engine Alfa Romeo Brera/Spider 2006 Owner handbook (in English)

143
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
To release the handbrake proceed as fol-
lows:
❒Slightly lift the handbrake Aand
press release button B;
❒Keep button Bpressed and lower
the lever. Warning light
xon the
instrument panel will turn off.
Press the brake pedal when carrying out
this operation to prevent the car from
moving accidentally.
HANDBRAKE
The handbrake lever A-fig. 2 is locat-
ed between the two front seats. Pull the
handbrake lever Aupwards, until the
car cannot be moved.
With electronic key fitted into the igni-
tion device, the instrument panel warn-
ing light
xwill come on.
IMPORTANT The car shall stop after
a few clicks of the handbrake lever. If
this is not the case, contact Alfa Romeo
Authorized Services to have the hand-
brake adjusted.
A0F0030mfig. 2
PARKING THE CAR
Proceed as follows:
❒Stop the engine and engage the
handbrake;
❒Engage a gear (on a slope, engage
first gear if the car is faced uphill or
reverse if it is faced downhill) and
leave the wheels steered.
Block the wheels with a wedge or a stone
if the car is parked on a steep slope. Do
not leave the electronic key in the igni-
tion switch to prevent draining the bat-
tery.
Never leave children un-
attended in the car. Al-
ways remove the electronic key
when leaving the car and take
it out with you.
WARNING

144
SAFETY
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WARNING
LIGHTS AND
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CORRECT USE
OF THE CARTo engage reverse R from neutral, raise
ringA-fig. 3under the knob and at
the same time move the gearshift lever
leftwards and then forward. After en-
gaging reverse release the ring. To shift
from reverse to another gear it is not
necessary to raise the ring.
IMPORTANTThe car can only be put
into reverse gear when it has stopped
moving completely. With the engine run-
ning, before engaging the reverse, wait
at least 3 seconds with the clutch ped-
al fully down to prevent damage and
grating of the gears.
A0F0151mfig. 3
To change gears prop-
erly you must push the
clutch pedal fully down. It is
therefore essential that there
is nothing under the pedals:
make sure mats are lying flat
and do not get in the way of
the pedals.
WARNING
Do not drive with your
hand resting on the gear
lever as the force ex-
erted, even if slight, could lead
over time to premature wear on
the gearbox internal compo-
nents.
USING THE
GEARBOX
The car is fitted with 6-gear manual
gearbox. Gear positions are shown on
the gearshift lever knob.
Always press down the clutch pedal
when shifting gears. To engage the 6
th
gear, move the gearshift lever pressing
slightly rightwards to prevent engaging
the 4
thgear accidentally.

145
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
Climate control
The air conditioner is an additional load
which greatly affects the engine leading
to higher consumption. When the tem-
perature outside the car 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 aero-
dynamic penetration of the vehicle and
increase consumption. Unnecessary loads
Do not travel with too much luggage
stowed in the boot. The weight of the
car (especially when driving in town)
and its trim greatly affects consumption
and stability.
Roof rack/ski rack
Remove the roof rack or the ski rack
from the roof as soon as they are no
longer used. These accessories lower air
penetration and adversely affect con-
sumption levels. When needing to car-
ry particularly voluminous objects, prefer-
ably use a trailer.
Electric devices
Use electric devices only for the amount
of time needed. Rear heated window,
additional headlights, windscreen wipers
and heater fan need a considerable
amount of energy therefore, increasing
the requirement of current increases fu-
el consumption (up to +25% in the ur-
ban cycle).CONTAINING
RUNNING COSTS
Here are some suggestions which may
help you to keep the running costs of
your car down and lower the amount of
toxic emissions released into the at-
mosphere.
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
Car maintenance
Have checks and adjustments carried out
in accordance with the “Service sched-
ule”.
Tyres
Check the pressure of the tyres routine-
ly at an interval of no more than 4
weeks: if the pressure is too low, con-
sumption levels increase as resistance
to rolling is higher.

