sensor
14- Button for selecting the system au-
tomatic mode
AUTO
fig. 101
A0B0056m

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
132
fig. 113
A0B0074m
QUICK FRONT WINDOW
DEMISTING/DEFROSTING
BUTTON
(-
MAX
-DEF
function)
(fig. 113)
Pressing button (10)
-
the climate con-
trol automatically activates timed operation
of all the functions needed to quicken
demisting/defrosting of the windscreen and
front side windows, i.e.:
– it turns on the climate control compres-
sor;
– switches off inside air recirculation, if on
(both leds off);
– sets the maximum air temperature (HI)
on both displays (2) and (5);
– operates the fan at a predefined speed;
– directs the flow of air towards the wind-
screen and front side window vents;
– turns on rearscreen heating and, if pre-
sent, the wing mirror coils.
When the maximum demisting/defrost-
ing function is on, the led on button (10)
-
, the led on the rearscreen heating but-
ton (9)
(
and the led on button (12)
√
come on; at the same time the leds on
button (7)
v
go out.WARNINGIf the engine is not warm
enough, the function will not engage the
predefined fan speed immediately, to limit
the flow to the passenger compartment of
air that is not warm enough to demist the
windows.

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
158
1st2nd3rd4th
2nd2nd4th4th
Gear engaged Gear ratiomanually available
FAULT SIGNALLINGAutomatic gearbox faults are indicated by
the t
warning light (A-fig. 141) on
the instrument cluster as follows:
–warning light glowing steadily
= maximum automatic gearbox oil temper-
ature;
–warning light flashing= automatic
gearbox fault.
Turning the ignition key to MARthe warn-
ing light should turn on and go out after
approx. 4 seconds.
If the warning light stays on or turns on
during travelling, it indicates a gearbox fault
(flashing) or overheated gearbox oil (glow-
ing steadily).Warning light glowing steadily
If the warning light turns on and glows
steadily when the car is travelling, it indi-
cates that the gearbox oil has reached the
maximum established temperature.
The automatic control system provides an
emergency programme.
It is however advisable to stop the car,
move the lever to Por Nand let the engine
idle until the warning light goes out. Resume
driving without demanding high perfor-
mance 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 the next is below 15
minutes, you are advised to stop the car,
turn off the engine and wait for the engine-
gearbox unit to cool down completely.
fig. 141
A0B0386m
Warning light flashing
The flashing of the warning light when trav-
elling indicates a fault in the automatic gear-
box.
The automatic control system provides an
emergency programme. Under these cir-
cumstances, you are advised to stop the car
and turn off the engine; in fact, the next
time the engine is started, the self-diag-
nostics system could cut off the fault which
will, however, be memorised by the elec-
tronic control device.
Conversely, if the fault remains (warning
light (A- fig. 141) flashing), it is neces-
sary to select the gears manually as if dri-
ving a car with mechanical gearbox, bear-
ing in mind that the only two speeds
available are the 2
ndand 4
thgear, as shown
in the table below:

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
185
REFUELLING PETROL ENGINESIn order to prevent the vehicle being filled
with leaded petrol, the diameter of the filler
neck is smaller than the nozzle used on
pumps delivering leaded petrol.At low temperatures, the degree of fluid-
ity of fuel oil may become insufficient due
to the formation of paraffins leading to dan-
ger of clogging the fuel oil filter.
Therefore, to avoid inconveniences, sum-
mer and winter fuel oils are normally dis-
tributed depending on the season.
However, during the intermediate season,
characterised by a large difference between
outside temperatures (0°C to 15°C), the
quality of the fuel oil distributed to the
pumps may not be adequate.
In this case, and above all if the use of the
car involves stopping and then starting again
at low temperatures (e.g. mountains),
make sure the car is filled with winter fuel
oil; if not, you are advised to mix the fuel
oil with a DIESEL MIXadditive in the pro-
portions stated on the can, pouring first the
antifreeze and then the fuel oil into the tank.
TheDIESEL MIXantifreeze should be
mixed with the fuel oil before reactions due
to cold take place. Adding it too late will
prove pointless. The anti-pollution devices
present on the vehicle im-
pose the use of four-star
unleaded fuel with an octane num-
ber (R.O.N.) above 95.
Under no circumstances
should conventional leaded
petrol be used, as this
would irreparably damage the cat-
alyst. If the tank is accidentally
filled with leaded fuel, even in
minute quantities, DO NOT START
THE ENGINE. Do not attempt to di-
lute the petrol with lead free fuel.
Drain the entire fuel circuit and
tank.
If the catalyst is not
working properly, harmful
emissions reach the ex-
haust, resulting in environment pol-
lution.The car must be refuelled
only with fuel oil for motor
vehicles, in conformity with
European specification EN590. The
use of other products or mixtures
may damage the engine irrepara-
bly, resulting in invalidation of the
warranty for the damage caused.
If the tank is accidentally filled
with another type of fuel, do not
start the engine but drain the tank.
If the engine has been run even for
a brief period, the tank must be
drained together with the entire
fuel circuit.
JTD ENGINES