146
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
Gear selection
As soon as the conditions of the traffic
and road allow, use a higher gear. Us-
ing a low gear to obtain brilliant perfor-
mance increases consumption. In the
same way improper use of a high gear
increases consumption, emissions an en-
gine wear.
Top speed
Fuel consumption considerably increas-
es with speed. Avoid superfluous brak-
ing and accelerating, which cost in terms
of both fuel and emissions.
Acceleration
Accelerating violently increasing the revs
will greatly affect consumption and emis-
sions: acceleration should be gradual and
should not exceed the maximum torque.CONDITIONS OF USE
Cold starting
Short journeys and frequent cold starts
do not allow the engine to reach opti-
mum operating temperature. This results
in a significant increase in consumption
levels (from +15 to +30% on the urban
cycle) and emission of harmful sub-
stances.
Traffic and road conditions
Rather high consumption levels are tied
to situations with heavy traffic, for ex-
ample in queues with frequent use of
the lower gears or in cities with many
traffic lights. Also winding mountain
roads and rough road surfaces adverse-
ly affect consumption.
Traffic hold-ups
During prolonged hold-ups (e.g.: level
crossings) the engine should be
switched off.
DRIVING STYLE
Starting
Do not warm the engine with the car
at a standstill or at idle or high speed:
under these conditions the engine
warms up much more slowly, increasing
electrical consumption and emissions. It
is therefore advisable to move off im-
mediately, slowly, avoiding high speeds.
This way the engine will warm faster.
Unnecessary actions
Avoid accelerating when waiting at traf-
fic lights or before switching off the en-
gine. This and also double declutching
is absolutely pointless on modern cars
and also increase consumption and pol-
lution.

152
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
CAR INACTIVITY
If the car is to be left inactive for longer
than a month, the following precautions
should be noted:
❒park the car in covered, dry and if
possible well-ventilated premises;
❒engage a gear;
❒check that the handbrake is not en-
gaged;
❒disconnect battery negative terminal
and check the battery charge. This
check is to be repeated every three
months when the car is left inactive.
Recharge if the optical indicator
shows a dark colour without the cen-
tral green area (see paragraph “Bat-
tery” in section “Car maintenance”);
❒clean and protect the painted parts
using protective wax;
❒clean and protect the shiny metal
parts using special compounds read-
ily available;
❒sprinkle talcum powder on the rub-
ber windscreen and rear window
wiper blades and lift them off the
glass;
❒slightly open the windows;
❒cover the car with a cloth or perfo-
rated plastic sheet. Do not use sheets
of non-perforated plastic as they do
not allow moisture on the car body
to evaporate;
❒inflate tyres to +0.5 bar above the
normal specified pressure and check
it at intervals;
❒if you don’t disconnect the battery
from the electric system, check its
charge every month and recharge it
if the optical indicator shows a dark
colour without the central green
area;
❒do not drain the engine cooling sys-
tem.
IMPORTANTIf the car is fitted with
alarm system, switch off the alarm with
the remote control.

153
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
W W W W
A A A A
R R R R
N N N N
I I I I
N N N N
G G G G

L L L L
I I I I
G G G G
H H H H
T T T T
S S S S

A A A A
N N N N
D D D D

M M M M
E E E E
S S S S
S S S S
A A A A
G G G G
E E E E
S S S S
LOW BRAKE FLUID/
HANDBRAKE ON ................................................. 155
BRAKE PAD WEAR ............................................. 155
SEAT BELTS NOT FASTENED ................................. 155
AIR BAG FAILURE................................................ 156
FRONT AIR BAGS DEACTIVATED ............................ 156
ENGINE COOLANT HIGH TEMPERATURE.................. 157
ENGINE OIL HIGH TEMPERATURE .......................... 158
LOW ENGINE OIL PRESSURE/ EXHAUST OIL .......... 158
LOW BATTERY CHARGE ....................................... 158
INCOMPLETE DOOR LOCKING ............................... 159
BONNET OPEN ................................................... 159
BOOT OPEN....................................................... 159
INJECTION SYSTEM FAILURE/
EOBD SYSTEM FAILURE....................................... 159
CAR PROTECTION SYSTEM FAILURE/
STEERING LOCK INHIBITION................................. 160
ALARM FAILURE/BREAK-IN ATTEMPT/
ELECTRONIC KEY NOT RECOGNIZED ...................... 160
POSSIBLE PRESENCE OF ICE ON THE ROAD............ 161
PRE-HEATING GLOW PLUGS/
PRE-HEATING GLOW PLUG FAILURE ....................... 161
WATER IN DIESEL FUEL FILTER ............................. 162INERTIAL FUEL CUT-OFF SWITCHED ON ................. 162
ABS SYSTEM FAILURE......................................... 163
EBD SYSTEM FAILURE......................................... 163
VDC SYSTEM .................................................... 163
HILL HOLDER FAILURE ........................................ 164
ASR SYSTEM (WHEEL ANTISKID SYSTEM) ............. 164
EXTERNAL LIGHTS FAILURE .................................. 164
BRAKE LIGHTS FAILURE ....................................... 165
REAR FOGLIGHTS ............................................... 165
FRONT FOG LIGHTS ............................................ 165
SIDE/TAILLIGHTS/FOLLOW ME HOME .................. 165
DIPPED BEAM HEADLIGHTS.................................. 165
MAIN BEAM HEADLIGHTS .................................... 165
LEFT-HAND DIRECTION INDICATOR ........................ 166
RIGHT-HAND DIRECTION INDICATOR ...................... 166
LIGHT SENSOR FAILURE........................................ 166
RAIN SENSOR FAILURE......................................... 166
PARKING SENSORS FAILURE ................................ 166
FUEL RESERVE - LIMITED CRUISING RANGE ............ 167
CRUISE CONTROL .............................................. 167
DIESEL PARTICULATE FILTER CLOGGED .................. 167
ANTIPINCH SYSTEM FAILURE ............................... 167
WINDSCREEN WASHER FLUID LOW LEVEL ............. 168
SPEED LIMIT EXCEEDED ...................................... 168

AIR BAG FAILURE
(red)
Fitting the key into the ignition
device the warning light turns on, but
it should go off after few seconds.
The warning light stays on glowing
steadily with the message on the dis-
play to indicate a failure in the air bag
system.
❒wait for over 20 seconds but less than
1 minute, then unfasten one of the
front seat belts.
This procedure will be valid until turning
the engine off.
For permanent buzzer deactivation con-
tact Alfa Romeo Authorized Services. The
“seat belt reminder” system can be re-
activated only through the “Setup Menu”
of the display (see paragraph “Recon-
figurable multifunction display“ in section
“Dashboard and controls”).
156
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
¬
If the warning light ¬
does not turn on when
fitting the key into the ignition
device, or if stays on when
travelling (together with the
message on the display), this
could indicate a failure in safe-
ty retaining system; under this
condition air bags or preten-
sioners could not trigger in the
event of collision or, in a re-
stricted number of cases, they
could trigger accidentally. Be-
fore restarting contact Alfa
Romeo Authorized Services.
The failure of the warning light
¬(warning light off) is also
indicated by the flashing for
more than the normal seconds
of the passenger’s front air
Bag deactivated warning light
F.
WARNINGPASSENGER’S
FRONT AIR BAGS
DEACTIVATED
(amber)
The warning light (set on the front ceil-
ing light panel) turns on when passen-
ger’s front air bags, passenger’s knees
air bag (where provided) and passen-
ger’s front side bag are deactivated
through the relevant key switch (for ver-
sions/markets where applicable).
With passenger’s front air bags on, fitting
the key into the ignition device the warn-
ing light shall turn on glowing steadily for
about 4 seconds, shall flash for other 4
seconds and then it shall turn off.
F