CORRECT USE OF THE CAR
196
Tyres
Tyres should be checked at least every four
4 weeks: if the pressure is too low, fuel con-
sumption increases as the resistance to the
rolling movement of the tyre is higher. In
this state, tyre wear is increased
and vehicle handling suffers which will af-
fect safety.
Unnecessary loads
Do not travel with too much luggage stowed
in the boot. The weight of the vehicle (es-
pecially when driving in town) and its trim
greatly affects consumption and stability.
Luggage/ski rack
Remove luggage or ski racks from the roof
of the vehicle as soon as they are no longer
needed. These accessories reduce the aero-
dynamic penetration of the vehicle and will
increase consumption. When transporting
particularly large objects, use a trailer where
possible.Electrical devices
Use the electric devices for the necessary
time only. The heated rear window, supple-
mentary lights, windscreen wipers, heating
system blower require large amounts of en-
ergy and, increasing the request for power
also increases fuel consumption (up to
+25% when driving in built-up areas).
Air conditioner
The air conditioner is an additional load
which greatly affects the engine leading to
higher consumption (on average up to
+20%). When the temperature outside the
vehicle permits it, use the air vents where
possible.
Spoilers
The use of aerodynamic optional extras
which are not certified for the specific use
on the vehicle, may reduce the aerodynamic
penetration of the vehicle and increase con-
sumption.
STYLE OF DRIVINGStarting
Do not warm the engine when the vehicle
is stationary or at high or low revs: in this
way the engine will warm up gradually in-
creasing consumption and emissions. You
should drive off slowly straight away avoid-
ing high revs so that the engine will warm
up more quickly.
Unnecessary actions
Avoid revving the engine when stopped at
traffic lights or before switching off the en-
gine and avoid doubling the clutch as these
actions have no purpose on modern vehicles
and serve only to increase consumption and
pollution.
Gear selection
As soon as the traffic and road conditions
allow it, shift to a higher gear. Using a lower
gear to liven up acceleration greatly in-
creases consumption. In the same way, im-
proper use of the higher gears will increase
consumption, emissions and wear and tear
on the engine.

CORRECT USE OF THE CAR
198
PROTECTING EMISSION
REDUCING DEVICESCorrect operation of the antipollution de-
vices not only guarantees respect for the en-
vironment but also influences car perfor-
mance. Keeping these devices in good con-
dition is therefore the first rule for both en-
vironment-friendly and economy driving.
The first precaution is to closely follow the
“Scheduled Maintenance Programme ”. For
petrol engines only use unleaded petrol (95
RON) (specification EN228), for diesel en-
gines only use fuel oil for motor vehicles
(specification EN590).
If difficulty with starting is experienced do
not insist with extended attempts. Especially
avoid bump, tow or coast starts: these may
all damage the catalyst. Only use an auxil-
iary battery to start the car in an emergency.If the engine is “not running smoothly”
when the vehicle is travelling, reduce the re-
quest for performance to a minimum and
contact Alfa Romeo Authorized Services as
soon as possible.
When the fuel reserve warning light comes
on fill up as soon as possible. A low fuel level
may cause an irregular supply to the engine
with inevitable increase of the exhaust gas
temperature; this would result in serious
damage to the catalyst.
Never run the engine, even as a test, with
one or more spark plugs disconnected. Do
not warm the engine at idle speed before
moving off, unless the outside temperature
is very low and, in this case too, for no more
than 30 seconds.
Do not install other heat
guards and do not remove
the existing ones on the catalyst
and exhaust pipe.
WARNING
Do not spray anything on
the catalyst, lambda sen-
sor and exhaust pipe.
WARNING
The failure to follow these
rules may cause a fire
hazard.
WARNING
During normal service the
catalyst reaches high tem-
peratures. Do not therefore park
the car over inflammable materials
(grass, dry leaves, pine needles,
etc.): fire hazard.
WARNING