157
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
– Car heavy duty (e.g.: towing trail-
er uphill or fully laden car): decrease
speed, if the warning light stays on, stop
the car. Wait for 2 or 3 minutes leaving
the engine on and slightly accelerated to
further activate the circulation of the
coolant fluid, then switch the engine off.
IMPORTANTUnder severe use of the
car, keep the engine on and slightly ac-
celerated for few minutes before switch-
ing it off.
Warning light Findi-
cates also warning light
¬ ¬failures. This is indicated by
intermittent flashing, over 4
seconds, of warning light
F. In
this event warning light
¬ ¬could
not indicate safety system fail-
ures. Contact Alfa Romeo Au-
thorized Services to have the
system checked immediately.
WARNINGENGINE COOLANT
HIGH TEMPERATURE
(red)
Fitting the key into the ignition device, the
warning light (set on engine coolant
gauge) turns on but it shall go off after a
few seconds. The warning light turns on
(with a dedicated message on the display)
to indicate engine overheating. If the warn-
ing light comes on, proceed as follows:
– Normal driving conditions: stop
the car, switch off the engine and check
whether the water level in the reservoir
is not below the MINmark. Otherwise
wait for few seconds to allow engine
cooling, then open slowly and carefully
the cap, top up coolant and check
whether its level is falling between MIN
and MAXmarks in the reservoir. Check
visually any leak. If when restarting the
warning light comes on again, contact
Alfa Romeo Authorized Services.
u
With engine hot, do not
remove the cap: risk of
burnt.
WARNING

158
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
ENGINE OIL
HIGH TEMPERATURE
Fitting the key into the ignition
device, the warning light (set on engine
oil temperature gauge) turns on but it
should go off a few seconds later.
Warning light turning on when travelling
(together with the message on the dis-
play) indicates that engine oil is too hot;
switch the engine off and contact Alfa
Romeo Authorized Services.
LOW BATTERY
CHARGE (red)
If symbol w+ message are
displayed, contact immediately
Alfa Romeo Authorized Services.
w
`
If symbol v+ mes-
sage are displayed, con-
tact as soon as possible
Alfa Romeo Authorized Services
to have engine oil changed and
displayed symbol
vturned
off.
LOW ENGINE
OIL PRESSURE
EXHAUST OIL
(diesel versions)
Low engineoil pressure
If message + symbol are displayed when
travelling stop the engine immediately
and contact Alfa Romeo Authorized Ser-
vices.
Exhaust oil (diesel versions)
Message + symbol are displayed when
the system detects that the engine oil is
exhaust.
After the first indication, at each engine
starting the message + symbol will be dis-
played for about 1 minute and then every
2 hours until oil is changed.
v
If warning light `starts
flashing when travelling,
contact Alfa Romeo Au-
thorized Services.

BOOT OPEN
SymbolR(red) + mes
sage on the display indicate
that the boot is open.
BONNET OPEN
(where provided)
SymbolS(red) + mes-
sage on the display indicate that the
bonnet is open.
159
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
INJECTION SYSTEM
FAILURE (diesel
versions - amber)
EOBD SYSTEM
FAILURE
(petrol versions -
amber)
Injection system failure
Fitting the key into the ignition device
the warning light turns on, but it should
go off when the engine has started.
The warning light stays on or it turns on
when travelling to indicate a malfunc-
tion in the injection/exhaust system
with possible lack of performance, poor
driveability and high consumption.
In these conditions it is possible to con-
tinue driving without however requiring
heavy effort or high speed from the en-
gine. In any case, contact Alfa Romeo
Authorized Services as soon as possible.EOBD system failure
Under normal conditions, fitting the elec-
tronic key into the ignition device, the
warning light turns on, but it should go
off when the engine has started. This in-
dicates proper operation of the warn-
ing light.
If the warning light stays on or turns on
when travelling:
– glowing steadily (together with
the message on the display): means a
fault in the supply/ignition system
which could cause high emissions at the
exhaust, possible lack of performance,
poor handling and high consumption lev-
els. In these conditions it is possible to
continue driving without however re-
quiring heavy effort or high speed from
the engine. Prolonged use of the car
with the warning light on may cause
damages. Contact Alfa Romeo Autho-
rized Services as soon as possible.
The warning light goes off if the fault
disappears, but it is however stored by
the system.
INCOMPLETE DOOR
LOCKING (red)
Symbol ´+ message on the
display indicate that one of the doors
is not closed.
U´
S
R